A contemporary congregation serving the entire Ojai Valley. Offering a wide array of services to Jews of all denominations.
Your Temple in the Ojai Valley
Week at a glance
Thursday, April 26
Walk with Sheila, Ojai Museum 8am
Friday, April 27
Community Shabbat, 6pm
The weekly Torah portion can be found at the Union for Reform Judaism website.....click here
or, get another point of view at the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism...click here
Interested in the dates of the Jewish Holidays? Click here
Todah Rabah!
Want to thank someone who has done something special for the Temple and our members? You can do it by simply sending us a note. Click here to see how it works...
Interested in learning more about the various committees that keep the Temple humming? We strongly encourage you to read about them and, if intrigued, contact the chair of your choice to discuss your participation in what interests you. Click here...
Your donations are always appreciated. If you wish, you can use your credit card to pay your membership dues, purchase commemorative plaques, enroll in our special classes, or just make a contribution to our general fund. Click here for more information...
You've asked us to provide a means for telling other congregants about things of personal interest to you. You can post items of interest to you, and others may add comments to your postings. Visit the Bulletin Board by clicking here or on the menu button on the left side of the screen.
Wanna go for a Walk with Sheila?
It's never too late to start exercising and what better way than with a group friends. You can catch up on their lives, gossip a little and enjoy the fresh Ojai morning air. We do a different walk every week...usually about 3 miles or 7-8,000 steps, almost a whole day's quota. Hope to see you at 8am on the west side of the Ojai Valley Museum courtyard on Thursday mornings, rain or shine.
A message from our Membership Committee tells you how you can help expand our Jewish presence in the greater Ojai Community. Your invitation can be found by clicking here....
Please consider leaving a bequest to Jewish Community of Ojai in your will or estate plan. This is an excellent way to help ensure the long-term economic strength of our congregation. For more information, please contact John Allen at 708-567-6650.
Monthly Food Collection-HELP of Ojai Food Pantry
Sponsored by the Social Action Committee, JCO will collect non-perishable foods & household supplies for the HELP of Ojai’s Food Pantry -- one of its Community Assistance Programs for low income and homeless residents.
Food collection bags will be distributed at the last Friday Night Service of each month. They should be returned before or at the first Friday Night Service of the next month and will be be stored in the Rabbi’s Study/Library. A continuous supply of bags will be available there. Guidelines for food & supplies purchases are printed on the bags.
We hope that members of the JCO community will combine shopping for this valuable program with their regular shopping trips. Every little bit helps someone in need in the Ojai Valley.
Rabbi Lotker has firmed up the details of a trip to Israel from October 18 to October 27 plus an optional side trip to Rome. Please click here for details including site visits, costs, travel arrangements and two meetings to address your questions. He invites you to accompany him on this extraordinary trip.
Board Election
At the Annual Meeting -- which will be held on Thursday, May 17, 2018, 7:00 PM – an “advisory” election will be conducted to select up to nine (9) new board directors, who will serve two-year terms.
As you may know, Rabbi Lotker will start his final year with us on June 1. In order to help us with our search for a replacement, we have prepared a survey for your comments. Please click here for more info and the survey. Thank you.
“My Summer Working for Martin Luther King, Jr.”
On Wednesday, May 9, at 7 pm, Civil Right Movement veteran Lanny Kaufer will give a musical multimedia presentation on his experiences volunteering for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the South in 1965. Lanny volunteered for Dr. King’s SCOPE Project (Summer Community Organization and Political Education), a Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) initiative designed by Dr. King to educate, organize, and register voters in the South just as the Voting Rights Act was passed.
Lanny served in southern Virginia where he was fortunate to meet and shake hands with Dr. King after hearing one of his speeches. The local SCOPE Project which Lanny helped to establish was able to extend the hours of voter registration, register new voters, and launch an Improvement Association that is still going strong today.
The son of a Holocaust refugee, Kaufer will also discuss Jewish contributions to the Civil Rights Movement and share socially-conscious music of the era. JCO member Sharon West, who was at “Ole Miss” in 1962 when James Meredith became the first African-American student admitted to the segregated university, will introduce Lanny.
Please join our Ventura County Jewish Federation community in a Shavuot Celebration on Saturday, May 19 beginning at 5:30 PM with a delicious Kosher Dinner ($10 Adults, $5 kids 8-18, under 8 free) followed by study sessions and a brief service. This program is in keeping with the kabbalistic tradition of Tikkun Leil Shavuot - special spiritual studies on the eve of the holy day of Shavuot. Leading will be Rabbis JB Sacks, Lisa Hochberg-Miller and Lotker. The evening will take place at Congregation Am HaYam, 4838 Market St. Ventura, CA 93003. Please click here for more info...
