Friday, May 14, 2021, from 7-8:30 pm
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First Parish, Congregation B’nai Torah of Sudbury, and the Presbyterian Church in Sudbury, invite the community to join them online for “Envisioning the Future of Congregational Life—Planting the Seeds for Tomorrow,” a panel discussion featuring Rev. Dr. Marjorie Matty, Rabbi Dr. Lisa Eiduson of B’nai Torah, and Rev. Desiree Lawson of the Presbyterian Church.
Join our local clergy as they share insights about their faith-based organizations and assess how they see the future of religious congregational life. The 21st century has brought many changes to our world and to organizational life, and our synagogues and churches are no exception. Even with all of these changes, we remain on the journey to finding meaning in our lives. In addition to reaching inside ourselves, many are also reaching out to others—both within our faith communities and outside of them—as we look for ways to find spirituality in our secular world.
The program will begin with an abbreviated Shabbat Service, led by Rabbi Dr. Lisa Eiduson of B’nai Torah, and will then be followed by the panel discussion, moderated by Richard Morse, an active participant of the MultiFaith Committee at Congregation Bnai Torah.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Rev. Dr. Marjorie Matty began her professional life as a zookeeper in Syracuse, New York, and then expanded into a career in the technology industry specializing in architectural software and computer-aided design. She earned a Bachelor in Comparative Religions and Consciousness Studies from Goddard College and a Masters of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School. Matty worked at the Unitarian Universalist Association in International Relations and then served as the Executive Assistant to the President of the UUA. Rev. Matty completed her dissertation, Engaging Technology in Twentieth-Century Patterns of Meaning Making, in 2013. Her focus was to meld two of her passions—technology and spirituality. Upon completion of her Doctorate, Matty became the Senior Minister at the First Parish of Sudbury Unitarian Universalist.
Rabbi Dr. Lisa Eiduson joined Congregation B’nai Torah in 2015 after serving as Rabbi/Educator at Temple Beth Avodah. She received a BA in Religion and Jewish Studies from Boston University. Following rabbinic ordination from HUC-JIR in Cincinnati, she went on to serve at a number of Reform congregations. In addition to her synagogue work, Rabbi Eiduson was an adjunct faculty member at Xavier University and at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She received a Doctorate of Education with a concentration in Organizational Leadership Studies from the College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University in 2019. Her dissertation, Shared Spiritual Leadership in a Reform Synagogue Setting: An Instrumental Case Study, investigated the sharing of spiritual leadership by a congregational rabbi and a professional staff team at that synagogue.
Rev. Desiree Lawson, senior pastor at Presbyterian Church in Sudbury, earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Cambridge College and a Master of Divinity from Andover Newton Theological School. She is a bible-based preacher and has served as a teacher, workshop facilitator, and worship leader at various conferences and retreats in the PCUSA and beyond. Reverend Lawson was the first installed pastor of Trinity United Presbyterian Church in Flint, Michigan in 2011.