POWER Interfaith

Mishkan Shalom is a founding and active member of POWER, a multi-faith movement that focuses on statewide and local issues of racial and economic justice in Pennsylvania.

POWER is composed of more than fifty faith communities across Southeast and Central Pennsylvania, bringing together thousands of people across lines of race, class, neighborhood, faith tradition, and other differences which have kept us divided. POWER’s racial and economic justice work is organized through its five campaigns: Live Free for Criminal Justice Reform, Economic Dignity, Climate Justice and Jobs, Education Justice, and Civic Engagement.

Many Mishkan members have taken leadership roles and participated in these campaigns by, for example:

• Successfully collaborating with environmental and justice groups to shut down the biggest gas refinery on the east coast,
• Successfully lobbying City Council to limit the use of cash bail for several low-level offenses,
• Lobbying Philadelphia’s City Council to establish a Public Bank to extend low-interest credit to the historically disenfranchised to invest in businesses, local communities, and schools,
• Engaging thousands of voters to participate in the 2020 elections through voter registration and education, and
• Launching a Full Fair Funding Campaign to call to attention to the racial disparity and inequity in the state’s education funding.

There many, many ways to get involved. We invite you to join us in this important work. See a video that describes our work in POWER here

For more information, contact Sharon Weinman, sharoncweinman@gmail.com or 215-603-0501, or Rabbi Shawn Zevit at rabbishawn@mishkan.org

POWER Shabbat: (click to see video) Rabbi Shawn Zevit is joined by Bishop Dwayne Royster, Exec Dir of POWER State-wide, Pastor Nicholas O'Rourke (Living Waters), Reverend Linda Noonan (Chestnut Hill United), Rabbi May Ye (RRC), and numerous Mishkan Shalom leaders who share their sense of calling to this sacred work, and to honor the work of so many in the congregation and in our multi-faith justice POWER network who have worked tireless for social, racial and climate justice issues.

Faith, Comfort Healing and Hope: POWER Rev Garcia Livingston and Rabbi Zevit: On behalf of POWER Interfaith, PA - Rabbi Zevit of Mishkan Shalom and the Faith Leader's Caucus of Philadelphia and Reverend Garcia Livingston of POWER Lehigh Valley clergy caucus offer prayers of faith, comfort, healing and hope as we mark one year of millions of lives lost and the impact on our lives due to COVID-19.

The Eric Ward conversation: Sponsored by Germantown Jewish Center and Mishkan Shalom - a dynamic and thought-provoking talk about the intersection of Racism, Anti-Semitism within White Supremacy. 

Towards a Mishkan Shalom Living Diverse Identities, in Jewish Community Today: Racial justice and living multiple identities in Jewish Community - a case study with Rabbi Shawn Zevit, David Love, Julia Weekes, and Judah Weekes.