Queer Shabbat is back! Bring a favorite vegetarian dish to share and join other Keshet members for a relaxed Friday night meal.

Details:
Friday, January 23, 7:00-9:00 pm
At a Keshet member's home, Brookline, MA, 02445

RSVP by Tuesday, January 20 for address to Elyssa at or 617-524-9227.

Keshet works for the full inclusion of GLBT Jews in Jewish life. [http://www.keshetonline.org]

Riggs reports on a crazed Christian trying to win Jews over to her side outside Temple Ohabei Shalom on Beacon Street the other day:

"Do you know about our Lord, Jesus Christ, Saviour of the nations?"

Er ....... I'm all set, thanks. She doesn't give up so easily. My mouth says no, her ears hear GO! I keep walking, a bit faster now since she's physically touching my jacket. Her crazed eyes bugging out and peeping at me as she preaches.

Oh, and she preaches. On and on and on. Proselytizing about how Jews need to watch for the sign she's giving, how washing in the water by the blood of the Lamb will sanctify my spirit and open my eyes to the wisdom of the scriptures and redemption given to me if I submit my heart to the glory of the resurrection. ...

Oh, they do, they do. Overmatter reports on a full-bore rantfest at the Friends Meeting of Cambridge:

... Today a very sweet old lady stood up in the balcony to say how she had been comforted this morning by a simple bumper sticker that said something like, "Relax. Smile. God is in charge." And of course, a room full of Quaker Cantabridgians wasn't going to let THAT lie. Sure enough, a woman in expensive clothes stood up immediately and rattled off the first paragraph of every bad story on the front page of the Times today.....which led to lots of angry ranting about Israel, Israelis, and the media. ...

To find the Baby Jesus that Brookline Police report was stolen sometime over the weekend from a nativity scene at St. Mary of the Assumption Church.

Apparently, that's become an issue in downtown Framingham.

No more Spiritual Life by Rich Barlow - see note at the end of today's column.

Michael Paulson reports on a wedding yesterday at the now cracked Old South Church - it went just fine, only with a piano instead of an organ (since the organ might have caused plaster to fall on people's heads).

Paulsen also provides a copy of an e-mail message from Rev. Nancy Taylor on short-term fixes and more permanent solutions, all of which will be paid for by the MBTA (including the hiring of organ and stained-glass consultants).

Earlier:
The breaking news at Old South.

Alecia Batson reports on a crack that starts at the foundation, goes at least 30 feet up and is large enough at some points to put your hand in. And it's on the Dartmouth Street side, right where the MBTA is doing its never-ending Copley work, which is why she's written an open letter to the T (speaking for herself, not the church) asking what it's going to do about it:

... The organ should not be played, now, as it could prompt large portions of the plaster to fall. This directly affects the Boston Secession concert that will take place there tomorrow evening, Friday, 5 December 2008, as the concert makes use of the organ. Will my friends' concert take place? We do not yet know. Tomorrow, structural engineers will determine if the sanctuary is even safe for habitation. Will church services take place this coming Sunday? Only time will tell. ...

The Striar Jewish Community Center in Stoughton is becoming a branch of the Old Colony YMCA.

Michael Paulson asks some members of the local clergy: Why be thankful when times are tough?