Pride Shabbat

PRIDE Shabbat 2026

Friday, June 5

We are so excited to announce that GJC’s Friday Night PRIDE event will be outside on GJC’s front lawn again this year! We’ll have booths with opportunities to advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and show your pride, a yummy potluck dinner, and a Kabbalat Shabbat service with Rabbi Maria Pulzetti and friends. Read on for more…

5:00-6:00 PM: Booths & Potluck Dinner

Click here to sign up for the potluck!

Come join the fun starting at 5 PM, and bring a yummy dish to share. We’ll enjoy a potluck dinner together outside, so feel free to bring a blanket or two. All dishes should be pareve-only. While you munch on good food and spend time with friends, you can explore the following activity booths:

  • Pride Swag & Photo Booth
  • Bead Bracelets & Temporary Tattoos
  • Postcard-writing Advocacy Opportunity

To sign up for the potluck, please click here. Please be aware that this potluck is outdoors and weather-dependent. We ask that you prepare something you wouldn’t mind leaving at home if we need to move PRIDE inside. We’ll send an email out on Friday morning to the whole community either way!

​​​​​​​6:00-6:45 PM: Kabbalat Shabbat & Singing

Join Rabbi Maria Pulzetti, Chana Rothman, and returning drag superstars Eric Jaffe & Henlo Bullfrog for a joyful, song-filled Kabbalat Shabbat service. We’ll celebrate who we are, who we love, and who loves us. The story of who we are as a community and world is filled with beautiful diversity, and Shabbat is a taste of the world to come – a model for openness, out-ness, and acceptance. Through songs and prayers, we come together to share in this hopeful feeling. Let’s welcome in Shabbat and imagine a world where we can all present as we wish, expressing our authentic selves and becoming bright lights of change in our communities. Kaddish will be said.

  • Welcome Medley:  Hinei Mah Tov, Bim Bam, Shabbat is Here, Rainbow Train
  • Shalom Aleichem
  • L’cha Dodi featuring Drag Queen Eric Jaffe
  • Ma’ariv Aravim: Roll into Dark featuring Drag King Henlo Bullfrog
  • Sh’ma
  • Amidah: Silent Prayer & A Better Way
  • Mourner’s Kaddish
  • Hinei Mah Tov
  • Bim Bam featuring Eric Jaffe & Henlo Bullfrog

After the service, stick around for special drag numbers from Eric Jaffe and Henlo Bullfrog!

Saturday, June 14

10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Charry & Dorshei Derekh Combined Service

Please join us in the Charry Sanctuary for a combined Charry and Dorshei Derekh Shabbat service, led by our LGBT friends and allies. Then Minyan Masorti will join for our D’var Torah. We have the pleasure of learning from Daniela Gerson, author of the new book The Wanderers. After the service, we will gather for a celebratory kiddush!

7:30-9:30 PM: LGBTQIA+ Community Gathering & Havdalah

Megan and Paige GoldMarche invite LGBTQ-identified members of the GJC community to their home for an informal gathering and Havdalah. This is a chance to connect with others in the GJC LGBTQIA+ community, across ages and GJC affiliations. Teens are welcome, but please note that due to the timing, this event is not geared toward pre-B’nei Mitzvah children. We’ll schmooze and enjoy light snacks, and end with Havdalah at 9:15.

Please bring a vegetarian snack or drink to share!

Location: near Carpenter Train Station; RSVP to Megan GoldMarche for exact address.

“Most weeks, it’s a struggle to get my teenage daughter to attend services with me.  But on Pride Shabbat (both Friday night and Saturday morning), she impatiently left home before I did to get there early, and determinedly stayed at shul after I went home.  The gorgeous, playful, creative setting with rainbow balloons, unicorn headbands, affirming lawn signs, and a rainbow of desserts puts everyone in a festive and unified mood.  But because this is Germantown Jewish Centre, Pride Shabbat isn’t just a party — it’s also about praying, singing, and learning together.  There is a soulful Friday night service and exciting text study…  Pride Shabbat makes me and my family feel both safe and challenged.  We feel assured that GJC is a welcoming home for us and other LGBT+ families, and we are also pushed to expand our understanding of traditional texts, liturgy, and gender to appreciate and multiply the diversity that has always existed within the Jewish community.  We are looking forward to next year’s celebration!” (Alexandra Volin Avelin)

Pride Shabbat D’vrei Torah

From GJC Teens

 

Want to get involved in planning Friday Night PRIDE and Pride Shabbat? Do you have an idea for an LGBTQ program or a speaker you would like to hear? Would you share your journey with GJC on our stories page? Email Jared Jacobson at program@germantownjewishcentre.org.

Download Pride backgrounds for your Zoom meetings here!