August – Conversation Starters

Click on the Conversation to download it as a separate document, with questions.

Conversation 1
Lesbian families, unlike ‘straight’ families, still have to be accepted.

Conversation 2
Most people ask without malice but fail to consider the judgment couched in their question that a family without a woman is not really a family at all.

Conversation 3
I would constantly explain that I could not attend evening committee meetings or adult-only programs because I did not have a spouse who could stay at home. When it was suggested that I find a babysitter, I would be in the awkward position of explaining that as a single-income family, babysitters were a treat reserved for special occasions…

Conversation 4
Unfortunately, too many people judge converts more critically, and there are numerous occasions where people have judged him either for not knowing something or, conversely, are surprised at his level of knowledge.

Conversation 5
People would often ask me if things were getting better [following the death of her husband]… We get better when we recover from an illness, but we do not recover after losing a partner who never comes back, as our health hopefully does.

Conversation 6
My friend Eleanor is a convert or my friend Eleanor is a Jew-by-choice

Conversation 7
When is she going to get married and settle down?

Conversation 8
…their Ethiopian grandchild…

Conversation 9
…Mommy and Me program/classes/clubs…

Conversation 10
Dessert Night Out: Bring your spouse, significant other or come alone and share your evening with other people in their 30’s, 40’s and early 50’s. Bring your favorite dessert to share or a bottle of wine…

Conversation 11
In the synagogue where I grew up, I was used to my rabbi and other congregants seeking out any newcomers and welcoming them, but I think that does not happen in synagogues any more.