Trips and Conferences
Civil Rights Journey
WRJ’s Civil Rights Journey was our organization’s first of its kind. In October 2022, nearly 90 women traveled from across North America to the Deep South to learn about the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s and its lasting impact.
These women also learned how to better advocate for and advance racial equality in our current society. They visited historical landmarks, museums, and memorials in Atlanta, Georgia, and Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, Alabama. Each place represented different milestones or paid tribute to various leaders from the Civil Rights Movement.
Some other highlights included walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, meeting with leaders and activists Bishop Calvin Woods, Jr. and Joanne Bland, and attending a Sunday service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. Some participants returned home and shared their experiences from this trip with their congregations and communities, to spread the lessons they learned and empower others to fight for equality for everyone.
Check out our CRJ recap video for more highlights!
Israel Mission Trip
Right before WRJ halted in-person activities due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, we gathered in Israel to deepen
our spirituality and our connection to the Holy Land
from February 20-28, 2020. Trip highlights included
special guest Rabbi Lisa Silverstein leading Shabbat
services, touring ANU-Museum of the Jewish People,
and taking a graffiti tour revealing an urban, modern, progressive response to societal issues in Tel Aviv.
We had the opportunity to learn about
the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ)
from Rabbi Daniel Freelander, former WUPJ president,
and from many other Reform leaders and educators. WRJ embarked on another trip to Israel in May 2023.
Join Us at the Fried Women's Conference
in 2024
The Fried Women’s Conference (FWC) is WRJ’s flagship event to deepen connections with other sisterhoods, women's groups, and WRJ at large. As the ongoing concerns about in-person gatherings rose in early 2020 due to COVID-19, the conference pivoted and ran virtually on May 1 that year, hosting 800 women throughout the day. In 2021, the conference platform remained virtual and ran from March 12-14, with over 750 women registered for the multiday event. We are excited to return to our in-person event in May of 2024 in New Orleans, LA, and are thrilled to share our new conference logo:
