Membership Month: How Angela Found Space for Complexities and Questions at BWC
Dear BWC Community,
Boston Workers Circle drew me and my family in only a few years ago, through the gateway of Shule. At the time, I was looking for an introduction to Jewish values and tradition for my children, but I really had no idea what depths of meaning I would eventually find through BWC.
As a transplant to Boston, I had been searching for a Jewish community for a few years already, and while I had tried out a few synagogues, none of them felt quite right. My traditional Reform upbringing offered me a framework of familiarity, while various synagogues I’d attended in early adulthood had begun to open my mind to a more radical and progressive way of living Jewishly.
In 2022, I had just had my second baby, and my elder daughter was entering K1. BWC’s Shule program presented a community of families similarly navigating their Jewish and non-Jewish identities, a wide array of practices and traditions, and the desire for allyship and solidarity in an increasingly fragmented society. I appreciated the Shule community for grappling with the deepest questions of moral rightness as we reconciled our day-to-day lives with core Jewish principles of justice and generosity.
In just a few years of membership, I’ve had the privilege to serve on the Shule committee, where I have supported increasingly ambitious fundraising efforts to make our educational offerings both self-sustaining and best-in-class. I have been an avid participant in Kumzits, a parent-led kibbitz that offers joyful connection as well as learning and opportunity for action. And I have joined the BWC Board, where I am so honored to contribute to our organizational goals and work collectively with brilliant members who represent every corner of our expansive community.
What I have discovered about BWC is that it is so much like the experience of parenting – the more love and honesty and effort I put in, the more it gives back, the more it builds me up, the more it changes me for the better.
BWC is the kind of place that challenges us to go deeper and welcomes us just as we are. It helps us connect to our roots and gives us the determination to usher in a world we can only dream of today.
In gratitude,
Angela Markle
Shule Parent & BWC Board Vice President
