6:00 pm Summer Shabbat Service
7:00 pm Dinner
7:30 - 8:30 pm Schloss Summer Lecture

As summer heats up, so does the debate on how to respond to our nation's ten million undocumented workers upon whom we depend. The issues are immense, the solutions complex and the opportunities for divisiveness in discourse great. Join us for an evening of lively dialogue and increased understanding.

This year's program has been planned by the Myers Park Baptist Church/Temple Beth El Dialogue Committee; therefore, Rabbi Schindler and Dr. Steve Shoemaker, Pastor of Myers Park Baptist Church, will open the program with Summer Shabbat services infused with reflections on the moral imperative of welcoming the stranger.

Following services, Dr. Heather Smith, Associate Professor and Director of the Urban Studies Minor at UNC Charlotte, will headline the dinner program. Dr. Smith has done research on the implications of Hispanic "hyper-growth" in Charlotte and the broader U.S. South. Dr. Smith will share her perspective on what's good about immigration and what is wrong with the present system.

The Schloss Lecture will then feature two experts offering differing perspectives on the right response to the current Congressional debate. The first will be Steve Garfinkel, a Beth El member with more than 25 years of immigration law experience. Garfinkel has served on the National Board of Directors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). The second panelist will be WBT Radio Talk Show Host Pete Kaliner who has worked for WBT Radio News since 1999 and has won numerous awards for his reporting.

The program will be moderated by Moira Quinn Klein, President of Temple Beth El and Senior VP and Chief Operating Officer of Charlotte Center City Partners, and will conclude with the faith perspectives of Rabbi Schindler and Dr. Shoemaker.

This annual summer lecture was established five years ago by Marc and Mattye Silverman in memory of Marc's uncle, Simeon Archibald "Happy" Schloss, Jr. Happy was a passionate, original founder of Temple Beth El, and a treasurer. Reservations for dinner ($10/person) can be made at 704-749-3070 or www.beth-el.com/RSVP. For more information, please contact Sue Hummel at 704-749-3054 or shummel@beth-el.com.