Rabbi, Pastor hold joint classes in Dothan

With only a few dozen families to draw from, attendance at adult education classes at Dothan’s Temple Emanu-El can be sparse. In 1996, Rabbi Larry Mahrer got permission from the board to open classes to the entire Dothan area.

Two years later, he started teaching joint classes with Pastor Joe Johnson of Evergreen Presbyterian Church. Mahrer said about 600 individuals have attended their joint classes over the years.

On February 28, class with be “Impressions of Israel.” Johnson will have just returned from leading a tour group to Israel and he will share his thoughts. Some members of the tour are expected to attend the program and give their thoughts.

On March 7, the discussion will be Tikkun Olam, exploring social justice issues in Judaism and Christianity. Mahrer said, “We need to remember that we live most of our religious lives outside of our sanctuaries and we need to make our religious thoughts part of the way we live and for what we advocate.”

The March 14 and 21 classes will be about the structure of religion. “It has become evident that Jews and Christians have a very difficult time talking to each other and making themselves understood,” Mahrer said. “The attempts at such conversations, sometimes called dialogues, frequently lead to frustration and misunderstanding” because similar terms have vastly different meanings to the two faiths.

Those who want to register for the classes should call Emanu-El at 334/792.5001.