Great Wall Institute: The Process of the Great Wall of Los AngelesMain MenuResearch of the DecadesResearch1960s Illustration DevelopmentIllustration DevelopmentPlaylists of the DecadesPlaylistssparcinla.org185fc5b2219f38c7b63f42d87efaf997127ba4fcGreat Wall Institute - Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC)
1972 BCC The Tolerant Temple 1
1media/Screen Shot 2023-04-01 at 3.59.24 PM_thumb.png2023-04-01T23:00:07+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a4911The founding of the Beth Chayim Chadashim occurred on April 4, 1972, when four Jews were attending a weekly rap group at Metropolitan Community Church in Los Angeles. Those present that evening were Jerry Small z”l, Jerry Gordon z”l, Selma Kay z”l, and Bob Zalkin. When Small expressed unhappiness with a church policy, he was asked why he didn’t simply object, and he said he wasn’t a church member. They quickly discovered none of them were members because all were Jewish. “We could not vote unless we accepted Christ—and that wasn’t going to happen. Then someone said maybe we should form a gay temple.” They then set out to translate their unprecedented vision into reality. They dared to dream of creating a safe place where they could affirm and integrate their identities as lesbians, gay men and Jews.plain2023-04-01T23:00:07+00:001972Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49