Renee Karp is a woman of faith. In fact, she has dedicated her life to helping others deepen their faith at Temple Emanu-El. She has spent the past 32 years implementing educational programs there, and now after what she calls “an amazing journey,” Karp is retiring — but that doesn’t mean she’s slowing down.
Can you tell us about the work you’ve done at Temple Emanu-El?
I have been the temple’s youth director and program director. I have basically been in charge of implementing educational programs for the temple. All of these programs are important because they give us an opportunity to demonstrate our values. Anytime we have one of these programs, it allows our congregants to go deeper with their knowledge of Judaism.
One of the programs you founded was geared toward interfaith families. Can you tell us about that?
In 1991, I started a class that teaches the basics of Judaism. It’s mostly for people who are dating a Jewish person and want to know more about their religion — or for people who are marrying a Jewish person and want to know what to expect once they join a Jewish family. In this class, we talk about all the issues that come with interfaith marriages.
What are some of those issues? And how do families work through them?
Negotiating how holidays are celebrated is a big issue I see over and over. Interfaith couples have to decide which religious holidays they’ll observe in their homes and how they’ll be celebrated. And if they are parents, they also need to negotiate their children’s religious identities and agree on how they are going to explain religion to their kids. Like any marriage, interfaith marriages must be built on negotiation and respect. I think families can work through any issues that come with interfaith life as long as there’s enough compromise and respect there.
After working with interfaith families for more than 15 years, have you seen growing demand for programs like this?
Yes, definitely. The numbers of interfaith families here are rising. There’s no doubt that more and more Jewish people will enter interfaith marriage. Religious boundaries are blurring, and we’re becoming a more diverse society, so there will continue to be more interfaith families. It’s the nature of progress, I suppose. There are lots of interfaith families out there trying to figure it out on their own, and it’s hard, so there’s a real need for some support there.
Now that you’re retiring, will you still work with interfaith families?
Yes, I’m going to stay involved with portions of the interfaith program here at the temple, and I’m going to start doing community outreach as well. I just received a grant from the Jewish Outreach Institute, which I’ll be using to work with a program called Mother’s Circle. This program is for non-Jewish women who are married to Jewish men and raising Jewish children. I’m excited to start helping because I know there’s a great need for this service in our community.
The Mother’s Circle program meets twice a week at the Jewish Community Center, 7900 Northaven, and is free to anyone interested. For information about the Mother’s Circle program, call 214.676.7405.
