Rabbi Susan Talve, the founding Rabbi of Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis, will give an Assembly Series lecture for the Assembly Series at 4 p.m. Feb. 12 in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge. Her talk will serve as the Rabbi Ferdinand Isserman Memorial Lecture.
Through her leadership in the Central Reform Congregation — the only Jewish congregation in the city of St. Louis — and her community outreach programs, Talve is working to improve relationships among groups and to improve conditions for those in need.
In addition to performing life-cycle events and leading worship services for the 700 households in the congregation, she teaches Jewish and non-Jewish youths and adults courses on Jewish life and thought.
She has forged a relationship with the largely African-American congregation of Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church to develop many socially responsible projects. These include conducting joint services commemorating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and a public-school mentoring program that has won national acclaim as a positive response to racism and violence.
She helped found and continues to lead a group at St. Louis Children’s Hospital for families of children with congenital heart defects.
Active in a range of social justice programs and organizations in the community, Talve has served in a leadership role for Missourians for Freedom and Justice.
Assembly Series talks are free and open to the public. For more information, call 935-4620 or go online to wupa.wustl.edu/assembly.