Humanist congregation marks 15th anniversary

The Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Morris County celebrated its 15-year anniversary by presenting its Humanist Award to Rosemary Gilmartin, executive director of the Interfaith Food Pantry in Morris Plains.

During the March 22 celebration at the Vine Restaurant in Basking Ridge, CHJMC president Craig Schlusberg presented Gilmartin with a $500 contribution to the food pantry on behalf of the congregation.

The pantry, founded in 1994 by four local houses of worship, distributed 893,000 pounds of food to over 10,000 people last year. CHJMC runs a High Holy Day food collection on its behalf.

The congregation, affiliated with the Society for Humanistic Judaism (shj.org), emphasizes Jewish culture and history for secular and non-theistic Jews. It holds Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot services as well as a Passover seder and parties for Purim and Hanukka. Its activities include social action and adult education programs. Its Sunday school, with more than 30 students, meets at the Gottesman RTW Academy (Hebrew Academy of Morris County) in Randolph.

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