
In 2009, Rabbi Jonathan Roos was a fellow in Chautauqua Institution’s Interfaith New Clergy Program; the experience “had a lasting impact on my theological development and understanding of interfaith relationships and engagement.”
“Where else can a rabbi attend an ecumenical Christian Amphitheater service in the morning, a lecture and conversation with an Episcopalian refugee resettlement activist who spent his career saving people from death squads in Central America through the turbulent 1980s, the afternoon at Vespers, and the evening in scriptural study, all punctuated by a walk along the lake, an ice cream on Bestor Plaza, and a concert? What a place,” said Roos, now senior rabbi of Temple Sinai in Washington D.C.
Roos is returning to Chautauqua as chaplain-in-residence for Week Six, and he’s grateful, eager and honored to come back “to preach and worship with the unique Chautauqua community once again.”
Roos will preach at the 10:45 a.m. Sunday morning worship service in the Amphitheater. His sermon title is “Get in the Boat: A Post-October 7th Theology of Relationships,” and the scripture readings are Leviticus 19: 15-18 and John 6:16-21.
He will also preach at the 9:15 a.m. morning worship services Monday through Friday in the Amphitheater.
His sermon titles include: “Holiday Wheat Money Gets The Best Bread (For Helping Others),” “Form Follows Function: The How, Why, And When To Master The Water,” “You’re Out Of Order: The Gratitude and Blessings For Our Bounty,” “Waste Not And Clean Up Your Mess” and “The Solitary Strength And Extra Soul Of The Sabbath.”
Roos, who was ordained at Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion in 2002, was just seven years into his rabbinate when he participated in the New Clergy Program. It was, he said, a highlight of his early years as a rabbi.
“I was fortunate to be one of the first guests ever to stay at the Everett Jewish Life Center as the final touches were being completed before its dedication,” he said. “I recall the sense of love, unity and optimism among all Chautauquans as we reflected on the significance of that event in the Institution’s history. The memory of that time lifts my spirits from the current state of worrisome antisemitism levels and frayed relations both within and outside the Jewish community.”
While on the grounds, Roos said he made connections with faith leaders across denominations, who turned into trusted partners in the years to come, and he found himself “inspired and strengthened” by the concern shown for “the well-being of clergy in general, and the newly ordained clergy of my cohort, especially.”
He left “overflowing with new ideas, expanded understandings,” and a broader skill set for both his personal and professional life.
“One of the guest scholars from that week specialized in the Gnostic Gospels,” he remembered, “which was entirely new to me and, though I’m not a Christian, precipitated for me further study and discernment of my own theology and my relationship to sacred texts. One of the ministers who spent his whole summer at Chautauqua taught us practical strategies for preparing a year’s worth of sermons.”
A member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Roos previously served congregations in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, and Albany, New York. With a belief that being part of the congregation should change a person’s life, he strives to make a difference through teaching and learning with students of all ages, audacious social justice work, pastoral care and meaningful worship. Currently a member of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s Clergy Leadership Program and is learning to sing, meditate, and bring a more mindful and embodied joy to worship and his own spiritual practice.
Returning to Chautauqua also means spending time with longtime mentor, Rabbi Sam Stahl — “I was blessed to be able to spend that week (in 2009)” in Stahl’s company, he said. “Fifteen years later, I still feel grateful for the experience of diving deeply into different religious practices and expressions of faith.”