All those moments and more aside, Lesser cites guiding Congregation Bet Haverimâs young people among his proudest moments.
âSupporting our children to find their authentic expression and create a model of Judaism that is loving, compassionate, and challenges the gatekeeping norms that too many congregations still adopt,â Lesser said.
Lesser took some time to reflect on his time at CBH, how times have changed since he started, and his visions for the future for himself, the congregation and LGBTQ Atlanta.
What made now the time for you to step away from your role at CBH?
I have been discerning what was next for me. CBH has always been a place that has supported my reinvention of the rabbinate.
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When the Georgia legislature gaveled into its 2021 session on Monday at the Gold Dome, a record number of LGBTQ lawmakers swore their oaths with promises to put queer issues on the stateâs agenda.
Three of them help set the agenda in a live conversation last week.
âWe are going to be fighting to make progress on every single one of these issues, because LGBTQ Georgians are Georgians,â said state Rep. Sam Park (photo, top right), who became the stateâs first gay male and first Asian state legislator in 2017 and is returning for his third term.
U.S. Senate candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff
With just days remaining in two critical runoffs for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, an unprecedented effort is unfolding to turn out LGBTQ and progressive voters for the two candidates embracing equality issues.
On Wednesday, Q Conversations talks with advocates on the front lines about Georgia Equality’s $1.2 million plan to mobilize 650,000 voters, Fair Fight’s efforts to encourage LGBTQ voter participation, why the races are so important for equality issues and the large number of LGBTQ people involved in the campaigns of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. The final day of voting in the Senate runoffs is Jan. 5.
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When I moved to Atlanta two decades ago from Houston’s gay newspaper to Atlanta’s Southern Voice, I was floored by the depth and breadth of LGBTQ options in every aspect of queer culture.
Atlanta had not just a few but several sports leagues featuring dozens of teams. There were three youth advocacy groups, several inclusive theaters, plus a heaping handful of gay religious congregations, book stores and political action groups. We enjoyed not just generic gay bars, but ones making intentional space for lesbians, hipsters, Latinx and Black folks and more.
It’s easy to forget how lucky we are in LGBTQ Atlanta. For all our remaining struggles toward equality and hurdles to jump, there are privileges to living out and proud here that too many residents take for granted.