Family Secrets, Memory, and Faith with Heidi B. Neumark

Date & Time:  Wed, Feb 7, 2024 at 7:00 - 8:30 PM ET

Location:  Zoom

Program:  My life changed forever when my daughter’s late-night online searching exposed a generation of family secrets. From a few computer keystrokes, I discovered my hidden Jewish heritage―and uncovered hundreds of questions: Did my grandfather really die in a concentration camp? How did I never know my grandmother was a death-camp survivor? Why had the family history and faith been rejected and hidden? I will share the many paths I took to discover the details of my history and to see how it impacted my identity and work as a Lutheran pastor in multi-ethnic, marginalized communities for 30 years without my knowing it.

Join me to discuss my journey of uncovering and reflecting upon my late-life discovery of Jewish roots chronicled in Hidden Inheritance: Family Secrets, Memory and Faith.  As a Lutheran pastor shocked to uncover my Jewish roots and successive family loss and trauma through the Holocaust, you are invited to consider how secrets, closeted identities and silence can shape your lives.

Speaker:   Heidi B. Neumark has served as the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church of Manhattan for 20 years until retiring last June. She is also a founder and executive director of Trinity Place Shelter for homeless LGBTQIA+ youth.  For nineteen years prior, Heidi was a pastor in the South Bronx and a founding member of a community organizing group that built low-cost homes and established a top-ranked public high school. These experiences led to her first book, Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx.

Registration:  All participants must register.  Members free.  Non-members $5.  A zoom link will be emailed to you the day before the program.  Registration ends at midnight on Tuesday, Feb 6th. 

A recording of this program will be available in the Member section of our website. For information on membership, click HERE.