There’s only one thing different about kids in foster care: Circumstances…

(Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)
Imagine…
Saturday morning services have ended at Temple Sinai and the congregation is gathered in the recreation room for lunch and socializing. The table is covered with bagels and cream cheese, as well as Ethiopian injera and sauces. The children are running around, playing cards, hiding behind the curtains on the small stage at the back, sneaking soda, and negotiating play dates.
Among the children are a dozen or so from orphanages in Addis Ababa. They are of the eight families of Temple Sinai who have adopted in the Second Nurture framework. Their parents had shared the adoption journey from the beginning: from learning about the orphan crisis to home studies and paperwork; matching with and traveling to bring their children home to on-going support of each other and the children via classes and discussion groups.
In clusters of conversation they watch their children play. They share meaningful glances that say it all: thank God they are here, with us, our children. Fellow congregants who are part of the new cohort of adopting parents – still in the home study stage — join them in a cluster, excited and nervous. They grasp the hands of their birth kids and say, “Soon your brother or sister will come home from Ethiopia, too!”
Many of their friends in the synagogue, adoptive families and not, are now involved in supporting sustainable technologies in a village outside Addis Ababa that enables mothers to pump and filter water at home, raising their children more healthfully and safely.
Tonight, Temple Sinai is holding an Open House for Second Nurture. The members are excited to welcome families from the Sikh Temple, since only Indians can adopt from the very high orphan population in India, as well as families from the nearby Unitarian church and the city’s community center.
This scene is supported and promoted by Second Nurture in dozens of religious and secular communities around the country.