Member Spotlight: MACoM

by Savannah Lipinski, Rising Tide Intern

The Metro Atlanta Community Mikvah, better known as MACoM, is a mikveh initiative in Atlanta, Georgia which emerged about nine years ago. At that time, Atlanta had one mikveh outside the Orthodox community associated with a Conservative synagogue which was in dire need of repairs. The rabbi at the synagogue saw that the community needed a mikveh for everyone, not one that belonged to any congregation. He worked with other rabbis from the community to bring MACoM to life, including a consultation and visit with Mayyim Hayyim, before the Rising Tide Network was born. MACoM will celebrate their seventh anniversary this year. To celebrate, they will be kicking off their spring events campaign, “Seven Years of Kavanot,” which will consist of seven different events beginning with Havdalah on February 25th and lasting until June.  

MACoM is unique in the partnerships they have built within the Jewish community of Atlanta. They work with organizations like the Atlanta Jews of Color Council, Sojourn – the Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity, the Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta, and Jewish Family and Career Services to offer joint programs and unique ritual experiences to diverse members of the Jewish community. They have used these partnerships to welcome community members who are going through healing from abuse and mental illness for renewing mikveh rituals, as well as offering fertility programs and caregiver support groups. These partnerships have led to all kinds of initiatives with community organizations as well as helped MACoM stay connected with the larger Jewish community of Atlanta. Jocelyn Schorvitz, the Executive Director of MACoM, is looking forward to getting back to some of her pre-COVID initiatives and building more of these relationships with the Jewish community of Atlanta. 

MACoM is one of the founding members of the Rising Tide Network, and served as the host site of the 2019 Rising Tide Gathering that took place in Atlanta. At the time of this event, Jocelyn was new to her role with MACoM, and she recalls this experience being a wonderful way to “dive in” to the work of the open mikveh movement. It offered the opportunity to get to know people and organizations connected to the Rising Tide Network and get to know the ideas which inform the work of the open mikveh movement.  

Now that MACoM is seven years old, they have a new perspective on their role in the Rising Tide Network and the open mikveh movement. As one of the older mikva’ot in the Network, they are positioned to be role models to newer mikva’ot who are learning how to use the tools provided by Mayyim Hayyim and Rising Tide and apply them to their own communities. Jocelyn feels like MACoM is settling into their unique identity built on the foundation provided by the Rising Tide Network but adapted to the needs and insights of their own community. They are excited to continue growing and developing based on the forum they have established where community members can feel empowered to ask questions, share insight, and work toward answers. MACoM understands the unique service they provide for the Jewish community of Atlanta and look forward to continuing to build relationships and grow their impact in the years to come.  

Learn more and connect with MACoM at www.macomatlanta.com