Evening of Roses
The Sister Rose Thering Fund would like to thank our Founders, Cantor Perry Fine, Daniel Mendelsohn and all who so generously supported our Evening of Roses 30th anniversary Gala and our celebration of Sister Rose’s Legacy and the mission of the Fund in her name. View the 2024 ad journal »
About the Evening of Roses
"I know the power of teachers. It is my deepest wish that teachers in our public and parochial schools, with scholarship assistance, will be able to enroll in Jewish-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University to stem the tide of ignorance in our schools and in society." — Sister Rose Thering, O.P., Ph.D.
Interim President Mary J. Meehan at the 2019 Evening of Roses with (L to R) featured speakers the Most Reverend Roberto Octavio González Nieves and Elisha Wiesel, along with honorees David M. Bossman and Deborah Lerner Duane.
The Evening of Roses is the major fund raising vehicle for the Sister Rose Thering Fund for Jewish-Christian Studies. Its aim is to promote the Fund's work by honoring outstanding scholars in the field of Jewish-Christian relations and conferring honorary Doctor of Humane Letters as well as Humanitarian of the Year awards upon individuals who have demonstrated outstanding compassion, altruism, and courage in various endeavors. Honorary degrees have been bestowed upon Professor Elie Wiesel, Cynthia Ozick, Sister Rose Thering, Judith H. Banki and Sir Martin Gilbert, Nechama Tec, Theodore Bikel and Dr. Eugene Fisher.
Students perform an original staging of "Brundibar" at the 2011 Evening of Roses.
Each Evening of Roses event has attracted between 300-500 attendees whose participation and financial support have been rewarded by an outstanding program followed by a reception. Honored guests offer to sign copies of their most recent publications or serenade all with a song, such as our friend Theodore Bikel has done.
Evening of Roses 2023 Celebration
The Sister Rose Thering Fund would like to thank all our sponsors for a wonderful Evening of Roses 2023 and a celebration of all Sister Rose meant and accomplished. A special thank you to Rabbi Noam Marans and Rev. Msgr. C. Anthony Ziccardi, our honorees and keynote speakers, and our Board of Trustees for their dedication and devotion to forming a culture of upstanders who seek a better world without antisemitism and bigotry.Click here to view the 2023 ad journal »
Evening of Roses Programs and Honorees
- 2024: Honoring Daniel Mendelsohn, author of the international bestseller The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, Cantor Perry S. Fine of Temple Beth Shalom (Livingston, New Jersey) and the Founding Supporters of the Sister Rose Thering Fund
- 2023: Honoring Rabbi Noam Marans, American Jewish Committee's Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations and Rev. Msgr. C. Anthony Ziccardi, Coordinator For Undergraduate Admissions and Retention and Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies.
- 2022: Honoring Oren Jacoby, director of the Oscar-nominated documentary Sister Rose's Passion
- 2021: Honoring the Curt C. and Else Silberman Foundation and philanthropist, Gene Hoffman, D.S.
- 2019: Deborah Lerner Duane, Chairman Emerita, and David Bossman, Ph.D., Retiring Executive Director
- 2018: Honoring Darrell K. Terry, Sr., and Marilyn Rosenbaum
- 2017: Honoring Father Lawrence Frizzell, Luna Kaufman, Pearl Randall Lehrhoff and Hattie Segal
- 2016: Honoring the memory of Women of Valor Sister Rose Thering and beloved Trustees Ellin Cohen and Mary Vazquez; retiring SRTF administrator Marilyn L. Zirl was also honored; featured speaker: writer activist Devorah Halberstam
- 2015: Humanitarians of the Year: Carolyn Dorfman, child of survivors and director of the Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company; Tom Dugan, actor/author of the off-Broadway production of "Wiesenthal"
- 2014: Honoring 30 of the Fund's founders
- 2013: Honoring Dr. Paul Winkler, executive director of the NJ Commission for Holocaust Education, plus musical program by Newark Boys Chorus.
- 2012: Remembering Raoul, a dramatic presentation honoring the late Raoul Wallenberg on his 100th birthday.
- 2011: New Jersey premier of the children's opera "Brundibar"
- 2010: Humanitarian of the Year: Joshua Bell; Featured Musician: Kevin Maynor, bass
- 2009: Humanitarians of the Year: Maud Dahme and Irena Sendler (posthumously); Featured Speaker: Senator Richard T. Codey
- 2008: Humanitarians of the Year: Pearl Randall Lehrhoff and Seymour Lehrhoff; Featured Speaker: Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz
- 2007: Sister Rose Thering Award for Exemplary Leadership: Monsignor Robert Sheeran; Featured Speaker: Hon. Brendan Byrne
- 2006: Humanitarians of the Year: Karan and Kenneth Oleckna and Toby and Lee Cooperman
- 2005: Premiere of Sister Rose's Passion; Humanitarians of the Year: Sylvia and David Steiner
- 2004: Honorary Doctorate: Dr. Eugene Fisher; Humanitarians of the year: Blu Greenberg and Dr. Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral E Abranches (posthumously)
- 2003: Honorary Doctorates: Dr. Nechama Tec and Theodore Bikel; Humanitarians of the Year: David and Julia Altholz and Dr. David Bossman
- 2002: Honorary Doctorate: Sir Martin Gilbert; Humanitarians of the Year: Rev. John F. Morley and Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf
- 2001: Honorary Doctorate: Judith Banki; Humanitarians of the Year: Nicholas and Margaret Pogany and family and Anneke Burke-Kooistra
- 2000: Honorary Doctorate: Sister Rose Thering; Sister Rose Thering's 80th birthday and 60th anniversary as a religious Sister; Humanitarians of the Year: Archbishop Peter L. Gerety and Luna Kaufman
- 1999: Honorary Doctorate: Cynthia Ozick, Humanitarians of the Year: Rabbi Israel Singer and Christophe Meili
- 1998: Honorary Doctorate: Prof. Elie Wiesel; Humanitarians of the Year: Eva Fleischer and Murray Laulicht, Esq.
- 1997: Humanitarians of the Year: Rev. Edward F. Flannery and Abraham Foxman
- 1996: Play by Herb Shapiro, "A Journey through Sister Rose's Life"
- 1995: Sister Rose Thering's 75th birthday and reception in honor of Rabbi Jehiel and Sylvia Orenstein
- 1994: Musical Tribute by Theodore Bikel with Barry Farber as M.C.
- 1992: Sister Rose Thering's 72nd birthday and honors to Drs. Charles and Gloria Steiner
- 1990: Sister Rose Thering's 70th birthday