Or Emet’s Hanukkah Party is happening at Neighborhood House Wellstone Center 179 Robie St. East, St. Paul 55107 from 5:00-7:30 pm.

Party highlights include a light potluck meal featuring potato latkes along with Hanukkah blessings and candle-lighting with flame-free menorahs (fire regs prohibit fire). We’ll have dreidels, gelt, music, children’s activities, special entertainment by children in Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural School, and plenty of fun for everyone!

Attendees contribute to the potluck and are encouraged to help with the party. Space is limited and reservations are required from November 23 until December 6. If interested in attending, please send an email to potluck@oremet.org. Free parking in an attached ramp. For a map, click http://goo.gl/maps/5FfWz

Direct inquiries about Or Emet and/or membership to info@oremet.org.

Come early for Or Emet’s 11:00 am – 12:00 noon Sukkot celebration which includes a humanistic Sukkot service, readings, music, and food. Stop by the Or Emet Sukkot service and find out what we’re about, then stay for the rest of the day’s celebratory events.

After Or Emet’s celebration join the JCC’s Fall Festival from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm. This festival is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater St. Paul and the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. The JCC’s Fall Festival features music, children’s activities, food trucks, and tours of the remodeled St. Paul JCC. Representatives from a variety of Twin Cities Jewish organizations will staff informations booths.

During this special October weekend, Or Emet will be remembering our roots and celebrating our successes. We have been affiliated with the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ) for thirty years, Humanistic Judaism is celebrating fifty years, and we are delighted that Paul Golin, Executive Director of SHJ will be the featured speaker at several presentations and events. For nearly two decades, Paul Golin has helped Jewish organizations and movements better understand the key trends affecting North American Jewry, including intermarriage, engagement, disaffiliation, and inclusion.

While Paul is here, members will celebrate Or Emet’s 30^th anniversary with special recognitions for Dr. Harold Londer, Or Emet’s first Madrikh and co-founder, as well as Lionel Davis, pianist through 2011 and continuing as recorder soloist. Additional toasts will be offered to Or Emet volunteers in SHJ level positions and to our ritual leadership team.

Paul Golin will deliver three presentations that are free and open to all:

Thursday, October 11
How Do We Envision and Build a Thriving Humanistic/Secular Future  7:00 pm First Unitarian Society, Minneapolis

Polls show an increasing percentage of Americans leaving traditional religion. So why does it feel like our nation is becoming a religious theocracy? The fundamentalists have a clear vision for a “Christian America.” What is our vision for a positive secular society? Join a panel of leaders for an interactive conversation exploring visions of a future in which many more Americans will identify as humanistic/secular/ freethinker/ atheist/agnostic/none. 

Panelists Moderator: Paul Golin; Rev. David Breeden, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis ; Audrey Kingstrom, President, Humanists of Minnesota; Eva Cohen, Ritual Leader and Rabbinic Candidate, Or Emet: MN Congregation for Humanistic Judaism

Friday, October 12

Religion Out of Government! Jews for a Secular Democracy   7:30 pm Sabes Jewish Community Center, St. Louis Park

The surest safeguard of all U.S. citizens’ rights is a government neutral to religion including those with no religion. Jews have a unique role in this effort. Jews for a Secular Democracy is a new, pluralistic initiative for Jews, friends and family, who are deeply concerned about the growing influence of religious fundamentalism on government policy-making. 

Moderator: Paul Golin, program lead on Jews for a Secular Democracy; Panelist: David Schultz, constitutional lawyer and Professor, Department of Political Science, Hamline University 

They will discuss the unique role we have in defending the First Amendment’s separation of church and state.

Sunday, October 14

The Light Within Us: What Humanistic Jews Want Their Children to Know About Being Jewish

10:00 am to 12:30 pm at St. Paul Talmud Torah — (program is concurrent with Jewish Cultural School)

How is Secular and Humanistic Jewish education different from traditional Jewish education? Paul Golin will lead a discussion about secular Jewish vs. traditional Jewish education, drawing on participant experiences with their own religious educations (or lack thereof) as well as the experiences of their children. We’ll talk about the goals of education as a means to build our children’s ethical foundations, critical-thinking skills, and as a way to understand where they fit into the broad sweep of Jewish history.

On Saturday evening, October 13, Or Emet members will celebrate many organizational milestones (location TBA), with Paul as a special guest. Following a Havdalah service, we will have a potluck dinner to commemorate Or Emet’s 30^th  anniversary, talk about plans for the April 2019 festivities in Michigan to honor SHJ’s 50^th anniversary as well as toasts to Harold Londer, Lionel Davis, and Or Emet’s ritual leaders along with SHJ leadership for their many contributions to the Or Emet community.