Or Emet and the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis will host a Purim carnival celebrating Jewish traditions with humanistic values. 

The carnival will take place from 2-4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 1, at the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, 900 Mount Curve Ave., Minneapolis.

It will include a costume parade, Purim treats, carnival games, prizes and a bouncy house. Please bring cash to exchange for tickets.

For more information about Or Emet programs, email info@oremet.org.

On Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, Or Emet will host a presentation titled “From Fork to Forest: Why We Can’t Solve the Climate Crisis Without Changing How We Eat.”

The event will run from 10 a.m.-noon at Twin Cities German Immersion School, 1031 Como Ave. in St. Paul. A social time will follow.

Anna Larsson (left) and Nicola Philpott (right)

Presenters Nicola Philpott, co-leader of the Minnesota west suburbs chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and Anna Larsson, an executive team member of The Climate Reality Project, will explore the overlooked role of the global food system in driving climate change.

Even if fossil fuel use ended today, emissions from food production alone would push the planet beyond climate targets. Philpott and Larsson will explain why this issue deserves more attention and will outline practical steps individuals and communities can take to support a more sustainable food future.

Those who cannot attend in person may join via Zoom. Please register in advance for the Zoom option.  

The Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public and meet concurrently with the Jewish Cultural Sunday School.

Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective. 

For information about Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School, contact JCSS director Molly Phipps at school@oremet.org. For information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

On Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, from 10-11:30 a.m., Or Emet will host a Humanistic Shabbat service led by Rabbi Eva Cohen followed by a Q&A with Angela Denker, a local journalist, Lutheran pastor and author. A social time will follow.

The events will take place at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. 

Angela Denker

The conversation with Denker will center on the rise and threat of white Christian nationalism, online radicalization, violent masculinity and their growth and prominence in Trump’s second term. Denker will also help explain the role of so-called “Christian Zionism” and how Christian nationalists understand the role of Israel in their theology and politics, in contrast to Zionism within the Jewish community. 

Denker is an award-winning author, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastor and veteran journalist. Her first book, “Red State Christians,” was the 2019 Silver Foreword Indies award winner for political and social sciences. Her second book, “Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood,” was released in March 2025. 

She is a former columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune and has written for many publications, including Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post and Fortune magazine, and has appeared on CNN, BBC, SkyNews and NPR to share her research on politics and Christian nationalism.

Those who cannot attend the program in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance for the Zoom option.

Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective.

 For more information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

On Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, Or Emet will host a presentation by Dr. Patricia Ahearne-Kroll, Associate Professor in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Cultures at the University of Minnesota. She will speak about Jewish communities in ancient Egypt.

Dr. Patricia Ahearne-Kroll

The event will run from 10 a.m.-noon at Twin Cities German Immersion School, 1031 Como Ave. in St. Paul. A social time will follow.

Ahearne-Kroll will talk about the evidence for Jewish life in Hellenistic and early Roman Egypt and the various ways these populations interacted with the multicultural realities of Egypt. 

Ahearne-Kroll holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies (Hebrew Bible) from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Her research has focused on literature from Egypt during the Second Temple period in Israel, as well as the impact of religious practices in Hellenistic Egypt on discourses of power and identity. 

Those who cannot attend in person may join via Zoom. Please register in advance for the Zoom option.  

The Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public and meet concurrently with the Jewish Cultural Sunday School.

Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective.

For information about Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School, contact JCSS director Molly Phipps at school@oremet.org. For information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.

On Saturday, Dec. 20, from 10-11:30 a.m., Or Emet will host a Humanistic Shabbat service led by Rabbi Eva Cohen, followed by a presentation by Lisa “MonaLisa” Berman, co-founder and co-artistic director of BRKFST Dance Company.

The events will take place at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. 

Lisa “MonaLisa” Berman
Photo credit: Adam Adolphus

Berman will present “An Inside Look at BRKFST’s Groundbreaking, Multicultural, BIPOC Group.” She will describe how BRKFST creates intellectually rigorous, physically demanding works of art through abstraction, breaking and contemporary dance vernacular — dance that evolves naturally from within a community.

Berman and Joseph “MN Joe” Tran  co-founded BRKFST in St. Paul in 2014. Guided by the hip-hop adage “each one teach one,” where everyone remains both teacher and student regardless of their background, identity or status, BRKFST honors its roots from breaking culture by embodying inclusivity, passing down their knowledge to the next generation and representing the form with foundation and innovation.

Berman is the recipient of the McKnight Dancer Fellowship, Jerome Travel and Study Grant, multiple Minnesota State Arts Board and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council grants, and most recently, the Bridge Fund for Dancers Grant through the City of Minneapolis Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Expanding her artistic practice to interdisciplinary exploration, Berman partnered with film director Maria Juranic, co-creating, producing and choreographing the short, experimental dance film “Dreamers.” The film was chosen as an official selection in 11 international film festivals, receiving the Grand Jury Award at the In/Motion Festival and Best Experimental Film at the Tirana International Film Festival in Albania.

Those who cannot attend the Shabbat service in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance for the Zoom option. 

Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective. 

For more information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.