On Friday, March 20, from 7:30-9 p.m., Or Emet will host a Shabbat service led by Rabbi Eva Cohen followed by a program in solidarity with the HIAS Refugee Shabbat initiative. The events will take place at the Minnesota JCC Sabes Center Minneapolis, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. 

Alice Buckner, executive director, Karen Organization of Minnesota

After the service, Alice Buckner and June Nin Way of the Karen Organization of Minnesota (KOM) will discuss current issues and trends relating to immigrant and refugee communities in Minnesota. KOM, the first social services agency in the country founded by Karen refugees from Burma, builds on the strengths of refugee and immigrant communities and removes barriers to achieving economic, social and cultural well-being.

KOM updated its mission in 2022 to formally acknowledge service to people from all national origins and cultures. It is now the lead family education support agency for the Minnesota Office of Refugee Resettlement serving children in public schools during their first five years living in the state. The organization prioritizes being majority governed, led and staffed by people from within the communities served.

June Nin Way, board member, Karen Organization of Minnesota

Buckner, executive director of KOM, has served in nonprofit, business healthcare, government and higher education for more than 30 years. Way, a KOM board member, is a former refugee from Thailand. She serves the Karen community through her roles as interpreter, school liaison, case manager and as one of the few Karen-speaking therapists in the Twin Cities. 

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, March 8, Or Emet member Dr. Richard Logan, a retired professor of human development, will lead a discussion inspired by the summer 2025 issue of Humanistic Judaism Magazine, which focused on the meaningful connections between Jews and the world of comics. 

Cover of summer 2025 issue of Humanistic Judaism Magazine

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.

The magazine issue explored the many ways Jews have shaped the comics and graphic‑novel landscape — from founding the American comics industry to pioneering the American graphic novel and continuing to influence the art and writing of the genre. 

The story of Jews and comics is a compelling one that involves many original and creative literary, artistic and pop-culture achievements. Logan is especially interested in how this history offers a window into several intriguing features of Jewish culture. He looks forward to participants sharing their own experiences with comics and graphic novels.

Logan is a past-president of Or Emet and past-president of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. 

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, Feb. 21, from 10-11:30 a.m., Or Emet will host a Humanistic Shabbat service led by Rabbi Eva Cohen followed by a presentation by Evan Mulholland, a staff attorney with the nonprofit Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. A social time will follow.

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

Evan Mulholland

Mulholland will discuss the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence-driven data centers in Minnesota and the environmental risks associated with hyperscale development. As director of MCEA’s Healthy Communities program, he works to protect Minnesotans and the state’s natural resources from the threats tied to large‑scale industrial projects.

The organization has filed five ongoing lawsuits challenging the environmental review conducted on hyperscale data centers proposed in Lakeville, North Mankato, Hermantown, Pine Island and Faribault. 

Mulholland holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Brandeis University, a law degree from Harvard Law School and a master of laws degree in environmental law from Vermont Law School.

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.

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. At ~3 p.m., we will sing a few Purim songs and listen to an adapted, kid-friendly Megillah reading, accompanied by an aerial arts performance by Jolie Melana Meshbesher! After the Megillah reading and performance, games and other carnival activities will resume. To honor the holiday tradition of matanot l’evyonim, we will also be assembling food packages for those in need.

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.