On Friday, May 20, Or Emet will host a Shabbat service followed by a program highlighting Fresh Energy’s work in Minnesota. The service, led by Eva Cohen, Or Emet’s ritual leader and a Humanistic rabbi-in-training, will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Barry Family Campus of the Minnesota JCC, 4330 South Cedar Lake Rd., St. Louis Park. 

J. Drake Hamilton

Following the service, J. Drake Hamilton, senior director of science policy for Fresh Energy, will give a presentation about how the organization is working toward carbon reduction and development of clean energy solutions in the state. Fresh Energy’s mission is to shape and drive bold policy solutions for achieving equitable, carbon-neutral economies. Their vision is a just, prosperous and resilient clean energy future where all can thrive. 

Hamilton is an expert in climate and energy policy at the state and national levels. Her responsibilities include advancing clean energy solutions to global warming that will maximize economic opportunities. She has represented Fresh Energy at six global climate summits. 

In 2021 she spent three weeks at the Glasgow, Scotland, climate summit, where she addressed two global audiences along with five Midwesterners. She appears frequently in the media, including television, Minnesota Public Radio, The Washington Post and The New York Times.

All attendees must wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here. 

Or Emet’s events and programs may change per CDC and state guidelines during the pandemic. All updates and changes will be posted in Or Emet’s events calendar.

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 will host a program titled “A Post-Arbor Day Tribute to Trees” from 10 a.m.-noon on Sunday, May 15, at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. 

This interactive program, facilitated by Or Emet pianist Johanna Lester, will cover the role of trees in addressing climate change, the importance of planting native trees and the beauty they bring to our landscape. Or Emet president Allan Malkis will talk about how some trees actively communicate and support each other through their root systems and how trees affect the larger environment, including ourselves. The program also will include tree quizzes and a door prize. 

Everyone is required to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within the previous 72 hours. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here. 

Or Emet’s Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public, and meet concurrently with Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School. Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective. 

Or Emet’s events and programs may change per CDC and state guidelines during the pandemic. All updates and changes will be posted in Or Emet’s events calendar. For information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org. 

On Sunday, April 10, from 10 a.m.-noon, Or Emet will host a program led by Kathleen Anderson, a clinical social worker and trained volunteer presenter for the Be SMART program.

Kathleen Anderson

Anderson will present “Be SMART for kids: How every adult can take responsible action to prevent child gun deaths and injuries” at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. Everyone is required to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within the previous 72 hours. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here. 

The Be SMART program was developed by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America to raise awareness that secure gun storage can save children’s lives. The program emphasizes that it is an adult’s responsibility to keep kids from accessing guns and that every adult can play a role in keeping kids and communities safer.

According to Everytown Research & Policy, Be SMART’s umbrella organization, firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens (ages 1-19) in the U.S. Every year, 18,000 children and teens are shot and killed or wounded, and approximately 3 million are exposed to gun violence.

“It is important to note that gun sales and firearm injuries and deaths are dramatically on the rise across the country,” Anderson says. “Firearms are the leading cause of death for children, and 4.6 million children live in a household with at least one unsecured gun.”

Anderson also notes that her presentation is not appropriate for children.  

“This is a very serious topic,” she says. “We are talking about child firearm injury, death and suicide, and how to prevent it.”

Or Emet’s Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public, and meet concurrently with Or Emet’s Jewish Cultural Sunday School. Or Emet is a secular congregation celebrating and honoring Jewish culture, history and values from a humanistic, inclusive perspective. 

Or Emet’s events and programs may change per CDC and state guidelines during the pandemic. All updates and changes will be posted in Or Emet’s events calendar. For information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org. 

On Friday, April 1, Or Emet will host a Shabbat service followed by a program about gender etiquette. The service, led by Eva Cohen, Or Emet’s ritual leader and a Humanistic rabbi-in-training, will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Barry Family Campus of the Minnesota JCC, 4330 South Cedar Lake Rd., St. Louis Park. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance. 

Rachel Wexelbaum

Following the service, Or Emet member Rachel Wexelbaum will give a presentation about working through discomfort and uncertainty with nonbinary, gender fluid, gender queer, agender and transgender identities.

Wexelbaum is an independent writer and researcher who focuses on LGBTQ+ and Jewish identities, histories and community building via cultural preservation, activism and Wikimedia projects. With more than 20 years’ experience as an educator, librarian and human rights advocate, she currently works as the education director at the St. Cloud Correctional Facility of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

All attendees must wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test. Or Emet’s events and programs may change per CDC and state guidelines during the pandemic. All updates and changes will be posted in Or Emet’s events calendar.

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 13, from 10 a.m.-noon, Or Emet will host a program led by Dr. Ken Winters, a senior scientist at the Oregon Research Institute (Minnesota site) and a consultant to the National American Indian/Alaska Native Technology Transfer Center.

Dr. Ken Winters

The program will be at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. Everyone is required to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within the previous 72 hours. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here.

Winters will present “Association of Cannabis Use and Risk of Mental Illness.” His primary research interests are related to the assessment and treatment of addictions, including adolescent drug abuse and other adolescent health issues. He co-founded Smart Approaches to Marijuana Minnesota, a state action group. 

Previously a professor in the psychiatry department at the University of Minnesota, Winters founded and directed the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research for 25 years. He has received numerous research grants from the National Institutes of Health and various foundations to address adolescent health and has published more than 140 peer-reviewed articles and numerous book chapters during a 30-plus-year period.

Or Emet’s Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public, and meet concurrently with Or Emet’s 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 JCS director Arty Dorman at school-1@oremet.org. Or Emet’s events and programs may change per CDC and state guidelines during the pandemic. All updates and changes will be posted in Or Emet’s events calendar. For information about Or Emet, email info@oremet.org or visit oremet.org.