Or Emet to host program on Rondo’s past, present and future

On Sunday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m.-noon, Or Emet will host an online program honoring Black History Month, with a focus on the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul. The program will be presented over Zoom. Please register in advance here. 

Melvin Giles, also known as the “Peace Bubble Man,” is one of the featured panelists for Or Emet’s Feb. 13 program.

Rondo was the heart of St. Paul’s African American community. However, by the late 1950s, this tight-knit community was torn apart by the construction of Interstate 94. The program will feature a panel of speakers from Rondo talking about the neighborhood’s history, efforts to keep the community’s spirit alive and visions for the future. Panelists will be Dr. Margaret Lovejoy, Mariana Morgan-Sawyer and Melvin Giles.  

Lovejoy, a lifelong resident of the Rondo neighborhood, was taught by community elders to care for and love one another. As a child, she watched the destruction of the neighborhood as the planned Interstate 94 displaced residents, creating a divisive gap in the community. Lovejoy is retired as the founder and executive director of The Family Place, a day center for homeless families in St. Paul.

Architectural rendering of proposed Rondo landbridge courtesy of Design by Melo and Visuals by James.

Architectural rendering of proposed Rondo landbridge courtesy of Design by Melo and Visuals by James.

Morgan-Sawyer is a youth worker and performance artist who grew up in various communities in St. Paul, including Rondo and Frogtown. She previously worked with ReConnect Rondo, an initiative aimed at rebuilding the generational wealth and communal atmosphere that was lost with the construction of Interstate 94 through the vision of a landbridge. Morgan-Sawyer works in the Roseville Area School District and with the St. Paul-based nonprofit Irreducible Grace Foundation.

Giles, also known as the “Peace Bubble Man,” is a community-builder and peacemaker who was raised in the Rondo neighborhood. He describes himself as a compassionate, cheerful, antiracist, peaceful love warrior. He serves as a regional peace representative for the World Peace Prayer Society and sits on the board of World Citizen Inc. Giles is a member of the Urban Farm & Garden Alliance and is featured in the book “The Compassionate Rebel.” 

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.  

Or Emet to host program on importance of antiracist curriculum in schools

On Saturday, Feb. 5, Or Emet will host an online Shabbat service followed by a presentation on the importance of antiracist curriculum in schools. The service, led by Eva Cohen, Or Emet’s ritual leader and a Humanistic rabbi-in-training, will begin at 10 a.m. over Zoom. Please register in advance here.

Leiataua Dr. Robert Jon Peterson

Following the service, Leiataua Dr. Robert Jon Peterson, a long-term consultant with the Minnesota Education Equity Partnership (MnEEP) and president and founder of TE2 Consulting, and Dr. Rev Hillstrom, director of research at MnEEP, will lead a conversation focusing on the importance of antiracist curriculum in schools. The program will be moderated by Or Emet member Molly Wilbur-Cohen.

Peterson’s 20-plus years of educational experiences as a teacher, coach, principal and executive administrator and leader in Minnesota, informs his professional practice. As a Minnesota licensed superintendent, principal, teacher and registered lobbyist, he offers a distinct set of knowledge and skills to his clients, which include schools, districts, private enterprise and nonprofit organizations.

Dr. Rev Hillstrom

Hillstrom is one of the country’s foremost Indigenous scholars leading systemic change for educational excellence and equity. He is the founder of Intercultural Innovations Inc., a presenter at many national conventions, a published author, and holds multiple copyrighted systems tools.

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 to host online program on golem literature

On Sunday, Jan. 16, from 10 a.m.-noon, Or Emet members Michal Moskow and Scott Chazdon will present an online program on the Jewish mythological golem story, its connection with Jewish mystical mathematics, the appearance of golems in literature, as well as more recent interpretations of the golem myth by female Jewish authors. 

Due to concerns about the Omicron variant, this program will be via Zoom only. Please register in advance here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Prague golem reproduction

Reproduction of Prague golem (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Golem stories originated in the rabbinic literature and became part of the Jewish folktale tradition. The most famous golem is that of Rabbi Judah Loew, the Maharal of 16th-century Prague, featuring the golem as a large, powerful, humanoid created from clay to save the Jewish people from outward danger.

Moskow is a professor at Metropolitan State University and is still rostered at the University of Gothenburg. Her major areas include social linguistics and human rights. 

Chazdon knew nothing about golems before the Or Emet Book Club started reading novels about them. He is a sociologist and program evaluator for University of Minnesota Extension, and former president of Or Emet.

The 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. 

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

Program to focus on interfaith coalition’s work to ensure religious diversity in Minnesota’s social studies standards

On Saturday, Jan. 8, Or Emet will host a Shabbat service followed by a presentation on the work by an interfaith coalition to ensure that diverse world religions be included in Minnesota’s school social studies standards.

The service, led by Eva Cohen, Or Emet’s ritual leader and a Humanistic rabbi-in-training, will begin at 10 a.m. at the Sabes Jewish Community Center, 4330 South Cedar Lake Rd., St. Louis Park. 

Ethan Roberts

Following the service, Ethan Roberts, director of government affairs for the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Minnesota and the Dakotas, will discuss the work by the JCRC and its interfaith partners to ensure that Minnesota’s full religious diversity, including Judaism, be included in the state’s social studies standards and benchmarks for middle school and high school students. 

According to the JCRC website, the council is “very concerned that without the inclusion of specific world religions in the standards, world religions will be inadequately taught in classrooms and members of faiths whose religions have historically been marginalized, erased or ignored by society will continue to be unseen and discounted.”

All attendees must wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test. Plans are subject to change based on CDC and state guidelines. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here.

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 to host program on Birobidzhan: The Siberian Jewish ‘homeland’

On Sunday, Dec. 19, from 10 a.m.-noon, Or Emet will host a presentation by Or Emet member Don Larsson about Birobidzhan, a community in Siberia created by the Stalin-era Soviet government specifically for Jewish settlers.

War memorial in Birobidzhan

War memorial in Birobidzhan. “Birobidzhan” is in Russian on the left and Yiddish on the right. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

The program will be at the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, 768 Hamline Ave. South in St. Paul. Those who cannot attend in person may join over Zoom. Please register in advance here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

During the program, Larsson will discuss why and how the Birobidzhan region was founded and settled in the 1930s, and what has happened to it since then.

Don Larsson

Don Larsson

A professor emeritus of English at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Larsson taught literature, film and humanities for 34 years. Since retiring, he’s returned to his love of acting and theater and has appeared in several metro-area productions.

The Sunday adult programs are free and open to the public and meet concurrently with the Jewish Cultural School. Everyone is required to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within the previous 72 hours. 

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 School, contact JCS director Arty Dorman at school-1@oremet.org. 

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

 

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