OrH Newsletter

Special Newsletter

15 July 2021

Special Edition

While the newsletter was meant to be on a brief summer hiatus, we ended up with a plethora of exciting events to share. Please enjoy this special edition, and spoiler alert, we are beginning to plan in-person events again!

From the Board

As we move towards Stage Three of post-COVID-19 reopening, the Board is aware of a range of opinions from congregants on face to face services.

On the one hand, it would be wonderful for us to pray and chat together in our synagogue and to be able to sing together in services. On the other hand, we are aware that there are still risks, especially related to the Delta variant of COVID-19. Being fully vaccinated is not a 100% guarantee you won't get or pass on the virus, and of course many are still not vaccinated, including children. We also know that risks increase (1) indoors; (2) when singing; (3) over long periods together.

So, this summer, we are planning to dip our toes into the proverbial water, and have planned two of four services outdoors. Details are below.

For the High Holidays, all services will be on Zoom, except Tashlikh and Shofar on the first day of Rosh Hashanah (near a river, location TBC) and Yizkor/Neilah at the end of Yom Kippur (with option of BYO breaking of our fast outdoors). Yizkor/Neilah will also be livestreamed. We are happy to share that we will be Zooming from our beloved building on Cleary Ave. We will send along the details once they are finalized, but we are excited about the possibility of seeing familiar faces again, and not just on a screen.
 
After the High Holidays, we will start to have face to face services in our synagogue (with simultaneous streaming), although there may still be some limits to how many people can attend, distancing, and kaddish/ lunch afterwards. We will be paying close attention to the guidance from Ottawa Public Health. 

Thanks for your patience as we move towards a healthy and safe resumption of our synagogue life. This new year brings us endless possibilities, and we can’t wait to share them with you.
 
Your Board of Directors

Hiring an Administrator
 
As our congregation grows, so does all the behind-the-scenes work. As you may have heard at the AGM, we are finalizing plans to hire a part-time administrator to help with some of the day-to-day tasks of keeping Or Haneshamah running. This administrator would help with email and phone monitoring, website updates, assisting with membership registration and some social media work. This job can be done remotely, and will be 20 hours /month at $20 - $25 /hour. For the entire job posting, please reply to this email and we will send it your way.

Membership Renewal
 
We are on the precipice of membership renewal season. Soon, there will be a link on the orh.ca website inviting you to renew your membership. We are still a small congregation, and every member matters. We are endlessly appreciative of your ongoing support.
 
Or, if you are currently a non-member, consider joining our vibrant and inclusive community! We offer services, celebrations, talks and activities all year round. When you become a member, you help us expand our offerings, and you support our ongoing work.

Upcoming Services and Events

Saturday, July 17 8pm-9pm 
Lay-led Havdalah and evening service and observance of Tisha b'Av (on Zoom) 

Saturday, July 31 10:30-noon
Shabbat morning service with Emancipation Day learning (in person, outdoors and distanced, please bring masks)
Andrew Hayden Park

Saturday, August 7 10:30-noon
Mostly lay-led Shabbat morning and Torah service with special blessing for Rosh Chodesh Elul (on Zoom)
 
Saturday, August 21 10:30-noon Centretown Park (TBC)
Pride Shabbat, led by Rabbi Liz (in person, outdoors and socially distanced, please bring masks)

Reconstructionist News and Events

A Reconstructionist Day of Learning on Reparations 
Sunday, August 8, 2021
11 a.m. EDT
Save the date to join Reconstructionists from around the world for our movement-wide day of learning. Starting with a special Hallel service and opening remarks, followed by multiple sessions of learning. Registration to open in July and fees will be on a sliding scale from $0 to $54 - register here .

Convention 2022
From March 23 – 27, 2022 we will come together for B’Yachad: Reconstructing Judaism Together in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Over these four days, both in person and virtually, we will learn from and with experts, scholars and lay leaders. We will engage in conversations, ask questions, and listen. We will pray together, sing together, dance together and celebrate all that we do every day in our communities to reconstruct Judaism.  
Visit the Convention 2022 website here.

Donations to OrH

Donations are a significant part of the funding for activities and rabbinic support in our community. You can direct your contribution to different areas of Or Haneshamah’s activity, including: general donations to fund programming, rabbinic leadership, donations in honor or in memory of a person or event, or dedication of ritual objects. We also welcome donations to the Gita (Tova) & Zvi Taub Memorial Fund, the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund, the Or Haneshamah Endowment Fund. Federal employees or retirees can also give to OrH through the Annual Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign. Information on all these programs and how to give can be found at this link, or by clicking on the "Donate" tab on the main menu of the OrH website.

Board of Directors

Chair: Carolyn, president@orh.ca 
Treasurer: Elijah, treasurer@orh.ca
Secretary: Nicola, secretary@orh.ca
Communications: Andrea, communications@orh.ca
Membership: Myrna, membership@orh.ca
Learning: Diana, learning@orh.ca
Ritual/Many Hands: Shira, rituals@orh.ca ​​​​​​​


Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton: rabbi@orh.ca
OrH Members are welcome to contact Rabbi Liz, the Hesed team (hesed@orh.ca),
or any member of the board, regarding pastoral needs.

Or Haneshamah
30 Cleary Ave., Ottawa, ON, K2A 4A1
613-239-4988
www.orh.ca
info@orh.ca

** Disclaimer Regarding Community Event Postings **

Or Haneshamah frequently receives requests to post notices of upcoming events in the community at-large.  These events run the range from cultural, educational, and in some cases explorations of topical political issues.  In the interest of providing information to our congregation about the diversity of interesting events in the Ottawa community we will post notices of these events in our regular newsletter.

We recognize also that from time to time we are requested to post notices of events which are highly controversial in nature and reflect a wide range of opinions among our congregation on particular issues.  We are, however, of the opinion that it is appropriate for us to post events taking place in the community which may challenge us, which may cause discomfort, and which may cause us to reflect on some of our beliefs.  Our openness to post notices for a wide range of community events, however, does not mean that we have abdicated our responsibility to show discernment and to distinguish between those events which demonstrate an open-minded and thoughtful approach to specific issues and those which do not appear to reflect such values.  So, we will make judgments about what notices we believe are appropriate to post and those which we believe will not contribute to a thoughtful and balanced exploration of ideas and issues.

Will we make mistakes along the way?  Probably.  But the possibility of errors of judgment does not mean that we can excuse ourselves from the responsibility to show judgment in posting notices about events in the community and we promise to do so with openness tempered by a sense of responsibility.

In agreeing to post any notice of an event in the community, Or Haneshamah does not endorse, support or promote any perspectives, positions or ideas expressed in the events which are posted in our newsletter.