Coffee & Learn
On Wednesday mornings, 11am-noon, from late November to late-May, people gather at Congregation Or Shalom in Orange to explore the ancient texts of our tradition and the light they shed on the issues of our own day.
Past topics have included: "Three Ideas that Changed the World;" "Bible Stories Your Rabbi/Minister Hoped You Wouldn't Notice;" "Is the Tower of Babel Story a parable for Modern-Day America?" "Understanding Judaism - & life - through the lens of the Kabbalah." Anyone interested is encouraged to attend, in person or via zoom - either the entire series or specific the topics.
Call the office 203.799.2341 for more information
LEARN HOW OUR COMMUNITY IS WELCOMING UKRAINIAN REFUGEES
5th Annual Refugee Shabbat, February 3rd, 7:30 pm at Friday Evening Shabbat Service. Guest Speaker: Kathy Sheppard, Ukrainian Program Manager for Integrated Refugee & Immigration Services ("IRIS") Presented by Social Action Committee of CONGREGATION OR SHALOM. "We Reached Out to Refugees Because They Were Jewish... ...Today, We Do It Because We're Jewish. Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). Please call the office to rsvp, 203.799.2341.
Mah Jong is Back!
Mah jong is back. All skill levels welcome. They meet on Thursdays from 1:30 to 3:30. Please contact the office if you want to attend.203.799.2341
May/June 2023 Newsletter
Annual Meeting, Golf Tournament, Blood Drive, Happy Hour
Celebrate PRIDE Month with COS! Be Joyful. Spiritual. Proud
June has long been recognized as LGBTQ Pride Month, in honor of the Stonewall riots, which took place in New York City in June 1969. During Pride Month, it is not uncommon to see the rainbow flag being proudly displayed as a symbol for the LGBTQ rights movement. But how did that flag become a symbol of LGBTQ pride?
It goes back to 1978, when the artist Gilbert Baker, an openly gay man and a drag queen, designed the first rainbow flag. Baker later revealed that he was urged by Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S., to create a symbol of pride for the gay community. Baker decided to make that symbol a flag because he saw flags as the most powerful symbol of pride. As he later said in an interview, "Our job as gay people was to come out, to be visible, to live in the truth, as I say, to get out of the lie. A flag really fit that mission, because that's a way of proclaiming your visibility or saying, 'This is who I am!'" Baker saw the rainbow as a natural flag from the sky, so he adopted eight colors for the stripes, each color with its own meaning (hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit)
Our banner proudly displays a Jewish star in rainbow to show our "Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open Doors"
Look for articles this month on our website on LGBTQ Pride Month
