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 | | Congregation Or Chadash | | | Inducted 2006 | | | | Congregation Or Chadash, for 30 years of service to Chicago's LGBT Jews and their friends, families, and partners, both as a voice for sexual-minority concerns in the city's Jewish community and as a Jewish voice in sexual-minority communities.
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| In 1975, Congregation Or
Chadash (“Congregation of New ILight”) was founded in response
to the prejudice and invisibility that
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) Jews faced in
mainstream synagogues. | |
| For 31 years, Or Chadash has served Chicago’s LGBT Jews—and their
friends, families, and partners—by providing a home for their religious,
social, cultural, and educational interests. | |
| This congregation spearheaded groundbreaking changes that allowed gay
men and lesbians to be accepted in Jewish synagogues and institutions.
Through services, classes, community work, and other activities, Or
Chadash has touched the lives of thousands of persons. | |
| Membership is open to everyone. Today, Or Chadash exists to provide a
warm and nurturing environment for all Jews, with special attention to the
LGBT population. Its members come from all denominations of Jewish and
non-Jewish backgrounds, and services tend to be a mix of Hebrew and
English, with much music. | |
| The congregation, which is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism, uses
an egalitarian liturgy. Women and men share equally in both religious and
administrative duties. Typically, two Shabbat services per month are led by
the male rabbi and the female cantor; the rest are led by congregants. | |
| Other synagogues now embrace LGBT Jews, but they do not provide
programming or activities that specifically cater to them. Or Chadash
continues to offer its members educational programs and other activities that
look at Judaism from an LGBT perspective. | |
| And Or Chadash still serves as a safe space for single LGBT Jews to meet one
another and, if they desire, to marry and start their own families. | |
| Or Chadash has been a supporter of LGBT Jews in Chicago’s Jewish
community as well as the face of Jewish Chicago in the LGBT communities,
bringing the two groups closer together. In addition, it is affiliated with the
World Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jewish Organizations. | |
| This biography is as of the induction date. It has not been updated. |
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