Dear congregants and congregational affiliates outside the US:
We are a minority within a small denomination; we are the Reconstructionists located in Canada (Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto); Italy (Serrastretta); The Netherlands (Delft); Curaçao (Willemstad); Brazil (Ijuí); Germany (Wiesbaden). I want to invite you to participate in the events and offerings of the Reparations Shabbaton. This program may seem overly focused on issues related to the United States, but the content will be broad enough and rich enough to hopefully inspire you to consider the topic of reparations as it relates to your home community and your country’s particular history and social context.
From the very beginning of the Tikkun Olam Commissions’ efforts on the movement-wide reparations resolution, we have sought to create a framework that can speak to all of our communities and their specific contexts, even while rooting the call for reparations in a US specific context.
I know that the organizing committee is putting in efforts to make the content widely appealing and interesting, and I know this because I am part of this committee. I can promise that there will be spiritual offerings related to our shared goal to pursue justice; interesting panel discussions with activists and experts who are working to organize on the ground; as well as suggestions for how to come together with members of your own community to work on local issues that concern you. Overall I think you will find the content relevant no matter where you live or what place you call home. I hope to see some of you online that weekend.
L’shalom,
Sarah Waisvisz
Or Haneshamah, Ottawa, Canada
Traditional sacred territory of the Algonquin and Anishanabeg peoples
