• NHC's Summer Institute: July 29- August 4, 2024. Registration opens April 25th

    This year’s theme of עִיר מִקְלָט “Ir Miklat: City of Refuge” can be found in a small corner of parshat Matot-Masei (Numbers 30:2 - 36:13). It epitomizes how we want this year’s institute to feel: a space where both the individual and the community at the heart of the Havurah ethos can come together in a safe space to create something meaningful, where our connections are welcoming and inclusive, fun and exciting, relaxing and energizing, and insightful and spiritually significant for our diverse community of participants.

    The Core Team envisions Institute as our City of Refuge--a place that’s safe--this year more than ever. What is it YOU need refuge from? We welcome you to join us at Pearlstone Center for sanctuary and refuge, to renew and refresh, and to play, rest, create and learn with us!

Moving Institute 2020 Online

 

Dear Havurahniks,

With great sadness, love, and hope, I’m sharing the news that the Board, with the recommendation of the COVID19 Response Committee, voted to cancel in-person Institute this summer at Hartford and move programming online.

We are deeply sad that we will not be gathering at Hartford in person – there is no true substitute for being together in one place. We are full of love for our community, which we want to protect, safeguard, and sustain. And we have true hope that our community will find a way to gather meaningfully online this summer, and continue to have many more in-person Institutes in future years.

In that spirit, we want to invite our community to a kehillah gathering on Sunday evening, May 24th (see below for more details). We want to meet in fellowship – to share our love for this community, to share information and feelings, and to brainstorm creatively about how we can contribute to an online summer Institute that preserves its heart even as it transforms and innovates. We will create this online Institute together, as we have always created Institute together.

The specific shape of this will come together based on the abilities, needs, desires, and wants, of our community. What I can say now is that we plan to have rich and meaningful online programming, with an emphasis on havurah: community-sharing and building and learning Torah in fellowship and friendship. 

The amazing Core Team – Glenda McKinney, Eliana Roberts Golding, and Rebecca Wassell – has stepped up for a challenge that none of us saw coming. They are leading us forward with their work and vision.

The University of Hartford has been completely understanding and supportive, and are themselves thinking of ways that they might participate online in some way to keep us connected to our summer home.

We expect online Institute to happen over a period of time, likely longer than a week, at the end of July and/or beginning of August. As in previous years, we plan to have a sticker price that will cover NHC’s sustaining expenses for the year, alongside an extensive sliding scale for fees. We are hoping to be creative and resourceful in finding ways to reach and support everyone who wants to participate.

“Everyone is a teacher and everyone is a student” – I can’t imagine this being more true than it is now. We will learn and teach one another how to co-create an online Institute this year. And we will gather in fellowship, learning, and Torah.

With hope for the future, I am also glad to announce that earlier this year, we signed a contract with the University of Hartford for 2021 (7/26-8/1) and 2022 (7/25-7/31), so please mark your calendars and save the dates! 

Finally, with deep appreciation for the enthusiasm and optimism represented by each person who already registered for Institute-at-Hartford, the Office is processing refunds for all fees and dues, and will be in touch about donations.

Please register (closed) for our Kehillah gathering, Sunday, May 24, 8pm. It will be a great joy to connect with one another, and also a meaningful step in co-creating online Institute.

With love,

Tara Bognar

Board Chair


Kehillah Gathering

Sunday May 24th (Rosh Hodesh Sivan), 8pm

Connect with each other, connect with our love for Institute, and imagine the summer together. We will use a mix of webinar-style and break-out rooms on Zoom to facilitate community, communication, and creative imagination. 

If you have never used Zoom before, we encourage you to try and can help you get set up! If you have used only too much Zoom and are willing to act as a mentor/buddy, please let us know by emailing office@havurah.org

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