Items

• 
  2020-05

  HIST30060

  This photo was taken in May 2020, when Melbourne restrictions prevented religious gatherings from taking place. I attend Westgate Baptist Community church in Yarraville in the western suburbs of Melbourne, and it had transitioned to zoom for its church services by this point. On the day this picture was taken, we were meant to organise our own bread and wine for the ritual of communion. It was strange to source these elements on our own and even stranger to just pass them to each other instead of being given them by the pastor. It probably took some sense of gravitas and 'specialness' out of the ritual. At the same time though, it was evident that in a very precarious, unprecedented time, this community was really hanging on to such rituals for some normalcy and comfort in a sense of the divine's presence. We would not be back to in-person services until February 2021.
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  2020-04-09

  Grieving Rituals Lost to COVID-19

  Rituals are an important way to celebrate special occasions and victories as well as to deal with the stresses of life. This article discusses the grieving process people have gone through because of the loss of rituals (graduations, funerals, weddings) during the pandemic and the importance of creating new rituals.
• 
  2021-07-24

  Pandemic Response and Religion in the USA: Ritual

  This digital archive consists of online materials related to the COVID-19 pandemic and religious practices during this time.
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  2021-07-23

  Boundaries Between Home and Office

  It’s difficult to work from home and maintain a boundary between home and office. When your personal life is conflated with your professional life, it can be a struggle to keep your professional life from intruding on your personal life and vice versa. My friends have developed various rituals to establish a break between their working life and their home life. One friend gets into her car each morning, as she did formerly when she went into the office, and drives around the block. She then enters her house and goes directly to her desk and begins work. At the end of her workday, she reverses the process. I have a ritual to begin and end my workdays that is aligned with my yoga practice. I do a specific yoga sequence that is different from sequences I do at other times of the day as well as do meditation. This clears my mind and signals to me on a subconscious level that it’s time to work. At the end of the day, I do another unique yoga sequence and meditation to dispel the work energy and switch my mind and feelings towards personal matters. I’ve heard colleagues mention other “tricks” they use to differentiate their work life from their home life. Some change their clothes when they start work and then change them again at the end of the workday. Others take a walk outside before and after the workday, take all their work supplies and computers and put them away in a closet so that you don’t see your work while you’re focusing on your personal details, or take a shower to both begin and end the workday. The importance of these rituals can’t be overstated. When you’re working, whether at home or in an office, you should approach the situation in a professional manner. When you’re not working, for the sake of your mental health and happiness as well as the quality of your relationships with your friends and families, you need to leave the work behind and focus on personal matters.
• 
  2020-09-19

  PHOTOS: How The World Is Reinventing Rituals

  This article captures images of the continuations of and changes in rituals around the globe during the pandemic.
• 
  2021-05-19

  New Dawn, New Day

  Nina Simone’s iconic version of "Feeling Good" plays as I put the last touches on my final painting for the We Rise L.A. project. Nina sings: “It's a new dawn It's a new day It's a new life For me And I'm feeling good I'm feeling good” My gouache (opaque watercolor) and ink artworks on paper, explore morning light, morning life, and the hope engendered by the dawn of a new day. Sourced from my memories of travel, these paintings reflect morning journeys, rituals, and routines. This series was created in partnership with We Rise LA for Mental Health Awareness and 18th Street Arts. My 41 works of art were created as messages of hope, beauty, wellbeing, and self-compassion. Nina sings: “Oh, freedom is mine And I know how I feel It's a new dawn It's a new day It's a new life”
• 
  2020-09-26

  Jewish Melbourne: Jewish Women of Words Lara Lubitz Neilah drash

  A drash written by Lara Lubitz for Neilah 2020, published on Jewish Women of Words
• 
  2020-09-12

  Jewish Melbourne: WIZO Victoria round challah baking webinar masterclass

  "WIZO + EVENT ✨ Last month WIZO Victoria held a Challah Bake Masterclass that was such a success, we've decided to do it again! This Round Challah + Honey Cake Baking Masterclass gives us the opportunity to learn from the best! Yaniv Rosen, chef and owner of Danish Nosh will be teaching us all the tricks of the trade so we can make them at home for our loved ones. Bake a few & share with your neighbour! Date: 14 Sep @7:30PM Book here: https://sforce.co/3591S2H"
• 
  2020-10-07

  Jewish Melbourne: UJEB virtual Sukkot at Glenallen School Katandra Special School and Ashwood Special School

  "This year our UJEB students at Glenallen School Katandra Special School and Ashwood Special School had a great time beaming virtually into our Project Kulanu Sukkah to shake the Lulav. From all of us at Project Kulanu and especially from Tal Spinrad, Project Kulanu Manager, and his son Reuvi (pictured), wishing everyone a chag sameach and a very sweet new year! 🌿⛺️🍎🍏🍯 #ujebinclusion #projectkulanu #Sukkot #sukkot2020 #lulav"
• 
  2020

  Jewish Melbourne: NCJWA Ushpizot project

  For Sukkot, the NCJWA presented digital information about 'ushpizot' - women who could be digitally welcomed into the sukkah as the special guests
• 
  2020-04

  Jewish Melbourne: Chabad Kingston resources for Pesach

  L'Chaim Chabad Kingston assembled a website of resources for Pesach 2020, providing information for congregants: "As Jewish people around the world prepare for Passover under the pale of coronavirus, we are faced with a host of new challenges and questions. How are we to prepare with minimal ingredients and limited access to communal resources? How to celebrate the Seder alone? How will we celebrate the Festival of Freedom with our movement restricted? Find answers to all this and more ..."
• 
  2020-08-07

  Jewish Melbourne: 'High Holy Day Services in the shadow of Covid'

  Newspaper article by Rabbi Yonatan Sadoff (from Kehilat Nitzan) in the Australian Jewish News, 7 August 2020.
• 
  2020-08-07

  Jewish Melbourne: Bring Shabbat Home

  On 7 August 2020, from 4-4.30pm, a group of synagogues in Melbourne together hosted a 'Bring Shabbat Home' online event. The synagogues involved were: Caulfield Shule, Daminyan, Elwood Shule and Hamayan.
• 2020-04-22

  COVID-19: Jakarta extends PSBB through Ramadan

  News about Large Scale Social Restrictions in Jakarta
• 
  2020-04-25

  New Ritual

  I used to hate baths. The tub too shallow, the water lukewarm. But my husband fixed the hot water heater so I could immerse my body into steaming water, sweat out the impurities of fear and indecision, lethargy and tears for what has been lost. It's a new Ritual. Day 30 of coronavirus lockdown in Aurora, Colorado
• 
  2020-04-07

  Coronavirus Is Changing The Rituals Of Death For Many Religions

  The article discusses changes that have been made to religious grieving ceremonies as a result of COVID. Various world religions have traditional services to honor their the dead. For example, Hindus have traditionally burned corpses on pyres near the Ganges river and Muslims have gathered to wash the bodies of their loved ones. However, due to government restrictions on social gatherings, these elaborate ceremonies are unable to continue normally, forcing people to temporarily suspend cultural practices and prioritize health safety.
• 
  2020-04-16

  Inside the Fringe Japanese Religion That Claims It Can Cure Covid-19

  This article is about religious group by the name of Happy Science who promote apocolyptic themes and is using the pandemic to drive their message and possible bring in new recruites.They are claiming that the virus is of supernatrual and extraterrestrial nature are offering a "spiritual vaccine" for a fee to be clear and safe from the disease. These indiviudals have an bizare and unsusal view of religion in a universal and supernatural way of looking at things. There are fees associated with joining this group and have revenues in the millions. To cure its members from the virus a private ritual must be conducted where individuals must pay hundreds of dollar to perform.
• 
  2020-03-22

  Coronavirus, Mikveh, and Taharat Hamishpacha

  My partner shared an email with me from the Rabbi of a synagogue we're affiliated with, which addressed questions he'd received from congregants about how to deal with family purity laws under the current physical distancing restrictions. The email recommended reviewing the advice on this website, which provides guidelines for Jewish women performing ritual immersion at a mikveh (ritual bath) for the purposes of family purity, and for mikveh attendants, during the coronavirus outbreak. The advice was developed by Jewish women who are revered as experts in this aspect of religious law.