Register for a meeting about creating an interfaith section of the new Edmonton Jewish cemetery

by the EKC Interfaith Section Committee

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(Edmonton) – At the June 2, 2024 AGM of the Edmonton Chevra Kadisha (ECK), a motion was passed by its membership to form a committee to investigate the possibility of creating a section in our new cemetery for the burial of interfaith couples. Karen Hering and Bill Dolman co-chair this committee with Board member Sharon Hundert. This article reflects our commitment to transparency and the process we are undertaking, We are bringing research from organizations and communities across the country, along with feedback from Edmontonians, back to the ECK Board.  A completed detailed report will be presented to the ECK Board by the end of this year.

Edmonton Chevra Kadisha, although founded as an Orthodox Chevra, serves our entire community which includes Jews from all walks of life. While years of custom need to be respected, with an intermarriage rate of 50%+, we can’t deny the changing face of our own Jewish community. The Edmonton Chevra Board will be asked to consider its needs along with those of the community as a whole. To this end, we are encouraging individuals to reflect on the community in which we live and how best to serve it. To those that say this is not my concern, please remember this is not just about us at this moment, but about holding our community in our minds and hearts and caring for them to the best of our ability.

To date our committee has developed Terms of Reference and have reached out to other Jewish communities across Canada, examining responsa from the Unions of Rabbis of various denominations for their recommendations and seeing if the Kavod v‘Nichum, NACK or JCANA organizations had any literature that would inform our investigation.

Our committee has spoken directly with 20+ communities who have active Jewish cemeteries in Canada. Apart from two communities who are currently in preliminary talks, all other cities have some option available in a Jewish cemetery for interfaith families. A point worth mentioning is that the only other CK we have found in Canada that owns their own cemetery is Calgary. All other Jewish cemeteries are either owned (and governed) by a synagogue, a Memorial Society formed by a group of synagogues, a private corporation, or are part of a municipal cemetery with a designated Jewish section. In general, a CK provides the service of doing Taharot and a shomer. Edmonton is unique in that we not only have a responsibility to perform CK duties for our diverse community, but also act as funeral directors and have oversight of our cemeteries. 

Our investigation took us to Victoria, Vancouver, Richmond, Lethbridge, Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina, Ottawa, Toronto, St. Catherines, Kingston, London, Windsor, Hamilton, Belleville, Guelph, Quebec City, Barrie,  Halifax and Fredericton. We have also contacted Saskatoon, Saint Johns (NB), St. John’s NL, Sydney, NS, Moncton, and Medicine Hat, and are awaiting replies. Every community we talked to recognizes the climbing rates of mixed marriages and diminishing affiliation with Jewish institutions. We have spoken to Rabbis, Cemetery Chairs, Chevra Kadisha presidents and funeral directors across Canada and the response of every city has been to acknowledge those non-Jewish partners who participate in Jewish life, raise Jewish children or raise their children as Jews, maintain a Jewish home, and support their Jewish partners and their Jewish communities, yet for personal reasons do not convert. In our final report we will provide specifics regarding the interviews we conducted.

The various leaders we spoke to have struggled with our current reality and concluded there is need for compassion, understanding, inclusion, pragmatism, and community cohesion. It is hoped that such an approach will strengthen their communities not divide them, keep Jewish souls in the community and not dismiss them and continue to serve these families through the final days of their lives. It was noted that these leaders were also concerned with how this could be done without alienating more traditional families.

Our next step is to facilitate focus groups in November for discussions with both Chevra Kadisha members and the community at large. Meeting dates and registration links include: Nov. 14 @ 7pm (ECK members only), Nov. 18 @ 7 pm, Nov. 24 @ 1 pm, Nov. 25 @ 7 pm (Zoom).Feedback from these sessions will be included in the final report submitted to the CK Board for their consideration.

For questions/comments email office@edmontonchevrakadisha.ca