Montreal, April 15, 2024. The Christian Jewish Dialogue of Montreal (CJDM) will hold its 45th annual Christian Commemoration of the Shoah on Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. The theme this year is “Children in turmoil”.
This event will take place at the Unitarian Church of Montreal (5035 De Maisonneuve Bd West, Montreal H4A 1Y5 Vendôme). The commemoration will be in person and mostly in French.
This special service will bring together Jews, Christians, and others to commemorate the six million Jews and one million other victims of the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah (“the annihilation” in Hebrew), during World War II.
Co-presided by Rev. Diane Rollert and Rabbi Ellen Greenspan, the commemoration will include a testimony by Holocaust survivor Muguette Myers. There will be a candle-lighting ceremony in rembrance of all the victims of the Holocaust, especially children. The musical part will be performed by Rona Nadler, cantor soloist at Temple Emanu-el-Beth Sholom.
To take part in the commemoration, registration is required by Thursday, April 25 at the latest, by completing the following form: https://forms.gle/ft5AkTsKA1UQ7acf9
Other Christian communities in Quebec and elsewhere are invited to commemorate the Shoah during their own religious services on May 5th. The CJDM has prepared resources which can be integrated into both in person or online worship. The resources are available on the website of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism: http://www.oikoumene.ca/
Yom Hashoah (“the Day of the Shoah”) was established in 1951. In Montreal, the first Christian Commemoration of the Shoah took place at Christ Church Cathedral in 1979. Since then, different Christian churches have engaged with members of the Jewish community in a shared act of remembrance on the Sunday closest to Yom Hashoah. In 1999, the National Assembly officially recognized the observance of Yom Hashoah and invited Quebec citizens to share in the memories and mourning of the Jewish community and to ponder the lessons learned from the Shoah.
Founded in 1971, the Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Montreal is composed of representatives of various sponsoring organizations, who come together on a regular basis in order to build and strengthen mutual understanding and support between Christian and Jewish communities.
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Information : https://www.facebook.com/ChristianJewishDialogueOfMontreal
Contact : Pierre ANCTIL, panctil@uottawa.ca 514-261-5265