Terry Fear

The late Terry Fear served as vice president/secretary of United Hebrew Congregation Terre Haute.

Terry Fear sought mindfulness of injustice and God’s expectations that we repair the world

By Ken Turetzky
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On the first night of Hanukkah, Terry Fear brought her menorah to a site across from the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute. She lit a candle and recited prayers in quiet protest as the Justice Department carried out the execution of Death Row inmate Brandon Bernard.

Terry left a menorah with Sister Barbara Battista and fellow activist Abe Bonowitz to light a second candle the next night, as Alfred Bourgeois met his death.

To the end, Terry worked passionately for social justice while serving as a dynamic force in the life of United Hebrew Congregation. She passed away suddenly Sunday, Dec. 13, at age 66, at her home in Charleston, Ill.

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We are better than vengeance, better than a death penalty system skewed to racial injustice

By Terry Fear
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Thirteen minutes is the amount of time it takes me to drive to Starbucks. For Orlando Hall, sitting on death row, 13 minutes sealed his execution.

Had those 13 minutes passed and the clock struck midnight, Orlando Hall’s stay of execution would have extended for 90 days. But a last-minute Supreme Court decision (6-3) vacated the stay.

At 11:47 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 19, Orlando Hall was pronounced dead at the U.S. Federal Penitentiary in Terre Haute. His official cause of death was “legal homicide”. He was 49 years old.

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UHC board reflects on eventful year, elects officers, plans for challenges ahead

By Terry Fear
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As United Hebrew Congregation president Betsy Frank noted with her D’Var Torah during the Temple’s annual meeting July 19, we begin our countdown to the High Holy Days with The Book of Deuteronomy.

Another name for Deuteronomy is Mishneh Torah, or “Repetition of Torah”. In Deuteronomy, Moses leads the Israelites through a reflection on their journey as a free people preparing to enter the Promised Land.

Here at UHC, Betsy reminded us the annual meeting is a time for consideration of our past year’s congregational journey and preparation for the High Holy Days of 5781 and beyond.

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Never Again means Never Again for everyone

By Terry Fear
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People in crisis should take precedence over narrow points of law or politics. But too often, compassion for human beings created in God’s image is left out of legal or geopolitical solutions.

I have become increasingly alarmed concerning the humanitarian crisis at America’s southern border. My husband Steve and I are firm believers in putting our beliefs into action.

On July 4, we were in Florida and made the three-hour drive to Homestead to find the federal detention center and protest on behalf of the migrant children held inside.

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