New leaders take helm for Ojai's faithful
By Jesse Phelps

Two of Ojai's religious institutions are welcoming new leadership.
Kehilat Ha'Aloneem, the synagogue located in Meiners Oaks, recently bid adieu to its old rabbi and this month is greeting new rabbi Micah Hyman. Meanwhile, across town, the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer held a service of installation on Sunday for new pastor Allen Hellwege.

The rabbi, who lives in Los Angeles, worked for years at Camp Ramah, a camp for Jewish youth on Fairview Road. Barbara Aaronson, president of the congregation, said he had such an effect on the kids and families there, many of them wholeheartedly recommended him when the rabbi position came open.

We are so excited," said Aaronson. "He's full of joy and zest and caring. We all love him. We got a young rabbi that's really interested in the kids. Because of his camp experience, he just really relates well to young people. They flock to him. He's very warm and enthusiastic."

Rabbi Hyman was raised in Los Angeles. He received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Michigan. While still an undergraduate, he spent one year in Israel with friends, where he was involved with a children's theater. In his senior year, he said, he realized he had a lot more to learn about Judaism so he decided to attend rabbinical school.
After attending the University of Judaism for two years in Los Angeles and spending another year in Israel, followed by three years at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, he was ordained as a conservative rabbi in 1999.

Conservative rabbis respect Jewish cultural traditions and rituals without the stringent adherence of the orthodoxy. For instance, said Aaronson, Hyman eats kosher - by eating vegetarian.
While in Israel, Rabbi Hyman started studying art history, which continued in New York City for several more years, leading to a degree in Jewish Art History. Upon ordination, he became assistant director at Camp Ramah for three years. In addition, he taught art history at the University of Judaism and learned Arabic at the University of California at Los Angeles.

In 2002, he became the rabbi of the only conservative synagogue in Paris while their regular rabbi was on a one-year sabbatical. He's credited with helping expand their outreach program in the outskirts of Paris.

Paris was chosen, said the rabbi, because his wife, Erin, who is a student of French literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, obtained a fellowship to do research there for her doctoral thesis at UCLA. Her plan is to teach at a university.
The couple has no kids - yet - though they say they are "eagerly waiting for the joys of children" in their home.

The rabbi and Erin say they are "very excited to be with the Kehilat Ha'Aloneem. We already feel comfortable and welcomed by the members of the shul."

Pastor Hellwege grew up in Diggins, Miss., where his father was also a pastor. He graduated from St. Paul's High School, Concordia, Missouri, in 1959 and St. Paul's College in 1961. He graduated from Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1963 and from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis with a Master of Divinity degree on May 26, 1967.

Pastor Hellwege and his wife, Marilyn, were united in marriage on July 24, 1965. Marilyn's father was also a pastor. She was born in Trail, British Columbia, Canada, and lived her early years in Canada before her family moved to Missouri. Marilyn, who is a teacher, graduated from Concordia Teacher's College in River Forest Illinois.

The Hellweges have four children: Stephen, David, Joy, and Kristin.

Pastor Hellwege served his vicarage at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New York, New York. Following his Ordination on June 11, 1967, he has served as Pastor at trinity Lutheran Church in Peoria, Illinois (1967 -1971); Zion Lutheran Church in Kalamazoo, MI (1971-1984); King of Kings Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE (1984-1988); and Zion Lutheran Church in Atlantic, IA (1988-2003).

The pastor said he enjoys golfing, listening to music, reading, working on family history and outdoors activities.
He said he came to Ojai because he's got relatives nearby and he wanted "to get away from the heat and humidity of the Midwest and the cold of the wintertime."

"I'm taking early retirement," said Pastor Hellwege. "But I still wanted to keep active in the ministry." The small congregation and its desire to have him serve on a part-time basis were a perfect fit.

Pastor Hellwege led services on the third and tenth of August and said he's found the congregation to be "really open and friendly people and people that are very welcoming to us."
He says he "looks forward to enjoying California and a new stage in our lives in semi-retirement."

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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