This past weekend featured a remarkable Shabbaton — we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our sharing space with our closest religious neighbor.
The Church of St. Matthew and St. Timothy burned to the ground on December 1st, 1965, and Rodeph Sholom stepped up and offered a place for them to worship while their church was being constructed. This past spring, realizing a watershed anniversary of this event was coming up, church and temple renewed ties to organize a celebration of interfaith cooperation.
On Friday, January 22, our rabbis and cantors were joined on the bimah by The Right Reverend Andrew M. L. Dietsche, Bishop of New York, Episcopal Diocese of New York, and The Reverend Carla E. Roland Guzmán of The Church of St. Matthew and St. Timothy. Despite the snowstorm, the weekend continued with Mother Carla teaching at Saturday Shabbat Services in the Schnurmacher, and on Sunday, our Rabbi Robert N. Levine and Cantor Shayna De Lowe spoke and sang at The Church of St. Matthew and St. Timothy.
While this weekend marked a historical act of partnership, the church and the temple are now working together regularly. As of last spring, Rodeph Sholom and The Church of St. Matthew and St. Timothy collaborate on our Backpack Buddies program, delivering food to impoverished children in our neighborhood; and we attend their Sew and So program, which creates feminine hygiene kits for Days for Girls and knits for the Shawl Ministry and Seamen’s Church Institute.
Many thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this weekend wonderful.
