Beth Israel Congregation To Host 52ND Annual Brotherhood & Sisterhood Service On February 8 At 7 P.M.
Oldest Continuously-Held Service of Its Kind in the State; Celebrating Over a Half-Century of Ecumenical Solidarity
VINELAND, NJ—Clergy from the Vineland Ministerium will come together with the area faith community in the spirit of unity as Beth Israel Congregation will host the 52nd Annual Brotherhood & Sisterhood Service, on Friday, February 8, at 7 p.m., at the synagogue, 1015 E. Park Ave., Vineland.
The Brotherhood & Sisterhood Service, the oldest continuously-held ecumenical service of its kind in New Jersey, will have as this year’s theme “Building Communities.” The speaker will be Rabbi Abby Michaleski, co-spiritual leader of Beth Israel Congregation since this past December.
The service will also include students from the Vineland Public School system reading essays they prepared on the subject and musical selections by the Vineland High School Select Choir
The service started when, in the darkness of the escalating conflict in Vietnam, Rabbi Dr. Murray Kohn, now Rabbi Emeritus of Beth Israel Congregation, began a prayerful striving for unity with the inception of the Brotherhood Shabbat Service. This service of prayer and local unity has become a spiritual fixture within Vineland and the surrounding area.
Rabbi Abby received rabbinic ordination from ALEPH (Alliance for Jewish Renewal Ordination Program) in January 2015 after nine years of formal study. She holds a Master’s Degree in Jewish studies from Gratz College in Elkins Park, PA, a B.A. in Psychology from Rutgers University and a New Jersey license as a Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She became the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth El of Hammonton in 2006 and continues her association with that synagogue. Prior to entering rabbinical school, she worked alongside Temple Beth El’s student rabbi for three years as our cantorial soloist, bringing modern and ancient melodies into our prayer and community programs. She has been a Jewish educator and spiritual leader for over 20 years in the South Jersey and Philadelphia areas. She also maintains a rabbinic and counseling private practice in Voorhees, NJ and is the co-founder of RAPHA (The Center for Healing and Spirituality) in Cherry Hill, NJ.
“It is a great honor and privilege for us to have hosted this service of ecumenical and spiritual solidarity for over a half-century and for me to join this ecumenical community to be part of this tradition,” said Rabbi Abby said. “I deeply believe in building bridges, which in this time of polarity, is so very important. That is why a service like this, which remained a constant through the years. It is something from which all of us—of all faiths, all ages, and all cultures—can learn and profit.”
An offering of canned or dry goods is requested which will help stock the local food pantry and will be distributed to the less fortunate members of the Vineland community.
The service is open to the community and refreshments will be served.
For more information, please call the Beth Israel Congregation office at 856-691-0852.
