AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — Rabbi Alex Lazarus-Klein stood at the pulpit of Amherst Community Church on Friday, leading his Shir Shalom congregation in a special Shabbat service, marking their return to where their Jewish community first began.
This wasn't just any Friday night service. For the first time since the 1950s, the synagogue held Shabbat at the Christian church where their predecessor congregation, Temple Beth Am, was founded in 1955.
"It just feels so special to be back in this original place," Lazarus-Klein said.
The reunion came about through the research of Marta Herzbrun, who attends both the church and synagogue. Herzbrun goes to Amherst Community Church but also attends Shir Shalom because her husband is Jewish.
While researching the temple's history, she discovered the connection between the two congregations.
"I got goosebumps, and I was very excited to think that the beginning of the temple was at my church," Herzbrun said.
Co-Pastor Kandace Brooks opened the church doors without hesitation for the special service.
"This is part of their DNA," Brooks said.
The story dates back to 1955, when Jewish families were moving to the Amherst suburbs and needed a place to worship. Temple Beth Am found a welcoming home at Amherst Community Church.
"There were very few Jews in the Amherst suburbs. They were moving here. They didn't know what they were doing, and this church, Amherst Community Church, welcomed them with open arms," Lazarus-Klein said. "That's a kindness, that even 70 years later, I get chills."
By 1959, the Beth Am congregation had grown enough to move to their own building. In 2012, they merged with Temple Sinai to become Shir Shalom, the synagogue that exists today.
"We share a common heritage. We share a common story. We worship the same God," Brooks said.
"This world is so fractured, so just to know we have a friend down the road means the world," Lazarus-Klein said.
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