Congregation Sukkat Shalom has had no physical home of its own since a handful of North Shore families founded it over 18 years ago.
But the diverse, community-centric, intellectually rigorous, celebrate-with-food-oriented group kept growing anyway. To accommodate this, the Congregation wandered like spiritual nomads from living rooms to beachfront to public buildings like schools and women’s clubs to various churches owned by other faiths.
Soon though, CSS will wander no more. It’s moving into a home of it’s own—an elegantly remodeled former Christian Science Church at 10th and Central Avenues in Wilmette. Dedication ceremonies are scheduled for October 12–14.
At a time when many institutions are shrinking, powerful lessons can be learned from Sukkat Shalom’s success, like the importance of inclusivity, community, authentic spiritual and intellectual exploration, and celebrations with food. (The Congregation includes fellowship and dining together in as many of its gatherings as possible.)
A core mission of the Congregation is to work closely with the broader community—including diverse faith traditions—to create a culture of mutual respect and understanding. CSS intends to bring together Jews, Christians, Muslims and Bahai for education, spiritual growth and social justice.
The location of their new synagogue should facilitate this. As Rabbi Sam Gordon explains, “Sukkat Shalom will be the first Jewish institution to join a cluster of other religious buildings in this area of Wilmette, which I think of as a church campus.” Two of those churches are the Wilmette Community Church and First Congregational Church which welcomed CSS to share their sacred worship space during it’s nomadic period. Gordon hopes to soon return the favor.
On a recent tour, Gordon and Past President Liz Sciortino enthusiastically describe the greater participation in community service that their new facility will allow. The Congregation already works with programs like Family Promise, which uses a network of churches to temporarily house homeless families while they regain stability. CSS will be able to host these families now that they have their own synagogue.
To emphasize community outreach, CSS is raising funds for Family Promise as part of their dedication celebration. As Sciortino explains, “During the weekend, rather than simply celebrating our new home just for ourselves, CSS will honor and raise funds for Family Promise too.”
This is a triple win! Win for Congregation Sukkat Shalom. Win for the struggling families being served by Family Promise. Win for other faith institutions, which share Sukkat Shalom’s mission too.
CSS flourishes as a unique, innovative, thoughtful response to a diverse population yearning for greater spiritual connection. Under Gordon’s leadership, the Congregation has become a national model for the Jewish reform movement. There are lessons in this example for other faith-based organizations too.
