hare Spaces

Temples and synagogues use rented rooms to accommodate growth.

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

ith an ark on wheels and a con-
gregation almost as nomadic as
Moses' people, Rabbi Arnie
Sleutelberg says constant change
of venue is the price one has to
pay for having a young
congregation.
"There is a down side to not
11111 having a building," he said.
"There is no sense of perma-
nence."
Rabbi Sleutelberg's Congrega-
tion Shir Tikvah and other
temples and synagogues have
come up with unique solutions to
the problem of not yet having a
place to hold all of their functions
under one roof.
For some, it is the quest to find
enough classroom space to house

Northminster is mainly used
for Shabbat.
"We wanted a place that did
not have crosses on every chan-
delier, every window or every
pew," Rabbi Sleutelberg said.
"That is what Northminster is
like."
For the larger crowds High
Holidays attract, Shir Tikvah
rents Troy Oaks Church. The
temple also contracts with a din-
ing hall for Passover, a Catholic
church for their annual spaghetti
Shabbat and community halls in
Rochester Hills and Huntington
Woods for other large occasions.
Northminster does not have
classrooms for the temple's edu-
cational programs. For that, Shir

Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg with his rented bricks and mortar.

all of their afternoon classes that
drives them to contract with
public schools. But for one, it is a
quest to find a space devoid of
crosses to hold services.
For the past eight years, Shir
Tikvah has rented Northminster
Presbyterian Church on Big
Beaver Road in Troy for Friday
night and Saturday services. In
the three years prior to that, they
used a Lutheran and a Unitarian
church.

Tikvah must rent 10 classrooms
and an auditorium twice a week
from Roper Elementary School.
"There is also an up side. We
have no building to worry about
or pay for," Rabbi Sleutelberg
said. "We are proud to be able to
put our financial and human re-
sources into programming and
fostering an extended congrega-
tional family rather than putting
all of those resources into bricks
and mortar."

The temple owns land on Wat-
tles Road in Troy and some day
plans to erect a building, but for
now must make do.
Temple Shir Shalom is in the
same boat. With construction un-
der way for their new building,
the temple must continue to rent
the office building where they
started six years ago.
The building was brand new
when they first occupied it. Lo-
cated on Maple Road east of Or-
chard Lake Road, it houses the
sanctuary and classes for pre-
kindergarten through fifth grade.
But growth has forced the
young congregation to build, at
Walnut Lake and Orchard Lake
roads. Construction began on the

assistant education director. "We
set up the stage real pretty. It
doesn't look like an auditorium."
Shir Shalom's religious class-
es are held at the West Bloom-
field School District's Doherty
Elementary School, located one
mile from the temple.
"One drawback is that the
teachers are not able to decorate
the classrooms with posters or
signs," said Ms. Shelef.
The arrangement with the
West Bloomfield School District
will not change even after the
new building is completed; the
first phase does not have enough
classroom space.
But some congregations with
existing temples grow beyond
what their building allows and
look elsewhere to hold class-
es.
West Bloomfield School Dis-
trict also rents to Congrega-
tion Shaarey Zedek, Temple
Israel and Temple Kol Ami,
said Jerry DiPaolo, director of
community education. Other
groups, like scouting and
community service organiza-
tions, also rent the buildings.
However, the school district
does not feel much of an im-
pact from the income gener-
ated by the rental agreements.
Most of the funding is used for
the upkeep required for dou-
ble-utilizing the schools.
Temple Kol Ami pays
$25,000 annually to the dis-
trict for the rental of several
rooms at Ealy Elementary
School. The rooms cost $18 for
each use and the auditorium
is $36. Custodial services run
$20 an hour and $40 on Sun-
days.
And Jewish educators face
the drawbacks of not being al-
lowed to decorate the rooms or
store educational materials.
"We have to carry every-
thing there each time we have
class which takes time for our
teachers," said Elissa Berg, di-
rector of education at Temple
Kol Ami. "Having your own
project this fall and is expected to classroom space is far superior."
be completed by the High Holi-
Kol Ami has class space for
days next year.
four groups, not enough for the
Until then the temple will con- hundreds of children who attend —
tinue to rent West Bloomfield afternoon and Sunday school. --
High School's auditorium for
"There is a group of people who c`i
High Holiday services. The office- recognize that the school has it
building sanctuary will not hold evolved and realize we need co
the 1,200 people Shir Shalom at- classrooms of our own that we c) ,
tracts so they set up shop on the can decorate and call our own," c-)
high school stage.
Ms. Berg said. "Maybe in the cp
"We have a portable ark," said future we will have our own
Lani Shelef, the congregation's rooms." CI

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