“Our focus this year is what the seder as
a ritual tells us about who we are as Jews
and who we interact with in the world.”

It’s not manna from heaven,
but this Passover, provide
something just as crucial to the
survival of the Israeli people.

—RABBI ARIANA SILVERMAN

BCTC PARTNERSHIP
In terms of the partnership with
Pastor Aramis Hinds, who heads
BCTC and Breakers
Covenant Church
International,
Kurzmann adds,
“Pastor Hinds is a
very impressive and
a worthy partner.
The pastor truly
believes his calling
Pastor Aramis
is to connect other
Hinds
religions and renew
the black-Jewish
relationship.
“While this church is not the only
one in Detroit in an old synagogue,”
Kurzmann says, “Pastor Hinds
embraces the connection to the
Jewish community, which is not the
norm.”
Church member
Sondra Jenkins of
Detroit and execu-
tive director of
Organizational
Development at the
Detroit Institute of
Arts, agrees.
“Pastor Hinds is
Sondra Jenkins
bold and unique,”
she says. He has
courage to build
partnerships because he is comfort-
able with differences. “The heart of
our congregation’s identity is com-
munity and reconciliation … Unlike
many Christian churches, we recog-
nize our responsibility as a church is
to impact lives.”
Jenkins explains the relationship
between Hinds’ church and Bethel
Community Transformational
Center, a nonprofit with its own
board of directors (including
Silverman). The center hosts a wide-
range of programs and services,
including Hinds’ church. Other pro-
grams in the building, Jenkins says,
include the Detroit Phoenix Center
for homeless and displaced youth,
an emergency temporary shel-
ter, two community theaters and,
recently, Detroit Jews for Justice.
“It’s important that we’re involved
in the seder because we consider
ourselves friends of the Downtown
Synagogue and of Rabbi Silverman,”

Jenkins says. “We look to more pro-
grams together with shared goals of
reconciliation and social justice.”
She adds that she respects the
Jewish roots of Christianity so “it’s
an honor and a privilege to be a part
of these events to help us under-
stand our roots.”
The value of participating in the
seder, Jenkins says, became apparent
at a recent meeting when synagogue
and church members discussed slav-
ery and freedom. “It’s an act of wor-
ship and respect to recall the work
and the promise of deliverance,”
Jenkins says. “We all have stories of
coming from a ‘stuck place.’”
This phrase refers to Silverman’s
discussion on the meaning of the
Hebrew word for Egypt, Mitzrayim,
which Silverman says also means “a
stuck place.”
This year, the seder will include
storytelling by several church and
synagogue members about being
in a stuck place, Sitron says, like
depression, and rising above it.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Both Sitron and Jenkins emphasize
that the ability to have difficult
conversations between church and
synagogue members takes hard
work and trust.
“This is not a one-and-done rela-
tionship,” Sitron says. Since last
year’s High Holidays, the two con-
gregations have shared a variety of
events, from Motor City Karaoke to
a community conversation called
“Detroit 2067.” Conducted by Wayne
State University professor Peter
Hammer, director of the Damon J.
Keith Center for Civil Rights, the
group shared its vision for the future
of Detroit.
Each gathering, Jenkins says, is an
opportunity “to break down barriers
and set the stage for the hard con-
versations and building trust.”
When people show up and contin-
ue these conversations, she adds, “it
increases the opportunity to make a
lasting difference in our world.” •

In a country where terrorism is an all-too-frequent occurrence,
your gift to Magen David Adom ensures Israel’s national
paramedic organization has the medical supplies it needs to
save lives. So this Passover, while you recount the story of the
Jews’ redemption from slavery, your gift will help modern-day
Israelis survive the threats they face today.

Thank you for making a gift today and for supporting
our 70 for 70 Campaign, our drive to put 70 additional
ambulances on the streets of Israel in commemoration of
Israel’s 70th anniversary.

AFMDA Midwest Region
3175 Commercial Avenue, Suite 101
Northbrook, IL 60062
Toll-Free 888.674.4871 • midwest@afmda.org
www.afmda.org

At press time, the synagogue has reached
capacity for the community seder. However,
Sitron has started a waiting list at
downtownsynagogue.org.

jn

March 22 • 2018

43