JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 35

T

emple Kol Ami hosts a 
Social Action Shabbat 
every January around 
the time of the Dr. Martin 
Luther King holiday, and this 
year, congregants from TKA 
and First Congregational 
Church of Detroit packed the 
West Bloomfield synagogue’s 
sanctuary for a special Friday 
night service.
Members of both choirs 
sang, and TKA
’s Social Action 
Committee read special passag-
es and excerpts from Dr. King’s 
speeches, including his 1964 
Nobel Peace Prize speech.
Rev. Peter L. Hart gave a 
passionate sermon with per-
spectives about Dr. King and 
his legacy, and tears flowed as 
both choirs joined at the end 
of the service to sing “Down 
by the Riverside.
” The two 
congregations then mingled 
afterward in Conrad Social 

Hall for a special Oneg.
Interfaith initiatives are very 
important at TKA. Years ago, 
its twinning weekend with a 
Dearborn mosque garnered 
national attention, and this 
year’s Social Action Shabbat 
once again showed that barri-
ers come down when people 
take the initiative to gather in 
settings like this. 

Rev. Peter L. Hart from First Congregational Church of Detroit 
delivers his sermon at Temple Kol Ami’s Social Action Shabbat.

PHOTOS BY SARA KRAVITZ AND JACKIE ZAMECK

MLK Celebration 
at Temple Kol Ami

PAUL GROSS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Temple Kol Ami and First Congregational Church of Detroit choirs sing 
“Down by the Riverside” at Temple Kol Ami’s Social Action Shabbat.

Temple Kol Ami Cantorial 
Soloist Janet Christensen 
and Rev. Peter L. Hart of First 
Congregational Church of 
Detroit

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