synagogue spotlight
Beth Israel Congregation
of Chester County Works to
Keep Judaism Relevant
Jarrad Saff ren | Staff Writer
Courtesy of Robin Kerollis-Napiecek
T he Beth Israel Congregation of
Chester County dates its history to
a group of Jews that formed a commu-
nity in Coatesville in 1904. Those
founders chartered the synagogue 12
years later and named it Beth Israel.

And in the 107 years since, thousands
of people have walked through the
doors, according to the history section
on the shul’s website.

But whether this aging congregation
will stand for another 107 years and
welcome thousands of more people
is an open question. So open that
synagogue leaders acknowledge it on
bethisraelpa.org. The vision section on
the site is a little less confi dent than
the history section.

It opens with this paragraph: “Today
Judaism is facing a host of challenges
and one of the profound challenges is
that the synagogue is becoming less
relevant in people’s lives, especially
in younger generations. The great-
est challenge that all synagogues are
facing is how to reinvent themselves
to maintain their relevancy. Our Beth
Israel community is up to this challenge
and will continue its rich legacy of
looking forward.”
Beth Israel leaders are looking
forward. They are just not sure yet
what they see. All they know is how
they want to approach the problem.

“Meet people where they are,”
synagogue Co-President Cindy Blair-
Miller said.

Blair-Miller’s fellow president, Andrew
Weintraub, added that 15-20 years
ago shul life was “religious-based.”
Today though, the longtime member
believes it is more “cultural-based.”
So once a month, Beth Israel leaders
and members plan a Shabbat dinner in
addition to the usual Shabbat service.

The evening is designed to “simulate if
you were going to do Shabbat dinner
at home,” Weintraub said, with prayers
over Challah and other traditions. The
shul plans similar gatherings around
Passover and Chanukah. As Blair-
Miller explains, “If you feed them, they
will come.” And anywhere from 50-85
people show up for the Shabbat meals.

But it is not just the synagogue’s role
that is changing, according to Blair-
Miller and Weintraub. How leaders run
the building is evolving as well. Like
many shuls in the Philadelphia area,
Beth Israel is trying to make it easier
for millennials to pay for member-
ships. The Chester County synagogue
off ers congregant status at no fee to
alums of its religious school. It also
now has lower rates for single people
and married couples in their 20s and
early 30s.

“If you get people in the building
and you build that Jewish connection,
people will stay, and we fi nd that funds
come with that,” said Weintraub.

And these eff orts are getting more
people into the building. Blair-Miller
estimates that the community has
added eight to 10 young families over
the past fi ve years. The congregation
consists of 119 households, which is up
from 102 about a decade ago (though
it has been as high as 175 within the
past four decades).

At the same time, those are not
massive increases, and the lack of
young families is evident to Dominik
Zebrowski, a 45-year-old member
with his wife and fi ve kids. The family
moved to Chester County in 2017 and
“felt very welcome” as soon as they
walked into Beth Israel, he said. That
feeling has not gone away, either.

Zebrowski added that it’s not uncom-
mon for 50, maybe even 70, members
to plan an event themselves so they
can “be together, talk and complain
about Manischewitz wine.”
“And there’s always singing; there’s
always good food. And people
Beth Israel members gather for Sukkot.

Beth Israel Congregation of Chester County
circulate throughout the room with
eight-10 large tables set up,” he said.

But Zebrowski wants to see more
outreach toward young Jewish families
in the area. He thinks his contemporar-
ies would enjoy and fi nd meaning in
“this warmth and great community” in
the same way his family has over the
last six years.

“It was and still is incredibly welcom-
ing,” Zebrowski said.

Robin Kerollis-Napiecek has been a
member for more than 40 years and
speaks of a similar experience. She
calls the synagogue her “family.” She
said, “If anything were to happen,
everyone comes to your aid.” And
Kerollis-Napiecek appreciates that
Beth Israel is so welcoming to inter-
faith families that her Greek-Orthodox
husband, who belongs to a separate
church, sings in the synagogue’s choir.

People will come to a place like this,
according to the longtime congregant.

They just need to know that it exists …
and perhaps that it is willing to work
with you on a payment plan.

“It’s about reaching people and
making them feel like they are part of a
community,” Kerollis-Napiecek said. ■
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
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