Historic moments and places

Sometimes it’s not who you are but where you are that makes all the difference. 

As the newly appointed President of the Rochester Jewish Federation in 1996, I found myself at the right place at the right time when asked to sign the historic Rochester Agreement between the Rochester Board of Rabbis, the Jewish Community Federation of Rochester and the Catholic Diocese. It became the first of its kind nationally and internationally. To commemorate its significance ten years later, a group of Catholics and Jews led by Bishop Clark and Rabbi Katz and developed with Isobel Goldman went to Rome to meet with clergy and discuss our past and future. Fathers Joseph Brennan and Dan Torme brought us to the beautiful church where both had received their ordination so many years ago. Earlier in the day we attended services at the great synagogue in Rome and the Catholics were moved by the fact that my husband recognized his Torah portion from his Bar Mitzvah. It was these moments of shared memory that brought us to a greater understanding of each other’s faith.  Upon our return, Jane Napier, one of our companions, along with her family provided the funding to establish the Brennan Goldman Institute for Catholic Jewish Understanding. Our programs ranged from large group lectures to the coordination of a book sharing project with Catholic and Israeli students.

BGI is now poised for new growth and a broadening of our conversation to include interfaith experiences with many religious communities.  At a time of silos we want to open doors for greater understanding of the interconnectedness of us all.