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Settling into place: `People of Hope' mark their 20th
By Fern R. Landberg
Advocate Staff
Friday nights, a light shines though the window of Temple Sinai's Hebrew school in Brookline for the "People of Hope," who gather there for prayer and social celebration.
But the light hasn't always shone so brightly for this group, known as Am Tikva (Hebrew for "People of Hope"). A diverse group formed as an alternative to mainstream congregations, Am Tikva has struggled to maintain its foothold in Greater Boston's Jewish community. But this "extended family" is solidifying that position with a growing membership, increased community support and, this spring, the celebration of its 20th anniversary.
These are major accomplishments for Boston's community of lesbian, gay and bisexual Jews, whose members run the full spectrum of Jewish affiliations and backgrounds from Chassidic to Reform. Although Am Tikva isn't affiliated with any religious movement, members say meeting the congregation's needs has been one of the congregation's biggest challenges.
"It's a problem -- a problem trying to please everyone," 11-year member Mark Korson says. "No other congregation does what Am Tikva does by trying to meet the needs of all affiliations, trying to accommodate all backgrounds, be a community center. [But] we do our best."
Sharon Seltzer, a member for over 10 years, agrees. "Its difficult to come up with something that makes everyone happy," she says.
Am Tikva's earliest services illustrate that. The congregation initially offered only contemporary Shabbat services monthly. Now, it holds traditional and contemporary services, respectively, on alternating Fridays. Early on, the congregation offered Hebrew and Yiddish classes; programs on anti-Semitism, Ethiopian Jewry...