Thanksgiving Brotherhood service bridges faiths
In the Mill Basin-Bergen Beach community, two houses of worship straddle East 69th Street: Temple Sholom, a Conservative synagogue and St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church. It is quite possible that congregants could live within their own sphere and never connect with their neighbors. However, it was the brainchild of the late Bernie Catcher, Temple Sholom benefactor and widely regarded Brooklyn civic leader, to create a Thanksgiving Brotherhood service, wherein each congregation would host the other on alternate years in order to foster friendship and connections across the faiths and across the street.
This year, the Bernie Catcher Memorial Thanksgiving Community Service was prepared by Temple Sholom’s Audrey Durst and St. Bernard’s Thomas Sorrentino, with assistance from members of the Knights of Columbus. Sorrentino urged the capacity crowd in the church’s expansive sanctuary to “make a friend and greet a new neighbor.” Durst described Catcher as a “man who loved life and peace,” and she noted that although this is the seventh year of the service, last year’s was wiped out because of Hurricane Sandy. “But,” she added, “that didn’t stop good people from helping out. We are all G-d’s children. Our differences make us interesting.”
Assemblyman and City Councilman-elect Alan Maisel was a great friend of Bernie Catcher. He explained, “Bernie noticed that Temple Sholom and St. Bernard were across the street but strangers to each other.” He wanted to bring together two institutions with common goals. Brotherhood is what makes up our country and once a year, we talk about it. Maisel added that “Happiness is not based on your assets, but is based on doing for each other.” He welcomed Lara Genovesi, whose late father, Anthony Genovesi, helped build the church.