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A service for the Jewish High Holidays

Advent/Christmas service

The Interfaith Community of New York holds family services for major holidays. Since 1990, the Interfaith Community has celebrated the Jewish High Holidays to meet the deeply felt need for services at which the non-Jewish spouse and the children can feel at home. A Christmas/Hannukah family service is held in December. The end-of-year gathering celebrates Shavuot and Pentecost. In addition, programs for children about Sukkot/Simchat Torah and about Easter and Passover are held. These are intimate, participatory services, researched, written and led by Community members, with advice and participation from our religious advisors. Geared for families and their school age children, the services are designed to teach about the meaning of the holidays and to provide resonance with established traditions and rituals.

Reservations are required for all holiday events. Admission is free for members; nonmembers' fees vary by event.

Jewish High Holidays
There are three evening family services, geared for adults and school-age children. Services for Rosh Hashanah (followed by light refreshments) and Kol Nidre evening last approximately one hour. The very brief Neilah service, which concludes the holiday, is followed by a full "Break Fast." The shofar is blown in the Rosh Hashanah and the Ne'ilah services.

*For children 4-8, a parallel arts-based program will be provided furing the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services.

Rosh Hashanah Family service and kiddush/reception *                                  Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 6:30 pm 475 Riverside Drive (120th St.) /The Interchurch Center Chapel Yom Kippur Family service/Kol Nidre * Friday, September, 2010, 6:30 pm 475 Riverside Drive (120th St.) /The Interchurch Center Chapel Ne’ilah and Break Fast Saturday, September 18, 2010, 6:30 pm 62 E. 92nd St./Brick Parish House

Fees: All three services: $150/person; $250/couple/family (free for members) Per service: $65/person; $100/couple/family (free for members) Please RSVP

Sukkot/Simchat Torah
Children will learn about the harvest festival holiday, which culminates in the celebration of reading the Torah, children will bless the lulov and etrog, sing songs, hold the Torah, and dance the horah. (See Children's Programs)
Sunday, September 26, 2010, St. Michael's Episcopal Chruch (225 W. 99th St.)

Please RSVP

Advent/Christmas Service, followed by Hannukah Celebration
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Time/Location: TBA
$25 per person/ $60 per family. Free for members.
RSVP

The Christmas service is designed and led by members of our Community to convey the essential and spiritual meaning of Advent and Christmas. It is geared for families with children ages 9 and up. For children 4-8, a parallel arts-based program will teach about Christmas and Hannukah, respectively. The main service is followed by a brief Hannukah celebration and a festive gathering (with latkes, dreidels, carols, and holiday treats).

Passover Seders
Sunday, April 10, 2011, 4:00pm
Brick Parish House, 62 E. 92nd St. (between Park & Madison)
$25 per person/ $60 per family. Free for members.

A model seder will be held for children and families to learn about and celebrate the meaning and the rituals of this ancient tradition- dipping greens in salt water, recalling the ten plagues, inviting Elijah's return, and sharing matzah, the "bread of affliction." Following the commandment "You shall tell it to your children!" we will hear the founding story of Judaism - the story of the birth of a people and an evolved understanding of God. We look forward to a lively and enjoyable gathering of the Community for this event. In addition, Interfaith community member families share interfaith seders in members' homes.

Easter/Holy Week Service
Sunday, April 17, 2011, 4:00pm
Brick Parish House, 62 E. 92nd St. (between Park & Madison)
$25 per person/ $60 per family. Free for members.

The Interfaith Community will celebrate Easter and Holy Week with a special service designed by members to help share the meaning of the season- the most sacred period in the Christian calendar- with Jewish partners and children. This service is geared toward families and children, ages 9 and older. A parallel program is provided for children ages 4-9. (See Children's Programs).

Shavuot/Pentecost End-of-Year Gathering
Time and Location TBA

To mark the end of our year, the Community gathers in Central Park for a picnic celebration. The date is chosen to coincide with the two closely related holidays of Pentecost and Shavuot (also referred to as Pentecost or Feast of Weeks) which are both typically fifty days after Easter and Passover, respectively. Pentecost evolved from Shavuot, which evolved from an ancient agricultural festival. Shavuot commemorates God's giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai; Pentecost celebrates the manifestation of the Holy Spirit to the early Christians.