Rhode Island synagogue to share digs with Episcopal church

A small Jewish congregation in Rhode Island is moving into an Episcopal church.

Congregation Or Chadash will hold a procession next week, during which congregants will carry their three Torah scrolls out of their former building, which was recently consecrated as the first Hindu Temple in Rhode Island, the Jewish Voice newspaper reported.

The congregation, whose name means New Light, is made up of about 30 members of the former Temple Am David of Warwick, Rhode Island, which went bankrupt and had been using space in their former building for more than a year. The ark from the former building will be coming with them to their new digs.

They will use a classroom in the Cranston, Rhode Island church and share other facilities such as the kitchen and meeting room. The synagogue also plans to use a small chapel and church hall at Trinity for Shabbat services, which won’t overlap with Trinity’s Sunday services.

“We do have a tradition within the Episcopal Church of providing hospitality for other faith groups within our buildings,” Rhode Island Bishop Nicholas Knisely told the Episcopal News Service.