Rabbi Ethan Witkovsky and Reverend Adam Hearlson seem like they\u2019ve been friends forever. <\/p>\n
Witkovsky, 41, is the senior rabbi at Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El (TBH-BE), a Conservative movement synagogue in Wynnewood<\/a>. Hearlson, 44, is the pastor at Overbrook<\/a> Presbyterian Church (OPC), located on City Avenue.<\/p>\n Sitting in the basement of an Abington senior center after a meeting of Montgomery County<\/a> faith leaders in mid-October, the two finished each other\u2019s sentences as they told the story of the collaboration between their two congregations, one that began after a fire destroyed<\/a> OPC\u2019s sanctuary in 2024. <\/p>\n While the collaboration began as a logistical favor, Witkovsky and Hearlson say it has grown into something \u201cdeeply profound.\u201d Through Bible and Torah studies, holidays, lunches, and Easter egg hunts, the partnership has now stretched across time and tradition, bringing the communities into a lasting cycle of allyship and understanding. <\/p>\n The beginning of a partnership <\/p>\n Witkovsky and Hearlson met at a 2023 barbecue during Sukkot, a week-long Jewish harvest holiday. Hearlson joked that someone said, \u201cYou guys need to meet because you\u2019re tall, or whatever.\u201d (Hearlson is 6\u20327\u2033 and Witkovsky is 6\u20325\u2033). <\/p>\n The two got to talking \u2014 about religion, philosopher Aldo Leopold, and a Wisconsin naturalist they both like. A friendship was born. <\/p>\n On Jan. 15, 2024, a fire erupted in OPC\u2019s historic sanctuary, displacing the nearly 350 people who called the church their spiritual home. Repair costs were estimated<\/a> to be close to $10 million. <\/p>\n TBH-BE quickly jumped in to help. Shortly after the fire, OPC began to gather at the synagogue for Bible study and board meetings. Other religious organizations also stepped up to the plate, as well, including Penn Wynne Presbyterian Church, St. Paul\u2019s Lutheran Church in Ardmore<\/a>, and the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Overbrook. <\/p>\n As TBH-BE and OPC began to regularly cohabitate, Witkovsky and Hearlson\u2019s friendship deepened. Witkovsky had arrived at TBH-BE from a large New York synagogue with multiple staff members. At the time OPC moved in, he was TBH-BE\u2019s only rabbi. Sharing space with Hearlson and having another clergy person \u201cwander into my office\u201d to discuss everything from scripture to emails \u201cwas amazing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u2018These guys are here for us\u2019<\/p>\n In March 2024, a sign outside TBH-BE reading \u201cOur Community Stands With Israel\u201d was vandalized twice with a swastika<\/a>. At a prayer service shortly after, members of both congregations stood together. Witkovsky and Hearlson both spoke. <\/p>\n \u201cThat was a huge thing for my community of, like, \u2018These guys are here for us,\u2019\u201d Witkovsky said. <\/p>\n What followed is what Hearlson and Witkovsky described as a self-sustaining cycle of camaraderie, one borne out of the fire at OPC and forged by the vandalism at TBH-BE. <\/p>\n \u201cThe hope,\u201d Hearlson said, \u201cis that you don\u2019t remember who started the mutual circle of care, that it continues to feed back on itself over and over again, and you live in that circle, recognizing its goodness.\u201d <\/p>\n (During the interview, Witkovsky told Hearlson that all of the money OPC donated to TBH-BE would be put back into OPC\u2019s building fund \u2014 the circular care in action.)<\/p>\n In the months that followed the vandalism, the two communities shared scripture, bagels, and multipurpose rooms.<\/p>\n Elizabeth Cosgriff, a member of OPC, attended a study session in which Witkovsky and Hearlson each taught a piece of scripture from the other\u2019s tradition. She described a \u201cdepth of scholarship\u201d from Witkovsky, who spoke about Jesus\u2019 teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. That night, Hearlson taught a passage from the Talmud, the central text of Jewish religious law. <\/p>\n \u201cIt helped broaden my understanding of Judaism and appreciate the connections,\u201d Cosgriff said. <\/p>\n A Kosher-for-Passover Easter egg hunt <\/p>\n A test for the budding interfaith partnership came around Easter. OPC needed a place to hold services, and Witkovsky suggested the synagogue. For both the pastor and the rabbi, it was \u201ca novel idea.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe cultural religious power has been in the hands of Christians for so long,\u201d Hearlson said, explaining the unease many of his congregants felt about putting up a cross and hosting Easter in a Jewish space. \u201cThat was not lost on us.\u201d <\/p>\n But for TBH-BE, it was a no-brainer. Anna Caplan, who serves on the synagogue\u2019s board of directors, said there was \u201cimmediate enthusiasm.\u201d <\/p>\n Easter landed on the eighth night of Passover, meaning the church and synagogue would be holding services at the same time. That night, around 200 Jews and 300 Christians gathered under the same roof to pray separately, but together, about rebirth and renewal. <\/p>\n Hearlson and Witkovsky trade off recalling one detail with laughter. <\/p>\n Because Easter and Passover overlapped, Witkovsky quickly realized OPC would not be able to bring sacramental bread into the synagogue. Instead, its congregants would have to take communion with matzah, the unleavened bread eaten on Passover. <\/p>\n Hearlson described leading from the pulpit as the congregation went to take communion. Suddenly, there was \u201can audible crunch.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cAnd I\u2019m like, \u2018I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever heard that in a Christian service before,\u2019\u201d Hearlson said. <\/p>\n At the end of the service, Hearlson invited congregants to sing Handel\u2019s \u201cHallelujah\u201d chorus. Both Christians and Jews joined him. <\/p>\n \u201cI felt a real sense of belonging even though I hadn\u2019t met most of the people there,\u201d said Caplan, one of the TBH-BE congregants who volunteered to sing.<\/p>\n Afterward, the two communities shared a meal and an Easter egg hunt on the synagogue lawn. Inside the Easter eggs was Kosher-for-Passover candy, selected so Jewish children could participate, too. One TBH-BE congregant kept the plastic Easter egg to put on his Passover Seder plate the next year. <\/p>\n Hearlson said the memory of Easter at TBH-BE makes him emotional. <\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how theologically capacious and generous that idea is,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Interfaith work on the Main Line<\/a>, Hearlson added, has long followed a \u201clive and let live\u201d belief. <\/p>\n \u201cThis was something more,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to actively support each other. We\u2019re going to be in each other\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Living your values\u2019 in a divided world <\/p>\n Though OPC\u2019s sanctuary remains under construction, its offices have since been rebuilt. The church can now hold Bible study and meetings in its own space, a relief after nearly two years of displacement. <\/p>\n Yet Hearlson said he and his congregants \u201cfeel a loss.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked what it means to practice interfaith collaboration in a moment of rising antisemitism<\/a>, Witkovsky was pensive. Some of it is deeply profound, he said, like exchanging texts from each other\u2019s traditions. Other things are simpler, like sharing the leftovers from a catered lunch. <\/p>\n \u201cIn this world of difference … \u201d he said. \u201cJust having people whose faces you know, it\u2019s super important. It\u2019s just an easy way to live your values.\u201d <\/p>\n When OPC\u2019s building is complete, Witkovsky joked to Hearlson that he\u2019s \u201chaving staff meetings there\u201d after all of the Bible studies hosted in the synagogue. <\/p>\n Hearlson quipped back with a smile, \u201cWe\u2019ll order Hymie\u2019s<\/a>.” <\/p>\n This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer\u2019s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com\/donate<\/a>. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org\/supporters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rabbi Ethan Witkovsky and Reverend Adam Hearlson seem like they\u2019ve been friends forever. Witkovsky, 41, is the senior…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26499,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[183,185,184,186,17401],"class_list":["post-26498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion","tag-lower-merion-headlines","tag-lower-merion-news","tag-lower-merion-township","tag-overbrook-presbyterian-fire-synagogue-collaboration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}