What is the wide-ranging appeal of PCS?
If you are thinking of joining a synagogue, and you are considering Pleasantville Community Synagogue, I do hope that you will have a chance soon to attend one of our Friday evening or Saturday morning Shabbat services. I say that, because I believe there is nothing which can better give you a sense of what our community is all about.
What you would see on a typical Friday night would be couples with children, single parents, seniors, and their friends - singing, sitting quietly, and at one point even dancing (yes – dancing!). You would see parents saying a blessing over their children. And you would also notice that you don’t recognize all of the songs (That’s OK, most of us just learned them a few weeks ago ourselves. Everything here is a bit new – for everyone.) “What is this?” you might ask yourself. Is this Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist? Actually, we are none of the above. We are a young community synagogue (we only dedicated our building in the Spring of 1998), of just a few hundred families, whose goal is to be a spiritual home for Jews of all backgrounds. We are a community synagogue that tries to take the best from each of the liberal movements (sometimes we use the term “transdenominational”). We reflect, as well, the energy and interest of our members, a growing but still-intimate group; many of whom live in Pleasantville, but almost two-thirds of whom now come from as far away as Stamford, Yonkers, and Yorktown. We are a progressive, fully egalitarian synagogue, reaching out to a broad spectrum of the Jewish population in Northern Westchester; both “inclusive” and yet “deeply rooted” in tradition. Synagogue experts have coined a term for communities such as ours. They call us an “emergent” congregation. It’s very easy to get to know people here. Once a part of our community, you’ll be invited to participate in a myriad of activities organized by our active committees. If you have children in Religious School, you’ll quickly make many connections there as well. Tots, young children, teens, seniors – everyone is made to feel welcome and included. |
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