Over 30 years ago, South Hills Interfaith Ministries started one of the first multi-denominational Holocaust memorial services in the country in an effort to keep the memory of the lives lost and the lessons learned from this tragic time in history. Each year a different SHIM congregation hosts the Holocaust Service, alternating non-Jewish and Jewish houses of worship.
Scheduled for Sunday, April 25, 2010
With over 600 attendees from all walks of life and faith communities, the poignant event featured a retrospective of services over the years and focused on the connection to real people. Stories of individual survivors with connections to the Pittsburgh area were retold drawing from "Flares of Memory: stories of childhood during the holocaust," a collection of short memoirs collected by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh.
Dramatic vignettes recounted the spirit of rescuers including the priests at the Catholic monastery of Assisi who hid hundreds of Jews, and the villagers of Le Chambon who refused to turn Jews over to authorities. Reflections were made on the many lives lost, including the 15,000 children who passed through Terezin, the camp designed to put a civilized face on the Nazis' treatment of the Jews.
Most Holocaust survivors are in their 80’s and each year there are fewer people alive who experienced that horrific period firsthand. Faced with the realization that the survivors will not be here much longer gives a sense of urgency to capturing their stories and retelling them to young and old so that both survivors and rescuers can be remembered and honored.
Each year, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, four South Hills congregations come together to hold a joint Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. Bower Hill Presbyterian, Temple Emmanuel, Good Shepard Catholic Church and Our Lady of Grace are the participating congregations. All community members are welcome.
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