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Temple Solel Brings Congregations Together for an Interfaith Night of Service and Learning
October 2024
By Paula Childs
“A giving vending machine. What a cool idea,” one teen elbowed another. “They sing a prayer. That is great- why don’t we sing our prayers?” another nudged her Mom.
On Aug. 25, Temple Solel hosted the first (but hopefully not the last) Night of Service and Learning (NoSal). Organized by Orchid Childs and Pauline Childs, the event aimed to help religions learn about one another.
Temple Solel invited teens and youth leaders from Grace Presbyterian and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to share a meal, learn about why we each do service, and make mitzvah (manna) bags.
As people brought in supplies, teens and adults were given markers and Ziploc bags to decorate. Participants were encouraged to write something encouraging to someone in need. Some drew flowers, others wrote “someone loves you” or “just keep swimming.”
Before we had dinner, Russ Cobe, Temple Solel’s lay leader led the group in a prayer and song. Jason Davenport, Grace
Presbyterian youth pastor also said a prayer.
The teens and adults ate mac and cheese, pizza, hash brown casserole, salad, and lots of desserts. While everyone was eating, the representatives from each faith gave a presentation.
Grace Presbyterian’s Jason Davenport started by explaining the importance of giving from a Presbyterian perspective.
Then, Russ Cobe, lay leader of Temple Solel, explained the importance of tikkun olam (repairing the world) and why Jews do mitzvot.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teens spoke about service in their faith. One of the teens, Clara Lee, explained “Our church serves so that we can follow the example of Jesus Christ and serve as he did ... One way I serve is by visiting the Giving Machine every Christmas. The Giving Machine is a vending machine run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in which instead of buying candy or a drink, participants can purchase items like clothing, hygiene kits, and meals to donate to families in need. This year, I was able to buy baby supplies for a family living in the Charlotte area.”
After each organization spoke, we broke into religiously diverse groups and did a Kahoot, an online quiz. Some of Kahoot’s questions were a bit humorous, such as, “In the Jewish tradition, tikkun olam means”: a) worries (like hakuna matata). b) Do unto others what you would like done unto you, c) Repairing the world, or d) God is good
Others required a bit more serious thought, like: “How many mitzvot are there in the Jewish tradition?” a) 10, b) 10,000, c) 613, or d) none.
As the interfaith teams answered questions, members of different congregations helped each other and cheered excitedly. Faces lit up with not only the right answer but with the excitement of new knowledge as well.
After the group had learned about the importance of service, the group gathered up the decorated plastic bags and moved on to make manna bags. As teens stuffed the Ziplocs full of bottled water, fruit cups, jerky,
peanut butter crackers, socks, and a list of helpful resources, the adults cleaned up the dinner mess. Members of all three organizations will share bags with congregants to be handed out to people in need. In the end, everyone learned something and helped someone. The organizers couldn’t ask for anything more.
