October 14, 2001
Keeping
Tradition Alive
Jewish Community of Southern Utah
Maintains the Faith in St. George
By Joshua Kors
St.
George, UT — To be a Jew in Oakland, N.J., means something different than being
a Jew here. Rise Bausch knows. The St. George resident grew up in Oakland, where
all through childhood she kept Friday night Sabbath and attended Saturday services.
In a state known for its diverse swirl of cultures, Bausch's religious practices
were nothing beyond ordinary.
Today, however, Bausch finds herself living outside that diversity, in Color
Country, where the Latter-day Saints population hovers around 80 percent and
the remaining 20 percent is largely Catholic and other Christian denominations.
Here most Utahns — even the rabbis of Salt Lake's synagogues — are unaware a
Jewish community exists at all. For many years it didn't: Bausch spent the high
holy days alone, a one-man congregation.
"I used to sit on my back deck for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, by myself
with my prayer book, doing my praying myself," Bausch said.
Not so anymore. In the years since Bausch's first porch-side service, St. George's Jewish population has seen a slow, steady increase. Thanks to the dedicated leadership of Bausch and Reverend Mary L. Allen, that population now has an organization of its own, the Jewish Community of Southern Utah (JCSU), a collection of local families who meet for services in Allen's Grace Episcopal Church.
Since
1996 Grace Episcopal has housed the organization's Passover seder service, which
celebrates the Jewish exodus from slavery in Egypt. The church also holds Sabbath
services for the JCSU the first Friday of every month. The event draws Jews
from cities as far off as Fredonia, Ariz., a two-hour drive.
For an Episcopal church to devote such resources to a Jewish organization may
surprise many Utahns. But Allen believes that fostering other faiths is one
of her cardinal duties. She sees her church more as a community center, one
designed to nurture diversity.
"If we had an Islamic community in St. George, I'd offer them space too,"
Allen said. "I truly believe that God has created us in great diversity
and that we should be able to worship according to how our soul calls us. That's
part of the strength of the Episcopal Church: We open our doors to all kinds
of things." In addition to housing the JCSU, the Episcopal Church sponsored
the Dalai Lama's visit to Salt Lake City in May.
But sponsoring St. George's only Jewish organization means more to Allen than
simply an exercise in diversity. The reverend sees an affinity between the Episcopalian
and Jewish faiths. Neither have a living prophet; both encourage the challenging
of authority. Allen recalls the Passover story in which the boy who is pitied
is the one too afraid to ask.
Like the Jews, Allen said, "we don't have all the answers. We have all
the questions."
That sense of unity sprouted into an annual Passover meal and, subsequently,
the official founding the JCSU in 1995, when Allen assumed the leadership of
Grace Episcopal. Her predecessor, Reverend John Day, had been holding a joint
Passover and Maundy Thursday celebration, which marked the Jewish holiday as
well as Jesus' last supper. At Allen's urging, Grace Episcopal separated the
two ceremonies. The church held the first distinct Passover seder in April 1996.
The celebration, said Bausch, drew Southern Utah's Jewish families "out
of the woodwork," and the numbers have been only increasing since. Over
120 people participated in this year's Passover meal. A core group of 25 families
keep the monthly Sabbath service going.
Having a place to pray and eat traditional foods like lox, tongue and chopped
liver has been a blessing for Jews like Debbie Justice, the secretary-treasurer
of the JCSU. But Justice notes that even with the home base of Grace Episcopal,
the culture outside of its walls can still seem disquietingly unfamiliar.
In a town accustomed to proselytizing, Justice said she feels uncomfortable
when pressed about her beliefs.
"I'm just really taken aback when I'm asked what my religion is,"
Justice said. "Growing up these were areas you didn't pry into. It was
like saying, 'What did you put on your last tax return?' You didn't ask."
"I can feel a little bit awkward and out of the mix sometimes," she
said. "So it's nice to get together with my Jewish friends."
Sometimes the cultural conflicts go beyond momentary discomfort.
After a recent death, Bausch and other members of the JCSU considered approaching
the city council when a St. George cemetery refused to bury the body according
to Jewish customs. Custom requires that the casket be lowered into the ground
while family and friends throw dirt on the coffin and recite a prayer. The cemetery
director argued that that would violate the town's burial laws.
"We got very angry. They would not put the casket in the ground and let
us perform our tradition. They say they don't put (the coffin) in the ground
until everybody leaves. The gravediggers do it," Bausch said. "And
I said, 'Well, you should have looked up the Jewish tradition for funerals.'
If you run a funeral parlor, you should know the traditions for funerals."
Bausch is quick to point out that many members of the community have been extremely
supportive of her group, even those unfamiliar with Jewish customs. At Bausch's
request, the bakery manager at Harmon's agreed to prepare challah for the Friday
night services.
"He didn't know exactly what it was," Bausch recalled with a smile.
"He said, 'Is that the braided egg bread?' I said, 'Yes. Yes it is.'"
Having a community of people that are familiar with such traditions — that's
been the heart of Justice's joy in being part of the group. She said there is
warm recognition in the breaking of the challah, the lighting of the candles
and reciting of Hebrew prayer.
"There's a familiar feeling," Justice said. "I haven't gotten
a clue what they're saying, but I can follow along and it sounds comforting.
There's a comfort in what's familiar. It's just good to connect with kin."
Justice and Bausch both credit Rev. Allen and Grace Episcopal with making the
JCSU possible, not just for giving the group a home but for lending it full
use of the church kitchen.
Noted Justice: "At Grace, they avail themselves to everyone who cleans
up after themselves."