Religious, Social and Community Programs

From the start, most services, holiday celebrations and social gatherings have been held in members’ homes, sweetened with the taste of homemade meals and oneg treats. Our services are led by Cantor Gary Schiff, adjunct professor of Jewish studies at Washington College and former president of Gratz College in Philadelphia (the nation’s oldest trans-denominational Jewish college). His knowledge is vast, his voice is inspiring and his talks are fascinating. We still hold High Holiday services in Emmanuel Church’s (religious symbol-free) Parish Hall, turning it into “Temple Emmanuel” with our member-built Ark and a Torah scroll borrowed from Har Zion.

Our events calendar is slightly different every year, but it always includes Shabbat and Havdalah services, a Passover Seder, an original Purim play and a delicious Hanukkah party. Social events might include bagel brunches, wine & cheese tastings, backyard barbecues and pool parties, book discussions, bowling, movies, musical performances and visits to Jewish sites in nearby cities. We have toured the Maryland Jewish Museum in Baltimore, the historic Jewish neighborhood in Washington, DC, and after we toured the US Naval Academy, we attended Friday Evening Services in the Academy’s Levy Center. We have hosted other Jewish groups for meals and services. In other words, our calendar is whatever the members want it to be.

The Havurah has an ongoing relationship with Hillel, the Jewish student group at Washington College, and celebrates Passover with the students at a seder on the WC campus. Havurah representatives are active in the community’s faith community through membership in the Chester Valley Ministers Association. We have dedicated a 24-grave Jewish section at the cemetery in Crumpton, Maryland, and a local funeral director has a relationship with a Jewish funeral director in Wilmington, Delaware, who is available to come to Chestertown to provide Jewish mortuary services.