A New Kind of Worship in a Traditional Kind of Place

This synagogue, surrounded on three sides by the seminary, was built in 1902. There were once three synagogues in Osijek, Croatia, but following World War II few Jews were left. An Assemblies of God congregation rented the building off and on until the handful of remaining Jews offered it to them for sale in the 1970s. The synagogue was restored as a Christian place of worship that celebrates our Jewish spiritual heritage. In 2002 the choir of the remaining synagogue came to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the building together with the church.

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The cross and the decalogue (10 commandments) share the front of the sanctuary. I found it symbolic that when the ark is open--the holy place where the scrolls of the Torah were once kept--the cross is revealed

"Glory to God in the highest" arches over the contemporary worship team on a Sunday morning.

Stars decorate the arched ceiling of the room.

My last Sunday was Croatian Thanksgiving. The front was decorated with fruits and vegetables for anyone to take and enjoy.

I have a thing for reflections. This one on the synagogue door makes me wonder how my church reflects the surrounding community. Is that good or is it bad?

Tomorrow I'll show you some of the pictures I took in the 19th century cathedral downtown that was the target of Serb attacks during the War for Independence in the early 1990s.