Members of the Historical Society are invited to attend a tour of two historic houses of worship on Friday, May 6. Participants will be responsible for their own transportation to the sites and are encouraged to carpool.
10:00 – 11:00 — The tour will begin at Congregation Beth Israel, 615 Court Street in Honesdale, where Rabbi Elliot Kleinman will share the early history of the congregation. A small group of German Jews settled in Honesdale in the mid-nineteenth century and became part its retail merchant community. With financial assistance from the Delaware and Hudson Canal Co., they built their synagogue in the classic Greek Revival style, popular in rural churches at the time, with a gold Star of David at the tip of its spire. It is the second oldest synagogue in the United States still occupied by its original congregation.
11:30 – 12:30 Lunch — Participants are welcome to gather for lunch at the Gravity Inn, 40 Gravity Planes Road, Waymart, before proceeding to the next stop on the tour. Cost is $17 for a buffet lunch that includes beverage and dessert. For reservations: RSVP by April 30 to Ruth Altemier at 570-676-4354 or gdhsgnc@gmail.com. Checks made payable to GDHS Luncheon.
1:00 to 2:00 — The second and final stop on the tour is St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Monastery located at 175 St. Tikhon’s Road in Waymart. Founded in 1905, St. Tikhon’s is the oldest operating Orthodox Monastery in North America. Its museum is truly a hidden “treasure of treasures” where visitors can browse the numerous icons, vestments and historical furnishings, and see exquisite examples of ecclesial embroidery, an art form practiced by women of the church for hundreds of years.
