Reconstructionist Congregation of Detroit Dedicates New SanctuaryOn Sunday April 29th, the Reconstructionist Congregation of Detroit (RCD) celebrated the dedication of their new sanctuary in the City of Detroit. RCD, which was incorporated in the year 2000, moved recently to the new location when their former home at Christ Church Detroit began an extensive restoration project.
U.S. Senator Carl Levin, who is a founding member with his wife Barbara, provided the keynote address at the dedication ceremony and stressed the importance of family life at RCD, one of two synagogues located within the City of Detroit today. Senator Levin also mentioned specifically RCD's providing yearly services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur—thus guaranteeing that High Holiday services are offered in Detroit in an unbroken line of continuity since 1851.
Wayne State University Law Professor Alan Schenk, who introduced Senator Levin, spoke of the commitment that RCD has to preserve and enliven Jewish history in the City of Detroit. That mission is carried out in part by acquiring and restoring artifacts from former Jewish synagogues in Michigan. The 50-some visitors at the dedication ceremony viewed several of those artifacts, including a magnificent stained-glass window from the former Farnsworth shul, which Senator Levin rescued from an unauthorized salvager when he was President of the Detroit City Council.