 A sign advertises the site of the first Jewish synagogue in Boone. The building will be accessible from King Street and Rivers Street. Katey Bozorth | The Appalachian Plans to erect a building for the Temple of the High Country are underway, and the group finally has enough funds to implement their project.
The building, made possible by a generous $1 million donation by Bonnie and Jamie Schafer, has its groundbreaking set for May 1, 2011.
Among other things, the new space will include a religious school for Hebrew classes, a social hall for various Jewish life events, and a home for ASU Hillel, an on-campus Jewish student group, according to templeofthehighcountry.org.
Currently, the Temple of the High Country congregation worships at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Boone, but has also used space at St. Elizabeth of the High Country Catholic Church and the Unitarian Fellowship in Boone.
Chuck Lieberman, president of Temple of the High Country, is grateful for the money contributed to the building, which has been funded entirely by donations and is looking forward to his community having a place for their congregation to meet.
“One of the conditions of the $1 million donation by the Schafers was that their architect, Steven Price, work on the building and that they had final say in the plans,” he said. “We’re going to get a really nice building that’s appropriate to our needs.”
Lieberman also noted the importance of the student presence in the Jewish community and their strong relationship with Temple of the High Country.
“Last year, Jewish students on campus had a masked ball and raised $1,000 for the temple, which is extraordinary,” he said. “So we try to help them. It’s nice to have them, and they certainly have their input on the building as well.”
Not only will the Jewish community at large benefit from this new addition, but also Appalachian State University’s Hillel, which already has close ties with the Temple of the High Country.
Denise M. Lovin, co-advisor of ASU Hillel and university counselor, believes the new synagogue opens up a lot of opportunities for Boone’s Jewish community.
“We don’t have a space on campus and no other building in Boone is dedicated to the Jewish faith,” Lovin said. “I think that a lot of students have looked at Boone as lacking because we have no temple and no rabbi. This provides an opportunity for them to practice Judaism, and I would imagine that more Jewish students would move to Boone who may have been dissuaded before by this lack.”
Temple of the High Country has been a strong supporter of ASU Hillel in the past and continues to do so now by providing a space for them in their new building, Lovin said.
“They have helped sponsor programs such as the annual Sukkot celebration and have donated money for our campus-wide Seder,” Lovin said. “Temple of the High Country has provided students with a nice Jewish community beyond what they have here on campus with Hillel.”
For more information about Temple of the High Country and the new synagogue, visit templeofthehighcountry.org.
Story: MICHELLE YOW, Intern News Reporter
Photo: KATEY BOZORTH, Photographer |
