Religious groups often bolster beliefs through mutual worship and activities. Traditions become events in which friendships are formed and bonds created.

But what happens when membership is sparse and spread over multiple locations?

For three Jewish congregations, the answer is to mingle: As a result, the bonds have begun to broaden as the groups from Butler, Sharon and New Castle plan occasional joint activities.

The most recent gathering occurred Sunday at Congregation B'nai Abraham on North Main Street, where families from Beth Israel in Sharon and Hadar Israel in New Castle joined the Butler group to observe Hanukkah, an eight-day celebration that would begin two days later at sundown.

The event included classroom study, a demonstration for children on cooking traditional fried foods eaten at Hanukkah, a meal, readings and song.

"We've come together at various times over past years (and) for Purim, a holiday that's in March," said Hazzan Adriane Caplowe, the religious leader at B'nai Abraham. "We decided it would be nice to get our congregations together for other things. … I think because we all have Sunday schools that are not large," Caplowe added of the many Jewish children in local communities who have no Jewish peers at school.

B'nai Abraham consists of about 111 memberships, Caplowe said - with each membership comprising a single person, a couple or a family. When spread out over multiple communities and school districts, however, the ratio of Jewish residents becomes small.Jessica Riggs, 17, of Slippery Rock said given the lack of other Jewish children at school when she was growing up, she is glad the younger children have been offered the chance to socialize."In all the high schools in the Butler area, there are about four

Jewish kids, said Riggs, who lives in Slippery Rock and teaches Sunday school at B'nai Abraham. "See how many of these younger kids there are?" she asked, referring to the number of children within the group of more than 100."They are so lucky they're going to be able to make these bonds with other Jewish kids. I'm kind of jealous of that. But as a teacher it is just really great to see - even just sharing those cookies," she added, pointing to a group assembled near a tray of cookies shaped like six-pointed stars."The Jewish community (here) isn't as large as it is in metropolitan areas," she added. "This is good stuff. It really is."Rabbi Candy Lobb of Hadar Israel agreed joint activities have helped the children, not only through exposure to peers but also in broadening their perspective."Usually, the number of Jews in an Eastern to Midwestern community is not that large. (The communities) tend to be fairly tightly knit. Because of that, kids know there is something bigger than just the small Jewish community within the local city."Since Judaism is a very old tradition, predating Christianity by thousands of years, it helps the youngsters get a sense of the continuity of the tradition: when they can come to another town and see Judaism practiced here," she said.

Dr. Ira Abramowitz and his wife, Helene, whose 11- and 16-year-old children attend school in Center Township, agree the joint events broaden their sense of community - especially compared to their native New York, where the synagogue they once attended included about 600 families.Ira Abramowitz said before moving to Butler nine years ago, the family spent some time in New Hampshire, where their synagogue was closer in size to B'nai Abraham - so they have become used to a smaller religious community.Despite the lack of peers for her children at school, Helene Abramowitz said the schools have been supportive of the family's faith, recalling how a teacher once assigned her daughter, Elissa, the "H" in a Christmas alphabet performance so Hanukkah could also be represented.This year, Helene had also made plans to visit her son Ross' classroom to demonstrate making sufganiyot, fried donuts typical of the season.Despite being at home in Butler, the Abramowitzes agreed the multi-synagogue gatherings improved their sense of connectedness within their faith."I guess when you feel like you're the only Jewish people in the area, it's nice to know there are other Jewish people around," Helene Abramowitz said.