Coming together apart
In a meeting room lined with bookshelves in the old mansion that adjoins the Congregation B'Nai Abraham's sanctuary, facility caretaker Ben Vincent takes a seat at the end of a long table and opens his laptop — a copy of the Bible, a coffee mug and other texts by his side.
At the far end of the table — a socially safe distance away — one of his students, Karl Tamburro, sits quietly with his book open and ready for class.
It's the first day of a new normal for Vincent's Bible study class. Tamburro, who is in his 60s, insists on coming in person even though Vincent said he wishes he would stay home.
One by one the voices start to come through Vincent's laptop.
“Hi Connie,” Vincent responds to one student.
“I can see Kathy,” another says.
“I'm here,” presumably Kathy responds.
The greetings continue with the occasional frustration mixed in.
“Hold on. I'm going to come back on my iPhone. I'm hanging up.”
“Oh, God, this phone. I'm ready to throw it out the window, ” another voice says later.
“You guys all look great. It's great to see you,” Vincent says. He then encourages his students, joking: “By the time this is over, we'll all be pros at this.”
In a month where we continue to see and hear stories of those adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic, theirs is one of overcoming and coming together again.With a group made up mostly of women in their 60s, 70s and 80s, Vincent canceled class at the very onset of the outbreak, so early he wasn't sure if they missed two or three weeks of class before going to the livestream.“I didn't want to take a chance and risk it,” he said following the class Friday.But for students like Connie Campbell, it was a real challenge.“It felt like we were missing out on something,” she said. “It's what we look forward to for the whole week.”Self-sequestered in her Karns City home on a family farm and in her early 70s, Campbell lives alone with her two dogs.“I haven't left the house in weeks,” she said.Her family drops off groceries on her porch that she later sanitizes. Children and grandkids live nearby, but their primary interaction has been reduced to FaceTime.“It's so weird,” she said. “I'm just taking it as what I have to do.”She has occupied herself with yard work and long walks with her dogs. Living on a secluded property, she said she has seen only a single car on those walks — someone she assumes might be an essential employee going to work. Though she remains positive, it's been tough. Missing the community of her class was especially trying.
Vincent came up with the idea to bring the class back together online after a phone call with Campbell. She had said how much she missed the class and he was inspired.“I thought, you know what? We can do this online,” he said. Following the conversation he researched how to use Zoom's video conferencing platform and then spent time during the week explaining it to each of his students individually, including test calls prior to their first trial run.For this group, it has always been a story of coming together, even prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. It started two and a half years ago with a conversation around a dinner table.One of Vincent's now students expressed an interest in learning more about the Bible. That conversation turned into the class. And while it may be a Bible class held in the building of a Jewish congregation, led by an orthodox Jewish man, it extends beyond the confines of a single religion.
The class is made up almost entirely of Christians from various denominations. Listening to their class it seems that it is as much about getting together with friends as it is theology. Vincent said only one of his 11 students is a congregation member.For him, it is a reflection of his own religious view. He said he doesn't see differences of faith as important as the common ground and shared lessons within it. Though they focus on lessons from the Old Testament, for him and his class it's a chance to share.“More times than not, they'll teach me,” he said.It's a reflection of the larger Congregation B'Nai.“We've always been open to everyone,” he said. “That's what I love about this congregation.”Friday's class concluded with an appropriate message to be strong in challenging times, coming from the book of Joshua.And while it may have had a few technological challenges, it was a big hit and needed get-together for its members. With smiles on computer screens and happy good-byes, the group's excitement at the opportunity to be reunited was clear.“It was almost like being there,” Campbell said by phone. “It just felt like I was sitting at the table with all these people. I'm excited about the next class”Vincent echoed the sentiment.“It felt like what it always feels like,” he said following the class. “It was as if they were here in the room. ... It felt like everything was alright.”
Congregation B'Nai Abraham also went online Friday with Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer leading a service through a Zoom video conference — after a less-successful attempt via Skype the previous week.The congregation will also observe Passover — which started at sundown Wednesday — via online services. Considered one of the most important religious weeks in the Jewish calendar, the Feast of Passover commemorates the Jews exodus out of Egypt led by Moses.“It was so great to see each other,” Gray-Schaffer said when reached via text. “We felt like the Brady Bunch.”Gray-Schaffer said the service had significantly higher attendance than the normal in-person services, including some as far away as Clarion and Barkeyville who don't usually attend.Both the congregation's services and Vincent's Bible class will continue online through the remainder of the stay-at-home order.“I'm grateful for it,” Vincent said. “even though we have to stay separate, we can still connect.”
