Book: Nassau County synagogues

The other day I came across a very interesting book at a Massapequa library: "That I May Dwell among Them," A Synagogue History of Nassau County, published in 1991. This volume of 172 pages describes more than a hundred synagogues or temples. The editors are Tobie Newman and Sylvia Landow, but the individual articles were submitted by each congregation. Because of my interest in Nassau County parishes, this makes for thought-provoking reading. For sure, the Nassau County synagogues are constituted differently from our parishes, with no bishop ("overseer") supervising things religious or mundane.

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Our parishes and the Jewish congregations reflect demographic changes. There is some resemblance to the decisions this year regarding parishes in Elmont, Cedarhurst, and Inwood. Believers arrive in a neighborhood, a congregation is formed, and sometimes many move away. In the two decades since the book's publication, some congregations have sought mergers. Other smaller orthodox congregations have arisen adjacent to larger reformist synagogues. In at least one place, a "For Sale" sign has long been posted at a temple.

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The book's title is full of meaning: "That I May Dwell among Them."

St. Boniface, Elmont

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

The mailing address of St. Boniface Parish is 631 Elmont Road, Elmont NY 11003, telephone 516-354-0715. The parish website is linked HERE, and it is current as of March, 2019.
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The church, rectory, and graveyard are on the northeast corner of Elmont Road and Dutch Broadway. When the parish was established in the 1850's, this location was known as Foster's Meadow, in the Town of Hempstead, within Queens County, as Nassau County came into existence in 1899. The Catholics were mostly farmers, mostly of German heritage. St. Boniface himself was born in England and became an apostle to the Germans. He lived from about 672 to 754. A bas-relief of Boniface stands to the right of the main door of the church, built in 1963.

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An article printed 6.23.2011 in the Franklin Square/Elmont Herald says that the church was first named the Nativity of Our Lord. "In 1857, the building was rededicated and called St. Boniface." The diocesan website gives 1858 as the date of the establishment of the parish.

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Please do not confuse this parish with St. Boniface Martyr, Sea Cliff. That parish is younger, and the patron is a different Boniface.

Stained glass windows surround the pews. Quite a few present extraordinary topics. Above is the martyrdom of St. Boniface in Frisia, now the Friesland, Netherlands. The year was 754.

St. James the Less does not have a Catholic parish on Long Island, so here he is in Elmont, writing a letter. The Bible has a epistle with his name.

I find it difficult to take good photos of stained glass windows; exposure fools me. This window depicts Pope John XXIII welcoming Bishop Walter Kellenberg to the Second Vatican Council. The council opened in October, 1962. John died the next June. The cornerstone of St. Boniface church is dated 1963. In 1976, Bishop Kellenberg retired.