Jews And Christians: 

A Journey Of Faith

Jews & Christians: A Journey of Faith, premiering on Connecticut Public Television on Wednesday, May 30, at 8 pm, is a groundbreaking two-hour special that explores the common beliefs and rituals of two of the world’s most important religions. It also exposes the historical conflicts between Judaism and Christianity, making an impassioned argument for tolerance through increased understanding and the destruction of outdated stereotypes.

CPTV can be seen in Newtown and other area towns on Charter Communications Channel 12.

Jews & Christians has already been garnering statements of support in its test screenings. Written comments from an overflow audience at Gordon College of Wenham, Mass., included: “Thank you for a compelling, timely report that touched my heart and spirit,” “I wish the whole world could see this” and “I felt privileged to partake in this act of reconciliation.”

Directed by Gerald Krell and Meyer Odze, Jews & Christians is based on the book Our Father Abraham: The Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith by Marvin R. Wilson, PhD.

The historic misunderstandings and troubled relationship of Christians and Jews are explored in frank interviews with leading biblical scholars and historians, including faculty members of Harvard Divinity School, Boston College, Hebrew Theological Seminary and Hebrew College.

Interdenominational members of the clergy are also represented, among them Dr Craig Barnes, the pastor of National Presbyterian Church; Father Philliman Sevastiades of Greek Orthodox Archdiocese; Rabbi “Yitz” Greenberg; and Sister May Boys of Union Theological Seminary.

It is, however, the footage of ordinary people who provide the most emotionally powerful moments of the program. A few of the most fascinating sequences in Jews & Christians: A Journey of Faith include:

*On Massachusetts’ North Shore, members of a congregational church and a reform synagogue attend services at each others’ houses of worship, many for the first time. After both services, the candid impressions of both groups are recorded;

*A Yom Kippur service at Beheads Jewish Congregation and an Ash Wednesday service at Christ Church Episcopal Church in Hamilton, Mass., are taped, and their themes of atonement and forgiveness compared;

*Cantor Bruce Rubin of Temple Shaaray Teffila in New York City performs the Yigdal, an ancient Hebrew hymn. The Christian adaptation of the hymn, “God of Abraham Praised,” is performed by the choir of Gordon College of Wenham, Mass.;

*Members of a black church group visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Their reactions to the disturbing exhibits are taped, as well as their comments about relating the Holocaust to their own history;

*Christians and Jews visit historic sights in Israel, in search for their roots at key biblical sites;

*In New York City, Father Guy Massey, the only Catholic priest to graduate from Jewish Theological Seminary, talks with his Jewish students at the Solomon Schecter High School about interfaith relations and spirituality; and

*Sonia Weitz, an eloquent survivor of the Holocaust, tells an eighth trade Catholic school class in Boston about her experiences.