Messianic Group Celebrates Hanukkah in Ledyard

A small congregation of about 25 believers will gather after sunset today in Ledyard to celebrate the start of Hanukkah. They will join members of the Jewish faith the world over with prayers and the lighting of the Menorah.

This group will not meet in a synagogue, but at the New Life Christian Fellowship Church on Route 117, where members have gathered two Fridays a month and every "Shabbat" for the past seven years.

Congregation Shofar Be Tzion is a Messianic Jewish congregation. It describes itself as a mixture of both Jewish and Gentile believers that acknowledge Jesus – "Yeshua" in Hebrew – to be the Messiah. Services are conducted by Rabbi Joseph Merenda, assisted by his wife, Rebbitzen Marguerite Merenda.

"We make a connection between what we call the 'roots and the fruits,'" Rabbi Merenda said. "We connect the Old Testament 'roots' of our faith to the 'fruits' of the spirit in the New Testament. We tie the two together."

Merenda said Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, celebrates the rededication of the Jewish Temple in 175 B.C., and the miracle of the oil that kept the lamps burning for eight days. For all believers, Merenda said, Hanukkah is a time of rededication to God.

"We light candles – we light one every night – and we say the same prayers that are said in the Temple," said Merenda, whose great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Spain. "Everything looks the same."

The difference, he said, is that members, whether Jewish or Christian, all acknowledge a deep and unbroken connection between these two major religions.

Congregation Shofar Be Tzion was founded 12 years ago by Rabbi Moshe Laurie, who has since relocated to the Midwest. The congregation began about a mile south on Route 117, at Bishop Seabury Episcopal Church, before relocating to the New Life church.

"They were a people without a home," said the Rev. Johnny Burns, co-pastor of the New Life Christian Fellowship Church with his wife, the Rev. Sharon Burns.

Today, Burns said members of the Congregation Shofar Be Tzion are like members of his own church family. "We are in a covenant relationship," he said.

Merenda agreed that the two congregations are like one family. Both Burns and Merenda have been guest ministers at each other's services. In the sanctuary, Jewish and Christian symbols are displayed side by side.

"We celebrate all Christian and Jewish holidays," said Merenda, who works days as a safety supervisor at Pfizer. "We do it all, as we try to make that connection between our Jewish roots and the fulfillment of the New Testament."

During Hanukkah, Shofar Be Tzion members will meet at 6 p.m. each night for eight nights. "We will light candles and say prayers," Merenda said. He added, "all are welcome."