Churchagogue

42°15′17″N 83°43′27″W / 42.2547°N 83.7243°W / 42.2547; -83.7243Current tenantsCompletedc. 1970OwnerGenesis of Ann Arbor, Inc.

The Churchagogue is a building that serves as both a church and as a synagogue, located at 2309 Packard Street, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. The building is a place of worship for the Episcopal Christian congregation of St. Clare of Assisi and the Reform Jewish congregation of Beth Emeth.

Background

The land on which it sits was donated by Inez Wisdom to the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan for the foundation of the St. Clare of Assisi Episcopal Church.^[1] The original church building on the property was a chapel built by Wisdom in the garden of her home, which was operational as far back as 1948.^[2] The Temple Beth Emeth congregation began renting the space from St. Clare's in 1970, but in 1974 they formed the nonprofit corporation Genesis of Ann Arbor to jointly own and manage the space.^[3][4]

Though the name "Churchagogue" for the building dates back to at least 2005, the church and the shul remain separate entities with separate worship services. Rather, the purpose of sharing a property and buildings is to reduce operational costs, instead spending that money in the community. While not a unique relationship, this type of sharing of buildings between multiple religions remains rare.^[5]

Current uses

In addition to hosting both a church and a synagogue, the nonprofit food bank Food Gatherers has hosted its Back Door Food Pantry there for several years. Members of the church and the synaogue both donate to and volunteer at the food pantry, as do other members of the community.^[6]

References