By Janis Fontaine
St. Lucy Catholic Church honors the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sept. 8 on this feast and day of prayer from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the church at 3510 S. Ocean Blvd., Highland Beach.
The day begins with Mass at 8:30 followed by a presentation, “The Role of Mary in the New Testament,” at 9:30, a Q&A at 10:30 when the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available, and lunch in the parish hall at 11:30 catered by The Grille on Congress. Lunch is $30. That includes a donation to Caritas Jerusalem, which provides essential relief to those in impoverished communities in the war-torn Holy Land.
Call 561-278-1280 or visit stlucy.net/events/birthday-celebration-for-the-blessed-virgin-mary-1.
Special prayer service at Unity of Delray Beach
Unity of Delray Beach will host a prayer service, “Be Still and Know,” at 7 p.m. Sept. 10. The Rev. Jeanmarie Eck will speak, with music by D. Shawn Berry and Bree Gordon. Unity of Delray Beach is at 101 NW 22nd St. Call 561-276-5796 or visit unityofdelraybeach.org/events.
Interfaith Vigil to support immigrants at St. Gregory's
The Boca Raton Interfaith Clergy Association, a group of community members from a variety of religious traditions, hosts an Interfaith Vigil supporting the immigrants at 7 p.m. Sept. 10 at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 NE Mizner Blvd.
The public is invited to stand in solidarity for the dignity, honor and humane treatment of all immigrants and refugees.
Rabbi Greg Weisman (Temple Beth El), Pastor Andrew Sherman (St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church) and Rabbi Hector Epelbaum (B’nai Torah Congregation) will be joined by members of the Boca Raton Interfaith Clergy Association, Boca Raton community and civic leaders for this event.
Call 561-395-8285 or visit tbeboca.org/vigil-2025.
Rabbi Jack Moline joins B’nai Torah Congregation
B’nai Torah Congregation has announced the appointment of Rabbi Jack Moline as interim senior rabbi following the retirement in July of Rabbi David Steinhardt, the congregation’s spiritual leader for 31 years.
Rabbi Moline is a nationally respected pulpit rabbi, teacher and interfaith leader with more than 35 years’ experience.
A native of Chicago, he was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1982 and holds a degree from Northwestern University.
Rabbi Moline served as the rabbi of Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia, for 27 years. He is president emeritus of Interfaith Alliance, a national organization dedicated to safeguarding religious freedom and the First Amendment. He and his wife, Ann, have three children and are grandparents to five.
In August, he joined B’nai Torah Congregation, the largest conservative synagogue in Southeast Florida, at 6261 SW 18th St., Boca Raton. Call 561-392-8566 or visit btcboca.org.
CityLead Boca to meet at Boca Raton Community
Boca Raton Community Church hosts CityLead Boca from noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 2 at the church at 470 NW Fourth Ave. This monthly event for the business community is designed to inspire leaders to use their influence to serve others. Reservations are recommended. $20 includes lunch. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Call 561-395-2400 or visit citylead.com/boca.
Churches to celebrate Blessing of the Animals
A few local churches are celebrating St. Francis with blessings of the animals.
St. Lucy Catholic Church: Oct. 4, time to be announced. 3510 S. Ocean Blvd., Highland Beach. 561-278-1280; stlucy.net.
St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church: 3 p.m. Oct. 5, 3300 S. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach. 561-732-3060; stjoesweb.org.
Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea: Oct. 26, time to be announced. 141 South County Road, Palm Beach. 561-655-4554; bbts.org.
Improvement plans moving forward for Jewish center
Now that an appeal that would have prevented Boca Beach Chabad Jewish Center from securing its new home in an office building on East Palmetto Park Road has been dropped, plans are moving to complete the “mostly cosmetic” modifications to the property.
The building, which was purchased by Boca Beach Jewish Educational Center Inc. for $13 million a year ago, has three floors, each about 10,000 square feet, Rabbi Ruvi New said.
The plan is to upgrade the synagogue and religious center on the first floor where it is now and convert the second floor into meeting and administrative space, with a place for the active and growing young professionals group (CYP DoBo, aka Downtown Boca). The third floor will be converted to office suites that Chabad will lease.
Plans to convert the empty space are under review by the city, but Rabbi New says there will be five or six office suites available in the building at 490 E. Palmetto Park Road.
The rabbi says participation has increased dramatically since Chabad acquired the new space.
“It’s nothing short of a miracle,” he says, referring to the acquisition. His congregation loves that they can walk to services, and the location is ideal for visitors from out of town who want to attend.
The campaign to raise money for the improvements continues. Rabbi New invites the public to tour the facility and to commemorate the High Holy Days at Boca Beach Chabad. Visit chabadbocabeaches.com.
Send religion news to Janis Fontaine at fontaine423@outlook.com.
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