Shabbat in PA

We get together on Saturday mornings at 10:00 a.m. and break for lunch around 12:15. We have a general meeting format, but we’re also open to unannounced changes due to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the inbreaking Kingdom of God.

Our meeting activities include:
Messianic praise. Our worship times include contemporary Christian songs, the best songs of the Messianic Jewish movement, and a selection of traditional Jewish prayers from the synagogue. We cherish the Hebrew names and titles of God, and employ them liberally in our times of worship. We also will often take a couple minutes to learn a simple worship dance from the Hebrew tradition and incorporate it into our praise time.

Public Scripture Reading. Paul instructed Timothy to “Give attention to the public reading of Scripture.” This was normal for the believers in the first century who met in a synagogue context where the public reading of the weekly Scripture portion was the central element of the worship service, and this is a practice that we think believers today would do well to recover today. In our congregation, we follow the weekly Scripture readings from the first five books of the Bible in accordance with the Jewish traditional readings. Why? Because these were the original context of Paul’s instructions to Timothy. We also read through the Gospels and Acts one year, and the remainder of the New Testament the next year, on an annual cycle.

Blessing the Children. We take a minute to bless our children in a special way. The parents take the corners of a tallit (prayershawl), forming a canopy under which the children come to be prayed for. The symbolism of this tradition is both rich and heart-warming.

Teaching. Yisrael regularly brings a teaching based on the Scripture readings for that week. For comments on his teaching style and content, please see our Leadership Bio page.

Court proceedings

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Going Global

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Election 2024

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Scripture Based Discussion. In Hebrew called a midrash, this is a time for questions and answers, and where everyone can share in brief any special insights or short teachings they may have on a theme from the readings.

Fellowship Lunch. In Hebrew called oneg, which literally means a delightful time. We view this is an extension of our worship service, and give you the option of bringing a Biblically kosher dish for potluck (don’t be afraid to ask what that is!), or to bring your own picnic-style lunch for you and your family.