The Yom HaShoah Interfaith Service will be held at the Beth Israel Synagogue in Latrobe on Sun., April 11 at 7 p.m. Yom HaShoah is an annual event that was started with the help of Sister Noel Kernan co-director emeriti of the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education (NCCHE), who currently resides at Caritas Christi.
By Stephanie Isacco
Staff Writer
The Yom HaShoah Interfaith Service will be held at the Beth Israel Synagogue in Latrobe on Sun., April 11 at 7 p.m. Yom HaShoah is an annual event that was started with the help of Sister Noel Kernan co-director emeriti of the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education (NCCHE), who currently resides at Caritas Christi.
The NCCHE is one of the community groups involved in planning and advertising the annual Westmoreland County Holocaust Remembrance Service. It is primarily the work of the Greensburg and Greater Latrobe Ministeriums, which encompass all of the local churches and synagogues. Other groups involved are The Westmoreland Jewish Community Council of The United Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, B’nai B’rith Warren Roy Laufe, Unit #903, The Greensburg-Jeannette NAACP and the YWCA of Westmoreland County.
The NCCHE is also involved in recruiting students, faculty and staff to attend and participate as readers, candle lighters or ushers for the service which consists of readings, music and a candle-lighting ceremony. Wilda Kaylor said, “One of the most poignant parts of the service is the reading of names of Holocaust victims as the first six candles are lit. Each person who attends the service receives a card with the name of a victim on it when they enter. These are numbered from one to six to correspond to the candles. The seventh candle is lit in memory of all the non-Jews who died at the hand of Nazi Oppression, and in memory of those who gave their lives fighting that oppression.”
Each year, the interfaith service also features a guest speaker or special program. This year the speaker is Mimi Finnerty, a Seton Hill alum and U.S. Army veteran of World War II. She was an 1st Lieutenant Army nurse that served on the European front. She was involved in caring for the survivors of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria after its liberation, and this occasion will mark only the second time she has ever shared her experiences.
In addition to the normal service, this year there will be a special memorial to Holocaust survivor Robert Mendler who passed away unexpectedly late last year. SHU awarded Mendler with an honorary Doctor of Human Letters degree for his work in Holocaust education in 1995, and he was very active in the community, telling his story of surviving six years of concentration camps, and even spoke to a number of SHU classes. Mendler was also a staple of the service for many years, so his presence will be sadly missed.
Junior Laura Gonnella is a student member of the staff of the NCCHE who plans on attending the service. With her assistance, “The Center helps with advertisement for this event. I am creating a post card that will have the date, address and the content of the service that will be distributed to people in the community. The Center also helps to coordinate who will be speaking/performing at the service.” She has attended many services at the Beth Israel Synagogue, including an all women’s Seder meal to celebrate Passover, and is excited to attend Yom HaShoah again this year.
All students are encouraged to attend and information can be found at the NCCHE or by contacting Wilda Kaylor.