By Laura Bailey
Panelists representing different religious denominations engaged with community members during the Know Your Neighbor Community Conversation earlier this week.
“I moved to Bristol knowing that there was a Jewish synagogue here because it was one of the criteria for what community I was going to live in,” Dr. Amy Breakstone said. “Having grown up on Long Island, New York, in a very heavily Jewish community, but now there’s no synagogue in Bristol which is a big change.”
Today, Breakstone, who has lived in Bristol for 34 years, is a member of the Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation in Southington. The OBGYN raised her children in Bristol, stating that they were always the only Jewish child in their class.
“It was always an interesting conversation with the teachers, with the principal of the school, with the other children,” Breakstone said. “I was always the one to go into have, during the winter holiday season, a little discussion about Hanukkah, which happens to be one of the least important holidays in the Jewish calendar, but because it falls around Christmas has gotten a lot of good publicity.”
“And it’s a fun holiday,” she added, “so it was an opportunity to say to the children in the classroom there is something besides the Christian wintertime celebration. There’s lots of holiday celebrations in winter.”
Breakstone was part of a panel that included Joseph Grieco and Noreen Robinson, with Bianca serving as the moderator. The conversation focused on the importance of religious diversity in Bristol. The discussion was the fourth installment of the Diversity Council’s panel series, held at the Bristol Public Library on Tuesday night, that encouraged all to come together to learn from one another.
Joseph Grieco, a member of the Church of Eternal Light, spoke of the prejudice that members of the congregation have faced from the community for practicing their spirituality.
“We’re the only Pagan Spiritualist Church in the United States,” Grieco said. “It’s hard getting word out on the community because witches tend to what we call ‘stay the broom closet.’”
“It’s the term that we have that best fits because there’s a lot of people that are afraid to practice their spirituality in public because of the way that they’ll be treated by either family, or by coworkers, or whatnot,” he said.
Clockwise from top left: Dr. Amy Breakstone, Joseph Grieco, Laura Minor and Jaymie Bianca. | Laura Bailey
“That’s why, when we hold events, we have a strict policy of no photography because we want to make sure people have a safe space where they can practice their craft and not have to worry about being outed.”
Grieco stated that it’s been a struggle to publicize the congregation’s events and fundraisers due to hateful reactions and verbal attacks.
“I go on to the town Facebook groups and surrounding towns and I put up put up an event page, all of a sudden here come all the all the ridiculing comments. It’s disheartening at times; I’ve had to delete complete threads and then someone else will just keep attacking. I get DM’s constantly. We’re not out to do anything bad; we’re just as a much part of the community as everyone else.”
Noreen Robinson, who grew up attending Redeemer’s A.M.E. Zion Church in Plainville, was first introduced to the Bahá’í Faith through an article in the April 1965 edition of Ebony magazine.
“Inside, was a story of the Bahá’í Faith,” Robinson said. “It was written by Lerone Bennett, he was an African American historian and editor for Ebony, and he’s written an article on the Baha’i faith. So, what impressed me was the pictures. This is 1965; why are all these people from so many mixed backgrounds coming together, being together, loving one another; how could that be?”
Robinson stated that she was elated to look at the magazine, and that the pictures never left her.
“The Bahá’í Faith is so different in so many ways, because we believe that in terms of humanity, there’s only one race: the human race,” Robinson said. “Now its interesting science is now proving that to be so. When I found this, I mean this was the greatest thing that could have ever happened, because then I realized what I had felt in my heart that we were all just a part of the family that God had created.”
The conversation concluded with a speech from Laura Minor who founded the Bristol Interfaith Coalition. Minor spoke of her experiences growing up in a Jewish household as well as the prejudice that she and her children have experienced.
“I was raised Jewish by a mother who was an atheist, but very culturally Jewish and spoke the language Yiddish,” said Minor. “Her parents came from another country. My father, who was religiously Jewish, made sure that we did practice the holidays and I was raised by both of those people, so I got the culture, and I got the religion.”
“I’ve experienced, as all of us have, various kinds of ‘anti-ism’,” continued Minor. “People tell me the Bristol school system has been fair to everybody and open; I can give you a major example from every year of my child’s experience in the Bristol school system of discrimination.”
In her introductory remarks, Diversity Council chair Jaymie Bianca, said “We’re so happy to have such a wonderful panel discussing their faiths, as well as religious diversity in Bristol. Their incredible insights truly brought everyone together.”
The Diversity Council held an abbreviated meeting following the panel discussion. Among the initiatives that the council is currently collaborating on is a resource list of organizations that promote the ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion in the city of Bristol.
The Diversity Council meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. with public participation beginning at 6:40 p.m. at every meeting.
Laura Bailey can be reached at lbailey@bristoledition.org
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