SHALOM!
Welcome to Congregation Shema Yisrael! We are a Messianic Jewish congregation, a community of about 130 Jewish and non-Jewish people of diverse backgrounds who worship and serve the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We also follow his son, Yeshua (commonly called Jesus) the Messiah, as described in Isaiah 53.
We follow Biblical Judaism, rather than rabbinical Judaism, and teach both the Old and New Covenant from a Jewish perspective. We follow G-d’s Law and His Spirit as we seek to deepen our relationship with Him, grow more like Him and live out His nature in our daily lives. Our desire is to live out G-d’s purpose for the Jewish people as a “light to the world” while living out His plan for our individual lives. We want to help others do the same. We also seek to advance G-d’s spiritual Kingdom of love, truth, justice and mercy on earth.
Committed to restoring the Jewish roots of our faith, we celebrate the Jewish holidays and worship G-d through the prayers of our Fathers in Hebrew and English. We also love to worship through songs sung in Hebrew and English and through Davidic-style Israeli folk dance. We are a place where Jewish people can worship the G-d of Israel and follow Yeshua as the Messiah while keeping their Jewish identity.
At the same time, we welcome non-Jewish people who want to come alongside the Jewish people to worship G-d in a Jewish way, just as the Moabite Ruth in the Bible left her homeland to join herself to Israel. We believe that Yeshua’s death and resurrection broke down the wall of animosity and division between Jew and Gentile so we can live and worship in unity.
Congregation Shema Yisrael supports Biblical values
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We believe that life has value in all stages and abilities, from the pre-born to the elderly.
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We believe that marriage is between one man and one woman.
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We believe in and support traditional families, and single parents, who are seeking to live their lives in a way that honors God.
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We oppose the ordination of practicing homosexuals and people who claim to have changed their gender.
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We believe that we are all one human race regardless of the color of our skin and that no one group has value over another.