Dear Family, Friends and Members of the Nyack Community,

The Project:

A special fundraiser was organized to help renovate the beautiful sanctuary of the Berea Nyack 7th-Day Adventist Church- a 100 yr old church located in Nyack, NY. This fundraising project started by Lezlee Peterzell-Bellanich connects memories of her past with the present to preserve a spiritual landmark. The goal is to raise $50,000 for the renovation of the sanctuary.

Lezlee's Story:

Nyack in the 1920s included a very small but dedicated group of Jewish families who dreamed of having a permanent synagogue. Lezlee's paternal ancestors, the Peterzells and Entlichs, were Jewish Nyack merchants and members of this small Jewish congregation. The Ladies Hebrew Aid Society organized the congregation to purchase land in Nyack at the corner of Hudson Avenue and Broadway. In 1924, they initially raised $25,000 to begin the construction of The Temple Israel. The stately yellow brick building with magnificent stained glass windows was completed in 1925. Lezlee's grandfather, Saul Peterzell, who was only eleven years old at the time, delivered a beautiful and moving tribute that was printed in the local newspaper, on Sept. 14, 1925.

For decades, Temple Israel was Nyack’s center of Jewish Life. The Jewish community in Nyack grew from 50 to 60 families in the 1930s and 40s to over 100 families in the late 1950s. In the early 1960s, the Congregation Sons of Israel Building Committee raised funds to expand and build on North Broadway. In 1966, they sold the original synagogue and it became Berea Nyack Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

In 2022, Dr. Frances Pratt, former President of the NAACP of Nyack and a longtime member of the Berea Nyack SDA Church, invited Lezlee to the 11 am Saturday Sabbath church service. Sitting next to Dr Pratt, inside this house of worship, listening to the soulful music, feeling the warm light shine down on her through the original stained glass windows, Lezlee says she felt God and her great-grandparents’ spirit. She felt at home. The original Jewish ladies of the Aid Society raised $25,000 to help build this sanctuary. In tribute, Lezlee seeks to double that with a goal of $50,000 for the renovation and upgrade of the sanctuary which is worn by time. (Your generous donation is Tax-Deductible)

Some work that is needed:

The stained glass windows need repair and restoration

Original wood flooring needs to be repaired and refinshed

Bathrooms need to be made WC accessible, and

A Wheelchair access to both floors need to be installed.

Saturday Sabbath services 11:00am

Berea Nyack SDA Church

67 S. Broadway

Nyack, NY 10960

Thank you for your monetary or other contributions

1. GoFundMe link can also be found on the church website- www.bereasdaonline.org

2. Checks should be made payable to Berea Nyack SDA Church (PO Box 130, Nyack NY 10960)

Warmly,

Lezlee Peterzell-Bellanich

(formerly Leslie Peterzell)