Building Bridges Over Sandwiches: Sarah’s First Interfaith Service Night in Chicago
Sarah Balis had only been in Chicago for two months when Repair the World became her way into serving in Chicago.
Sarah, right, shows up alongside a fellow volunteer to make sandwiches at the interfaith service night
She had spent years working in Jewish communal life before, as a Hillel professional. Now in a new city and looking for a Jewish community to call home, Sarah met Lauren Silverman, Repair the World’s City Director in Chicago, almost right away. “She was so welcoming and kind, and a connector,” Sarah said. After attending a few Repair the World programs and an event at Chicago Sinai Congregation, both Lauren and Rabbi Benoff, one of Sinai’s rabbis, personally invited Sarah to something new: a night bringing together Chicago Sinai Congregation and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for conversation and service.
A tornado warning was moving through the city that day, but Sarah went anyway. “I ended up going to the event, and I’m so glad I did,” she said.
“Being a Jewish leader for a lot of my life, it was really important to me to just participate in Jewish events.”
The night went far beyond volunteering; this was a night of real learning about and connecting across difference. Alongside making sandwiches for neighbors in need, Sarah and the other participants sat down to talk with each other about their beliefs and backgrounds, including what repairing the world, tikkun olam, meant to each of them. “It was the honest conversations we were able to have about service and our faith,” Sarah said.
“We weren’t just having a fun dinner and then making sandwiches and leaving. We were really getting to know each other and getting to know each other’s religions.”
Volunteers assemble sandwiches for neighbors in need.
That kind of conversation surfaced things Sarah didn’t expect. She learned how the LDS young adult community operates as its own close-knit group within the larger church, praying and serving together the way her own Jewish community gathers around Sinai. And when she talked with the Jewish participants in the room, people from different states whom she had never met before, she found something unexpected too; that there were more similarities than differences, despite diverse backgrounds.
The night also gave Sarah a clearer view of her own relationship to Judaism. “Judaism and service are so connected and intertwined for me that when I wanted to get involved in service, I just called Repair the World,” she said.
That realization is already shaping what she looks for next. “I think it will really broaden my horizons on different service opportunities in the area,” she said, “and I’m looking forward to continuing to serve with the friends I’ve met,” both Jewish and from the LDS Church, in organizations beyond Repair the World.
Sarah left the night with more than a new perspective. She left with phone numbers, lunch plans, and a group of new friends from the LDS Church. “It’s not nothing to have made friends from the event,” she said. “It’s hard to make adult friends.”
Volunteers from Chicago Sinai Congregation and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints come together for a night of conversation and service in Chicago.
For anyone at another synagogue or community wondering whether a night like this is worth the trip, Sarah’s answer is simple. “It really was worth it to build bridges and build relationships,” she said, “and see what other people are doing for their community. Why other people care about their community makes for a stronger connection for why I care about my community.”
Sarah has already told Lauren and Rabbi Benoff she hopes this isn’t a one-time thing, both with this same group and with other communities across Chicago. One night, a few sandwiches, and some honest conversation turned a room of strangers into a room of neighbors and friends.
Sarah Balis is the Manager of Advancement and Alumni Relations at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership. Originally from Dallas and most recently living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she relocated to Chicago in May and has embraced discovering all the city has to offer! Passionate about community engagement and Tikkun Olam, Sarah is dedicated to fostering meaningful relationships and building community. Outside of work and volunteer activities, she has been enjoying attending Chicago Broadway productions, trying new restaurants, crafting and embroidering, swimming, and running along the Lakefront Trail.