Fostering Sacred Wisdom, Vision, Heritage, Community and The Arts
“We can’t let a complex history stand in the way of a better future.
Study history, feel the history, the good, the bad, the ugly, and learn.
Then push forward into the future we want, we build.”
Join us Online for Community Conversations
Sessions will focus on the topics of community, connecting, action, and updates on projects as well.
Join the conversation or just come listen, learn, and connect.
The Four Freedoms Exhibit (Summer 2024)
While the preservation, renovation, and transformation of Temple Beth El will take a couple of years, the exterior will be activated to reflect our values and mission in support of the community by creating our Community Mirror Exhibition Space on the western wall of the building.
The Four Freedoms exhibit brings Rocky Mount modern interpretations of Norman Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms” collection, itself derived from a speech delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1941.
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The Past
Learn about Temple Beth El and the history of the Jewish community in Rocky Mount.
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The Present & Preservation
The sacred silence of the former Temple Beth El sanctuary is an empty vessel, an invitation to engage a universal audience in entering themselves to (re)imagine who they want to become; to draw the temple inwards so to speak into their own depths and potentialities.
What are the next steps to saving this landmark?
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The Future
The Sanctuary of the Future and the connection of Sacred Wisdom, Vision, Heritage, Community and The Arts.
Rocky Mount & History
“I have a dream tonight. It is a dream rooted deeply in the American dream.”
“I have a dream that one day right here in Rocky Mount, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will meet at the table of brotherhood, knowing that one God brought man to the face of the Earth. I have a dream tonight that one day my little daughter and my two sons will grow up in a world not conscious of the color of their skin, but only conscious of the fact that they are members of the human race. . . .”
Credit W. Jason Miller / N.C. State University/N.C. State University
Rocky Mount: A Crossroads of History, The Arts, and Community
