Small, but strong

Charleston's Jewish community travels to Mattoon or other synagogues to worship

By: Michelle Simek/Health & Science Reporter

Posted: 2/28/07

Morgan Prestage cannot practice her religion in Charleston. The reason she can't worship is simple: there's no place for her or the rest of the Jewish community.

The only local option is the Jewish Community Center in Mattoon.

Prestage, a junior political science major, prefers to travel to Champaign to worship on weekends because the trip to Mattoon seems inconvenient.

"I lived in Champaign for two years before attending school here," she said. "All my friends are at U of I so I would rather observe with them."

Prestage finds traveling to worship a constant occurrence, even in her hometown.

"My hometown, Crystal Lake, Ill. is primarily Catholic, and the nearest synagogue is about 30 minutes away," she said. "(The distance) is about the same."

Prestage understands that the lack of Jewish facilities has nothing to do with the community or Eastern but because the Jewish community is very small.

"Few people realize that Jews comprise such a small part of the global population when one looks at the variety of religions in the world," said Marjorie Hanft-Martone, member of the Jewish Community Center and Psychology professor at Eastern.

The Jewish Community Center, located on Richmond Ave. in Mattoon, will probably never move closer to Charleston, according to Marty Megeff, a local officer at the center.

"We could not afford to re-locate," he said. "The Jewish community is not large enough."

Only about 10 Jewish families attend worship regularly in Mattoon and the numbers are dropping.

"This brings challenges financially," Megeff said. "Because we are so small it brings us together and we have become very close."

It is hard to convey the unique and wonderful nature of our close little community, Hanft-Martone said.

Although Eastern students are welcome to attend worship, Megeff usually only sees a few during high holidays.

The center is not a traditional synagogue but instead, a house, because of the congregation size. The center has a student Rabbi from Cincinnati during high holidays and other times during the year, Megeff said.

Although the congregation in Mattoon is struggling, it intends to survive, Hanft-Martone said.

Megeff hopes that the Charleston-area Jewish community continues to support itself in the future.

"Some areas have Jewish populations smaller than ours and they cannot support themselves and are forced to close," he said.