This past month, RJ and I were with team Relentless in Novi Sad, Serbia. The city is absolutely breathtaking, and at the center stands a beautiful synagogue.
Two girls on Team Relentless are Messianic Jews. Before the Race, I had no idea what a Messianic Jew was. However, now that I have had the privilege to be on a squad with not only one, but three Messianic Jews, I have learned so much. A Messianic Jew is someone who has Jewish heritage, but has accepted Jesus as their Messiah and Savior. They still practice all the traditions of Jewish culture, like Passover and Hanukkah, but they are Christians because they worship Jesus.
We celebrated Passover as a squad on Good Friday and it was so beautiful.
The synagogue in Novi Sad is said to be one of the largest non-active synagogues in Europe. It was in active use from 1909 to 1941 until Serbia was invaded by Germany. Before the second world war, there were 33,000 Jews living in Serbia. About two thirds of Serbian Jews perished in the Holocaust. There may be as few as 600 Jews left in Serbia today. So this beautiful place of worship has sat silent for almost 80 years.
We decided to visit the synagogue and pray over it and the Jewish community in Serbia. When we arrived at the synagogue, it was raining and very cold. All the doors were locked, so we decided to walk around and pray over the building. We were about to leave when a very kind security guard indicated that he had a key to let us inside. He opened the doors and we entered a very grand sanctuary with ornate wooden pews and details.
My two squad-mates who are Jewish – Miranda and Megan – were visibly touched by the atmosphere in the synagogue. You could feel God’s presence, but it was absolutely silent. They felt led to sing Jewish prayers and bring worship back to this place.
After they sang the Jewish prayers, we all sang a worship song. I felt so honored to worship God in a synagogue that has been silent for so many years. It is devastating to think that almost all of the people who worshipped at this synagogue were killed during the Holocaust – all because they believed in God.
