Ecumenical concert at Carmelite Monastery in Philly

Mount Carmel, a Catholic church at Broad and 66th St in Philly, was the host to the choir from Ohev Shalom Synagogue in Richboro, PA.

 Here's Ohev's beautiful chapel. My friend Harriet is a member and has been in their choir for 12 years.

I knew the concert would be great, perhaps b/c Harriet was in it.

Every part of the church was lovely.

Harriet and hubby Steve picked me up. Their friend Susan came along too. Susan, a Catholic, was really curious about Judaism so we answered lots of her questions on the 25-minute ride home.

I know the route quite well cuz it's where I go when I go to Einstein Medical Clinic. In fact, I have an appt at Kidney Clink on Tuesday....bring an umbrella and walk fast, Ruthie. They're not about to cancel for Hurricane Sandy, I'm pretty sure.

While I'm bloggin, Scott is making our Sunday nite pizza. I just love beautiful buildings and churches are certainly among them. On the ride home, I pointed out the Frank Lllllloyd Wright synagogue Beth Shalom on York Road.

Yes, Frankie, the roof doth leak.

Fascinating info filled the glass cases. "St Pio Closely Followed Christ the Redeemer."

St Pio appeared to the psychic Theresa Roba and she speaks thru him. I don't believe it! I wrote an article on her for the Times Herald. She's not specific when she speaks of people in the afterlife.

 The choir practiced onstage before their performance.

The choir is directed by the white-haired gentleman Marvin Feld. I sat next to his wife Sandra (pronounced Sondra) but called Sonny for short. She can't sing, she told me.

Sonny Feld. Her daughter has the blond curls.

Here's a beaming Harriet after the soaring performance of the choir. She's an alto. The acoustics were phenomenal in the church. I was in goose-bump heaven.

You've never seen so many iPhone cameras taking photos and videos.

Much of the artwork was done in mosaics.

I walked onstage but was too late to see the CLOISTERED NUNS behind the screen in the background. This priest, wearing a long flowing gown, introduced the program. Very mellow dude who asked us to say Amen, simply by opening his arms.

More mosaics.

Reception in the basement. At this conservative shul, the men wear yarmulches, just like our shul back home in Cleveland, the center of the western world. And we better hope Ohio is voting for Obama.

What a great bookshop they have. Didn't realized my dad's favorite Fulton J Sheen was an author. We used to watch him together back in Cleveland. Is that where I acquired my fascination with Catholicism? And then with other religions like the Swedenborgians, whose world HQ is in Bryn Athyn, 10 mins away.

There was also a book called Homosexuality and Catholics, which I didn't have a chance to look at. We can peruse it together.

At this very moment - it's now a little past 7 pm - we should've been at the New Directions' Annual Bonfire at Tamanend Park. We wisely canceled tho b/c of the arrival of Sandy. We were so looking f/w to it.

Scott just called.

THE PIZZA IS READY! Then it's Columbo on Channel 63 at 8 pm and the watching of many DVDs.