CONNECTICUT PROPERTY LINE
By KENNETH R. GOSSELIN
February 24, 2009

Shuvah Yisrael, a Messianic Jewish congregation, has opened a center in a 6,250-square-foot storefront at the Wintonbury Mall in Bloomfield. The center pairs a worship space with an attached cafe and art gallery, which is intended as a point of outreach to the community. (TIA ANN CHAPMAN / HARTFORD COURANT / February 17, 2009)

BLOOMFIELD — – Wintonbury Mall is your typical shopping center, built downtown in the late 1960s in the wave of urban renewal. It has seen its share of tenants come and go.

Its newest occupant — a Messianic Jewish congregation — defies the usual classifications of a shopping center.

Congregation Shuvah Yisrael recently dedicated its new space in a 6,250-square-foot storefront in the center, next to a tailor shop.

Storefront houses of worship aren’t unusual in cities, but a Messianic congregation in a suburban shopping center is. And the congregation’s space brings a further twist, pairing a worship space with an attached cafe and art gallery.

The cafe and gallery space, part of the congregation’s $300,000 renovation, is intended as a point of outreach to the community, the congregation’s leaders say.

It is not focused on recruiting new members for the congregation, who consider themselves Jews that believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah.

The cafe, with its acid-etched bar counter and sleek pendant lights, is intended to be a center for thought-provoking discussion and lectures, theological and otherwise, sometimes with a background of acoustic music or poetry readings.

The space also could be shared with organizations that have a similar mission to better the community through social justice and education.

Congregation leader Paul L. Saal, an ordained rabbi in the Messianic Jewish faith, concedes that the combination of the worship space and cafe may have people scratching their heads.

Town planning and zoning commissioners initially rejected the congregation’s proposal for a special permit in a tie vote last fall.

But after the congregation filed a court appeal, it later won approval from the commission.

"This is a concept that’s hard to get your arms around, and it’s a different use," Saal said.

Saal said he hopes that the cafe will attract a broad cross-section of visitors, including students at the nearby University of Hartford and young families.

Coffee and small snacks will be free, but the center, named Shalom Company, will collect donations, some going to local charities as part of its outreach. Shuvah Yisrael also will raise money on a website.

"This is not a front," said Stuart Dauermann, senior scholar at the Messianic Jewish Theological Institute in Clermont, Fla. "The key word here is not control or sales, but service and availability."

Certainly, Saal says, if visitors want to learn more about Messianic Judaism, they will be welcomed.

In the past, Saal has criticized the methods of "Jews for Jesus" and its high-pressure street ministry.

He draws clear distinctions between his congregation and that movement.

In late 2006, the congregation sold its building on the outskirts of Simsbury.

The congregation believed it needed to be in a more visible location where it could be easily visited, apart from weekend services.

The 60-member congregation leased temporary space at the senior center at Bishops Corner and considered the West End of Hartford for a permanent home, but found the Bloomfield location more attractive because of its central location and abundance of parking.

Bloomfield also was appealing to the congregation because the town is taking aggressive steps to improve the community, steps that dovetail with the congregation’s goals.

"We think it will help us better accomplish our mission," Saal said.

•For more on commercial real estate, see our Connecticut Property Line feature on Page A12 or go to courant.com/business/realestate.