In July, the church steeple at First Mount Olive was hit by lightning, sparking a five-alarm fire that consumed the building. In the first months after the fire, the Baptist congregation of 3,000 held Sunday services at another synagogue.
That arrangement was only short-term, Perlmeter said, and his congregation of 4,000 was approached about hosting First Mount Olive for the near future.
"We talked a lot about it," the rabbi said. "We're a liberal Jewish community, but we obviously don't agree about everything with First Mount Olive. Still, the need was there, and I have just been overwhelmed what a wonderfully spiritual community they are."
Before the fire, the nonprofit corporation that owns the church was twice threatened with foreclosure - on both the building in the 800 block of W. Saratoga St. and a separate 9-acre plot purchased in 2002. When asked yesterday about the church's finances and future, Bishop Oscar E. Brown of First Mount Olive said that plans to rebuild are continuing. He hopes architectural drawings will be completed in the next few weeks, but he has said that the church's reopening is many months away.
Brown served as the guest speaker at the Jewish congregation's Friday night Shabbat Shira service while Perlmeter spoke from the pulpit at First Mount Olive's weekly service yesterday.
In thanks, Brown presented Perlmeter with an ornate plate yesterday for use during the Passover Seder.
"We're already talking about having our men's groups meet to talk about how to get more men into our congregations," Brown said. "We want to do the same thing with our youth."
He added: "We decided to do this weekend only if it was going to about more than just a one-time get together."
matthew.dolan@baltsun.com
