Big Chalkers street experience; by Kristin Freese, courtesy of DesignPhiladelphia

As the United States –– and former manufacturing hubs like Philadelphia –– try to redefine themselves for the post-industrial age, design can offer a path to a sustainable future, says Hilary Jay, executive director of DesignPhiladelphia, a city-wide festival running from Oct. 13-23.

“We’re not the workshop to the world anymore,” Jay says. “Hopefully, we can be a strong resource for innovation.”

The 11-day festival, which is held during National Design Week, seeks to highlight the city’s contributions through a range of interactive events, lectures, studio tours and workshops, with the larger goal of promoting a conversation about design’s role in our lives.

Ahead of the event, Jay discusses why design should matter and what she hopes to accomplish with the seven-year-old festival.

Which came first –– Philadelphia being on the national design map or the event helping to establish the city’s design bona fides?

DesignPhiladelphia is working toward bolstering Philadelphia’s reputation as a city of innovation and vibrancy. By having all these events at the same time, we’re showing the strengths of the city’s economic, social and educational power.

Design is as simple as a paper clip, as complex as an urban plan and as political as a flag. Any given city has a need to make design and information central to its future.

Sustainable greenhouse at the American Philosophical Society; by Brent Wahl, courtesy of DesignPhiladelphia

You’re also able to marshal the city’s educational resources, since the event is presented in partnership with University of the Arts.

There are seven schools in the city that all have design programs. It’s an amazing conglomerate of educational possibilities. There’s also the desire to keep people here once they’ve been educated, so retention is part of the issues we’re hoping to help sway.

What kinds of experiences can people expect to find among the more than 150 events?

They really go from extremely immersive events like Not A Vacant Lot [a five-day series of parties, performances and cultural events on an empty downtown lot] that’s sort of a happening, to things that are more particular to someone’s interests.

We have the Scarlett Alley event [in Old City], where we’re having a great jewelry designer, Alexis Bittar –– you can talk to him, and he does really gorgeous, sculptural pieces.

We have the Build a Chair, Build a Neighborhood event [to make chairs out of old pallet crates] that Web design firm P’yunk Ave. is doing –– it’s a very different energy and places design on the street. An innocent bystander can walk by and say –– “What the heck is that?” –– and think about how design impacts their lives.

The Big Chalkers event on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway seems perfect for anyone who ever had a box of Crayolas.

Those things are four-feet-tall! To see people in business suits marking up the sidewalk at lunchtime is pretty funny. It reminds you we can have fun in our lives, and design is not so serious.

Politicians aren’t usually known for their design savvy. Why did you decide to recognize Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter as the first Design Champion?

He’s invested in the idea that our creative community is going to make a change and help pivot the city to another place besides hot dogs and Rocky and cheesesteaks.

He’s put his power into place into a variety of things that are very much design-oriented, from adding the Office of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy when he got elected, hiring Gary Steuer [as chief cultural officer] and creating a cabinet level position for that office, to creating an Office of Sustainability and [authorizing] our new bicycle lanes.

We’re really changing, and it’s evident to people who are living here.

The Hotel Hershey

“Milk or dark?” That’s the question posed to every guest upon check in at The Hotel Hershey and how you know you’re not just in any resort. Appropriate chocolate bar in hand, you are ready to relax, Hershey-style.

The crown jewel among Hershey’s holdings in a small town about 100 miles from Philadelphia, the 75-year-old property is reminiscent of a kinder, gentler age. This grande dame hotel is adjacent to Hershey’s other Pennsylvania attractions, which include a theme park, zoo and its staged factory tour, yet a world away in terms of amenities and ambience.

Opened in 1933 (and air-conditioned throughout in 1955), the hotel is as gracious as an old friend. Eclectic touches abound, like its fabulous Havana-style Iberia lounge, which was inspired by founder Milton S. Hershey’s sugar plantation and mills in 1920s Cuba.  Its 276 well-appointed rooms and cottages overlook gardens and the rolling countryside, with some offering a glimpse of the nightly fireworks at Hersheypark during the season.

Circular dining room; images courtesy of hotel

Guests dress up to dine in the Circular Dining Room, designed in the round by Hershey himself to be sure nobody, including solo diners, ever got stuck in a corner. Touches like ruby-toned leaded glass and hand-crafted ornamental wood keep company with a 1,200-bottle wine cellar and a restored ceiling mural, part of a recent $1 million renovation.

It all sets the stage for signature dishes, many of which include chocolate, such as cocoa-dusted sea scallops. Executive chef Ken Gladysz happens to think chocolate is a great ingredient in both sweet and savory treats. The hotel also offers more casual dining experiences at Trevi 5, which has an Italian menu, and the American-themed Harvest.

A cottage guest room

Meanwhile, the grounds invite strolling or hiking depending on your mood.  An expanse of lawn framed by koi ponds and an outdoor pool, is often the setting for weddings when the weather is fine.

In front, a gorgeous patio is used for sunning, dining and live jazz music. Just down the road, the stunning Hershey Gardens, lush with roses, herbs and seasonal specimen plants, include a children’s area and butterfly house.

In need of pampering? The Spa at The Hotel Hershey, which opened ten years ago, has expanded its “social” area to accommodate the many guests who come for family occasions and girlfriend getaways.  But there’s still plenty of quiet available, if you prefer.

Specialty services and treatments include getting your nails painted 1933 –– a mocha color formulated in honor of the hotel’s diamond anniversary; getting a chocolate bean polish, and a fondue wrap. Or try a mojito sugar scrub, another nod to Hershey’s love of Cuba.

Should you feel guilty about all this indulging, remember the hotel and other attractions support a local school for disadvantage youth created by Milton S. Hershey, and his wife, Catherine, in 1909.  The “sweetest place on earth” has substance, too.

To read more about unique travel destinations, check out Beth’s blog, Unchained Travel.

National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall

On Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, the story of the nation’s founding may seem like an all-too-familiar tale.

The Cliff’s Notes version goes like this: Independence Hall is where the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1787. The Liberty Bell, cracks and all, became a symbol of the abolitionist movement and of efforts to attain freedom around the globe.

In the past decade, the historical events embodied by these icons have gained new context, as the Liberty Bell moved to its own interpretative center, and a museum dedicated to explaining the Constitution opened at the northern end of the mall.

Now several new attractions on or adjacent to the mall are adding their own chapters, some with unexpected twists, to the traditional understanding of American freedoms and how they came to be.

The National Museum of American Jewish History, a major facility affiliated with the Smithsonian, opened its dazzling new home in late 2010. The President’s House commemorative site, which marks the spot where President George Washington and John Adams, as well as nine enslaved Africans, once lived, before the nation’s capital shifted to Washington, D.C., also was recently unveiled to decidedly mixed reviews for its storytelling and scholarship.

Meanwhile, a 15-minute 3D film, Liberty 360, premiered last fall and is now offering regular showings in a theater across from Independence Hall. The movie, narrated by Benjamin Franklin, offers yet another perspective on the goings-on that led to the nation’s founding.

A series of staircases serve to link floors and historic periods in the museum.

By far, the most significant addition to the historic area is the $150 million NMAJH. The newly constructed 100,000 sq.-ft. facility by the same architect as Washington, D.C.’s, Newseum/Freedom Forum traces the journey of Jews in America, from the arrival of the first Jewish settlers in 1654 from Brazil to the present day.

The museum seeks to place the Jewish experience and struggles to find acceptance in the new world, in the context of what was happening in politics, business, science and pop culture in the U.S. and around the globe.

On each floor, vantage points offer sweeping views of Independence Mall, to further establish a visual link to the more famous monuments. Two sculptures –– a 19^th century marble monument called “Religious Liberty” just outside the striking contemporary building and a 21^st century LED “Beacon” that “flickers” at the top corner of the museum’s glass façade –– seek to underline the sense of the Jews’ quest for freedom being intertwined with the larger American story.

Inside, the museum spotlights prominent American Jews, as well as lesser known figures, such as 19^th century pioneers Fanny and Julius Brooks, whose journey westward is brought to life with a covered wagon, dress up clothing and a virtual campfire.

The “Only in America” Gallery/Hall of Fame spotlights 18 “stars,” including Broadway composer Irving Berlin, polio vaccine inventor Jonas Salk, cosmetics titan Estee Lauder, Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax and uber entertainer Barbra Streisand, with specially produced video testimonials paired with artifacts, such as Berlin’s upright piano and Streisand’s costumes from Yentl.

Typewriter used in the Steven Spielberg film Schindler's List; photo courtesy of museum

Elsewhere, short films focus on Yiddish theater, Hollywood moguls, the civil rights movement and the creation of the state of Israel.

The museum follows a timeline, beginning on the fourth floor with the Colonial period, and winding its way down to the current era on the second floor.

In one section, you can re-live the immigration experience by tapping a touch screen with various identification documents and trying to answer questions posed to new arrivals by federal officials. In another area, old-fashioned school desks represent tenement life, and a black-and-white video footage, coupled with purple lights, conjure up a fancy dress Jewish Heritage Ball from 1871.

For me, exhibits spanning the latter half of the 20^th century on Jews’ shift from cities to suburbs, the summer camp phenomenon, the bar mitzvah tradition, the Borscht Belt and varying points of view of Jewish life as interpreted by Seinfeld, All in the Family, comedian Sarah Silverman and others seem especially relevant.

In the Contemporary Issues Forum, you can weigh in with your take on various hot-button questions, such as, “Should religion play a role in American politics?,” by sharing your views on Post It-style notes, which are then scanned and aired on screens.

Finally, “It’s Your Story” offers the opportunity to film a short vignette about your ancestors, family traditions and other related topics; these screen on a loop and then are archived.

It’s your chance to add your own chapter to the American story.

At last it was my turn to get a close up view of the dozen or choices and hear them described by a young female attendant who treated them with the seriousness such fine sweets deserve.

I went for something classic (the restaurant’s signature frozen Grand Marnier Soufflé); something rich and chocolate-y (the rum soaked Gateau Le Bec-Fin) and something “light” (a coconut cake with caramel mousse, mango jelly and diced lychees).

As I slowly worked my way through this fittingly rich ending, I made sure to gaze around the Parisian-style dining room tricked out with oversized crystal chandeliers, mirrors and gold trim. I wanted to savor the old world atmosphere as much as the food, since Le Bec-Fin’s days –– as well as those for this type of grand dining experience –– may well be numbered.

The 40-year-old restaurant, which helped put Philadelphia’s culinary scene on the national map, is up for sale and scheduled to close by next June.

Le Bec-Fin’s famously mercurial owner and executive chef Georges Perrier, who with his thick accent, barrel-chested build and imperial manner would seem to fit central casting’s idea of a French chef, believes the timing is right to end this major chapter in his storied culinary career.

However, the 66-year-old Perrier, who co-owns and/or manages three other restaurants, doesn’t seem likely to stray too far from the restaurant scene he helped create. He has several new places in the works for city and suburban locations.

In the meantime, it’s business as usual for Le Bec-Fin, which is marking its anniversary with a four-course $40 dinner special. Or perhaps it’s more business than usual –– a midweek reservation was hard to get, likely due to the discounted prix fixe, which runs through October, and interest generated by news of the closing.

In recent years, Perrier has loosened things up considerably at his flagship restaurant, by relaxing the dress code; trying out all kinds of special menus, including a pay-what-you-wish gimmick, and even introducing a burger and frites.

Even with these changes, Le Bec-Fin, whose name is a French idiom for a refined palate, seems to belong to a different era, and not in a bad way. While other restaurants spill out on to the sidewalk, Perrier’s is a rarefied, white tablecloth sanctum contained behind a polished brass front door.

Inside, the staff is friendly but not too familiar, swirling around you in a pleasant buzz of efficiency. Someone refolds your napkin when you leave the table, various servers consult on the wine, take your order and bring the bread, and someone is always available to escort you to the bathroom if you don’t know the way.

The 40^th anniversary choices show that culinary standards, under chef de cuisine Nicholas Elmi and Perrier’s watchful eyes, remain high, even as the menu continues to evolve.

Among the highlights of a recent dinner were the octopus and chorizo with pickled blueberries, a chilled pea soup with toasted almond “ice cream” and roasted flat iron steak with red wine poached shallots.

The meal didn’t seem like a trip down memory lane to your dad’s favorite old-school restaurant –– at least not until the dessert cart arrived.

After polishing off those luscious treats, I had to admit that sometimes father knows best.

Photos by Robert DiGiacomo

On a recent Saturday morning, I boarded Philadelphia’s Market-Frankford line to check out  “A Love Letter for You,” a series of 50 murals created by hometown artist-made-good Steve Powers.

I wasn’t taking transit for the convenience or even out of concern for the environment, but for optimal viewing. The elevated train offers the best vantage point to appreciate Powers’ wall “canvases,” which run from 46th to 63rd streets, on buildings adjacent to the elevated line.

The murals, which strut across the tops of businesses, churches and typical Philly-style brick rowhouses, offer a witty and often touching narrative of a guy’s pursuit of a girl.

For the series, Powers used a style resembling old-school painted signs. The murals offer slogan-like messages ranging from the lighthearted — “We share defeats, we share receipts and we share the sheets” — to the poignant: “Miss you too much not to love you.”

“A Love Letter” marks a homecoming –– and a kind of Valentine to his hometown –– for New York City-based Powers, who grew up in Philadelphia and first expressed his ambitions as a graffiti artist with the tag “Espo.” Having channeled his talent into a successful career that has encompassed a Fulbright scholarship and gallery shows in New York, Powers wanted to give something back to where his career began.

The project is a collaboration with the city’s Mural Arts Program, which began as an anti-graffitti initiative in 1984 and has since led to the creation of more than 2,800 murals.

Although you can see the works by downloading a map, buying a subway token and boarding the El in Center City, I think they’re best experienced via a weekly tour given on Saturday by the Mural Arts Program. My guide, Jean, provided our group of 10 with details about the project and shouted out commands to look right, left, up and down, as the train clattered along its route through West Philly.

If you go on your own, stop at 52nd Street on the westbound train to see a half-dozen murals from the platform, and eastbound at 60th and 56th for more good vantage points. Be careful if you exit the stations west of 46th Street, where the neighborhood becomes more hardscrabble.

Whether or not you’re a dedicated follower of art –– contemporary or otherwise –– these works are sure to move you as they did me.

A good read: More Philadelphia Murals and the Stories They Tell

Throughout the city that produced Bill Cosby, Patti Labelle, and Will Smith, the African American imprint remains strong and evident. Along a short stretch of Sixth Street, though, a host of relatively low-key, uniquely Philadelphian, black history sites await. The narrative of this short walk isn’t museum-linear, and it contains no whiz-bang “environments.” But in the way it’s just there, interwoven into the streets of Philadelphia, it’s all the more poignant.

Start just north of Independence Hall. Before you reach a certain cracked bell — once adopted by abolitionists as their symbol — stop at the unprepossessing lot on the corner of Sixth and Market streets. Billed as the President’s House Commemorative Site, this (for now) empty space has recently unveiled a remarkable story of nine Africans who were enslaved to President George Washington when he lived in Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital.

During excavations a few years ago, the Park Service discovered evidence confirming that the father of our country rotated slaves between Mount Vernon and his new home. Until a permanent exhibition opens later this summer, several boards detail the story and explain the layout of the home, including the passages through which slaves moved so as to stay hidden from outsiders.

Continuing south, glance at Independence Hall, just to your east. Here on the second floor, new Park Service research suggests, runaway slaves were tried as part of the Fugitive Slave Act, and then handed over to slave hunters who had been hired to bring them back South.

On the next block is Washington Square, also administered by the National Park Service. A rather staid respite for dogwalkers and picnickers today, it’s hard to believe that during the Colonial-era it was referred to as “Congo Square,” and filled with Africans who came together to resurrect the traditional food and music they’d been forced to leave behind.

photo by JoAnn Greco

You’re not far from the mural now, and the neighborhood that Du Bois grew to know so intimately. At the time he conducted his research in the late 1880s, the area was home to a fifth of the city’s population of 40,000 blacks. Central to that presence, Du Bois wrote, was “Bethel Church. . . so phenomenal that it belongs to the history of the nation rather than to any one city.”

Founded in 1787 as the Free African Society, after an ex-slave Richard Allen and other free blacks grew disgusted with another church’s segregated worship, it evolved into the first African-American Methodist church in the states.  Its land is the oldest parcel of real estate continuously owned by blacks in the U.S.

Downstairs in a tiny museum, Allen is buried in a simple subway-tiled tomb, graced by candles and flowers. Galleries, filled with treasures like the wooden pews from its earlier churches — each of which served as stops on the Underground Railroad — explore the development of this now 700-member congregation, as well as A.M.E., which today includes about 2 million members in more than 30 nations.

Outside, a nearby plaque marks the site of an 1842 race riot, and still another the street on which Du Bois lived while trying to get to the heart of what he called “the Negro problem.” It’s just another part of the story of the African-American imprint. The rest is all around us — in the places we love, like our parks and our churches, but also in the shadows of empty lots and, even, unnoticed plaques.

One good book: The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (1899)

Cake, photo by Stacia Friedman

At The Night Kitchen, the cinnamon buns are so buttery they practically squirt into your mouth. Miss your Bubba? Try a slice of the Jewish Apple Cake.

A few blocks away, Bredenbeck’s Bakery is an old fashioned bake shop that first fired up its oven in 1889. Its apple raisin tarts are addictive. And, where else can you find real pound cake by the slice, petit fours, and free samples? If that’s not enough to blow your diet. . . they have an ice cream parlor next door.

I was a fan of Cake, before it moved to a stunning atrium setting behind Robertson’s Florist. With a Zagat rating and capacity brunch/lunch crowds, it’s hard to get a seat. Don’t let that stop you from trying the killer cupcakes with enough icing to spackle Mt. Rushmore.

Up the hill, the home-grown mini-chain, Metropolitan Bakery features mainly artisanal breads, but some offerings, like the chocolate cherry and the French berry rolls, qualify as bonafide treats. They also offer wonderful croissants and danishes.

Finally, there’s the French Bakery, half the fun of which is finding it. Hidden like a bordello behind Chestnut Hill Coffee Company, it’s crowded into an inconspicuous cottage on a parking lot. In addition to Parisian-style pastries and croissants, the jovial husband and wife team who run the bakery make fresh soups, salads and sandwiches daily.

When I’m ready to burn off those cupcakes, I really do go for a walk in the woods. Wissahickon Woods, along Forbidden Drive, offers a scenic, flat 7-mile trail with covered bridges, picnic areas, a rippling stream, waterfalls and the historic Valley Green Inn. It’s part of Philadelphia’s 92,000-square mile Fairmount Park, the largest park within a U.S. city. Information: http://www.chestnuthillpa.com/dining

Chestnut Hill is one of Philadelphia’s prettiest bike-riding neighborhoods. Cathleen McCarthy checks out where else to explore on two wheels in the City of Brotherly Love.

The W Boston "Living Room," courtesy of hotel

The travel market may be soft, but the boutique-style hotels keep coming; here are three such properties opening his fall.

The W Boston: This all-glass building from Bentel & Bentel, New York, is meant to distill Beantown’s most famous green spaces –– think Boston Common and the Public Garden –– in a contemporary design that contrasts with its traditional brick neighbors in the city’s theatre district. The 235-room hotel, which opens Oct. 22, will offer a health club and spa, and also be the site of 123-privately owned apartments. It promises typical W bells and whistles, such as feather-top mattresses and Egyptian cotton sheets, and amenities, like a gym and spa and the “Whatever/Whenever” service, which aims to fill ‘most any guest request.

Hotel Palomar Philadelphia, courtesy of Kimpton Hotels

Hotel Palomar Philadelphia: Opening Oct. 15, this 230-room hotel is located in the circa 1929 Architects Building, which was the former home to the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The handsome 24-story, Art Deco building has undergone a $92 million top-to-bottom renovation, and is Kimpton’s first property created to receive LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Kimpton is giving the Rittenhouse Square-area property a distinctly Philly touch by featuring works by local artists and installing an abstract portrait of founding father Benjamin Franklin under the front entrance awning. The name of the Square 1682 restaurant and bar also is a nod to the city’s long history: It refers to the date of Philadelphia’s founding by William Penn.

Crosby Street Hotel: With this latest project in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, London-based Firmdale Hotels, a small collection of upscale properties, is venturing across the pond for the first time. This 86-room hotel, which opens Sept. 29, has been designed by co-owner Kit Kemp in a modern luxe style, and also claims to be one of the first LEED-certified properties in the Big Apple. Among its standout features are a ground floor bar serving meals all day and afternoon tea, a guests-only lounge, a private garden courtyard and a 99-seat screening room.

View of Fairmount Water Works and Philadelphia Museum of Art from West River Drive. Photo by Cathleen McCarthy

Philadelphia has a quirky beauty: part old-European elegance, part urban funk. It’s a city designed for pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages, and that intimacy of scale makes it nice for bikers and skaters too. According to the Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition, bicycling in the city has doubled since 2005 and is about to get even more popular. This summer, the city approved a plan to turn a traffic lane of Pine and Spruce streets into one-way bike lanes, which will make it blissfully easy to get from Rittenhouse Square to Society Hill on two wheels.

For a more adrenaline-fueled tour, join the Philadelphia Landskaters on one of their weekly city skates. Bladers meet at the steps of the art museum—yes, the ones Rocky ran up—then dash, en masse, through picturesque old neighborhoods and zoom through a subway tunnel. I’ve tried the advanced Tuesday night skates—whoosh!—and the more leisurely Sunday morning version. Both offer a fun way to meet adventurous locals. Warning: Skating over Belgian blocks can be a bit tricky and watch out for those subway grates.

On a sunny weekend, I recommend the trails along the Schuylkill. If you’re staying at a hotel downtown, you can access the Schuylkill River Trail from Walnut Street. Benches along the riverbanks present a perfect vantage point to watch the regattas on a summer weekend, or you can do what I do and join the race. It’s pretty easy to outrun scullers on a bike or skates.

A four-mile stretch of West River Drive takes you from the traffic barrier at Strawberry Mansion Bridge to the golden columns of the art museum. From this side of the river, the Fairmount Water Works resembles a mini-version of the neoclassical art museum looming above it. Spin around Eakins Oval and head back up the west bank or opt for the bike path along Kelly Drive. This trail gets crowded on the weekend, creating an obstacle course at times, but the mood is jovial and the views spectacular. You’ll pass the boathouses and tombs tucked into the hillside of Laurel Hill Cemetery. If you’re feeling ambitious and have time, you can follow the bike path to Manayunk or all the way to Valley Forge, 20 miles northwest.

One recent morning, I knelt beside West River Drive to take a picture of the Water Works. A few yards away, a tattered fellow with a long, straggly beard parked a shopping cart full of empty bottles and began waving his gnarly, rolled-up sleep mat at me. My first instinct was to bolt. Then I realized he was offering it as a kneeling pad. Ah, Philly, city of brotherly love. I thanked him and skated on with a smile.

David Byrne knows urban biking. Cathleen McCarthy reviews his new book, Bicycle Diaries.

Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, outside Philadelphia. Photo by Emily Cooperman

One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s final projects, the Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, PA,  will open a new visitors center this fall. Designed by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, the 1,800-square-foot center will make the temple accessible to the public while minimizing the disruption of religious services.

Designed by Wright in 1954 in a quiet suburb located five miles outside Philadelphia, Beth Sholom has a soaring steel roof meant to evoke hands joined in prayer. The synagogue was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2007 and attracts thousands of architecture buffs each year.

“Our goal is to provide an exciting, informative, and provocative visitor center while respecting the historically sensitive architecture,” says James Kolker, principal architect on the project.

Beth Sholom’s visitor center will exhibit historic photographs, Wright’s ink drawings, and correspondence between him and client Rabbi Mortimer J. Cohen, who instructed Wright to create a truly modern “American Synagogue, a “Mt. Sinai of light …wrought in modern materials.” A 400-square-foot gift shop will sell Frank Lloyd Wright-designed housewares, stationery and jewelry.

Wright never saw the glass, steel and concrete temple; it was completed shortly after his death in 1959. Rich in Jewish symbolism, the building’s roof is translucent during the day and glows like a lantern at night. Of more than 1,000 projects in his 70-year career, Beth Sholom is the only synagogue Wright designed. Information: www.bethsholomcongregation.org