When James Wyatt, Moderator of the Northeast Synod of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. presides at the Synod Mission Council, he will wear a cross crafted by a Jewish artist from Teaneck, N. J. The ceremonial cross of sterling silver and enamel was created by Linda Gissen, a sculptor and enamelist noted for her works in the realm of Judaica. The cross she created will be used by Wyatt as a symbol of his office throughout his term.
He will formally introduce it to the leadership of the Synod representing some 1200 churches in New York, New Jersey and New England, at its Mission Council in Stony Point, N.Y today through Saturday. According to Mrs. Gissen, the pendant which she created for Wyatt was most meaningful to her beyond her longtime friendship with him — a relationship rooted in their mutual interest in fostering interracial and interfaith understanding.
Mrs. Gissen, recently elected president of the Teaneck Jewish Community Council, and a board member of Congregation Beth Am and the local National Council of Jewish Women, is most noted for her sculptures and enamels dealing with Jewish subjects, primarily the Holocaust. Two of her works are on permanent display at Congregation Neve Shalom, Metuchen, N. J. and Temple Sholom, River Edge, N.J.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
