A local Jewish congregation is celebrating its 100th anniversary, but with heavy hearts.
The Shaarey Zedek Congregation in East Lansing is coping with Saturday's tragedy in Pittsburgh where 11 people were killed, and others hurt.
"We know that is hanging over our heads today, but we don't want that to diminish the pride we have being a part of this community for over 100 years," President Erica Holman said.
And that pride was especially evident. After the shooting, Holman stressed the importance of all religions coming together in times like this.
"Going forth as a Jew means that we stand together, and we stand with our community," she said.
In the wake of the tragedy, the congregation worked with the East Lansing Police Department to add more security during their celebration to make everyone feel safe. Rabbi Amy Bigman told me she has received a lot of support from other religious leaders in the community after the shooting.
"We know that they were doing the same things that we were doing and we know that this is a serious problem in our country. Not just for Jews, but really pretty much anybody who is some kind of minority," Bigman said.
She added that before the celebration, they spoke to the older students and told them they can't let other people's actions stop them from doing what they had been doing.
"We are resilient and we are going to continue to be proud of who we are and our place in our community," Bigman said.
