YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - As eleven victims were remembered one year after a massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, two congregations unite under one roof in a show of solidarity. Members of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Youngstown held their Sunday service at the Temple Rodef Shalom on the city's north side.

Rodef Sholom's Rabbi Frank Muller said, "The antidote to hate is love. If we only took time to know each other, we could come together; all the hate would dissipate. We've seen examples where when people have got to know each other; the relationship turned to love. Hate is a fear of what you think is different, but we really are all the same. We are in the same boat together. No matter how much hate is  out there, hate can be conquered by love."

Reverend Joseph Boyd of the Unitarian Universalist church added, "Love is stronger than hate. I got a call from Rabbi Muller, and we were thinking of how we could commemorate and remember the victims who died on October 27, 2018, so he called me asked me to have our church service in the Rodef Sholom as a sign of unity. Love is stronger than hate. It is through unity and joining together that we end hate. We can do that. It's what gives me hope, it's what gives our community hope, and my prayer is that it gives the Jewish community support and hope, in this great time of need.I

Like this joint service, the Temple in a living response to last year's hate, held a joint Passover program, a joint Martin Luther King Junior service. And a joint outdoor picnic service. While reminding congregations to reach out and help the homeless, hungry, and people struggling, the Executive Director of Congregation Rodef Sholom Sarah Wilschek emphasized, "One of the cornerstones of our religion means to repair the world, so we work together to repair the world to work for social justice. By showing love and compassion by partnering with our neighbors, we show that we can overcome anything together, and that's important."

Rabbi Muller added, "Our scriptures down through the ages all emphasize the importance of participating in social justice to help the downtrodden. Every synagogue has to have windows, so we don't forget about the problems of the outside world."