A Place to Pray

Celebrate an inspiring story of unity and community when a neighboring synagogue opens its doors to a Christian congregation in the aftermath of a devastating fire.

On Saturdays, the boy and his family walk to temple. He knows the path by heart and wonders who worships at the gleaming, spired church they pass along the way. Once inside the temple, he is happy ＂to rest and pray and celebrate their Sabbath day.＂ On Sundays, the girl and her family walk to church. Sometimes she spots her friend, the boy, on the way. The gleaming, spired church is her church--her place ＂to rest and pray and celebrate the Lord’s Day.＂ But one fateful day, the girl’s church burns, leaving her congregation without a place to pray.

The boy worries for his friend and her church’s people, wondering where they will worship. The girl worries for her church and its future. In an act of kindness and unity despite differences in faith, the boy’s temple opens its doors to the Christian congregation--one community worshipping on Saturdays, the other on Sundays. The boy and the girl share a sacred space--a place to rest, to pray, to celebrate their holy days.

This story, which celebrates community, open hearts, and a desire to make the world a better place, is inspired by the aftermath of the fire that destroyed the historic Middle Collegiate Church in New York City in December 2020.

Doreen Klein Robinson has more than twenty-five years of storytelling experience as a career journalist and editor for community newspapers. When writing, she looks for the heart of the story, hoping to inform and inspire her readers. She felt compelled to write A Place to Pray after reading about the tragic December 5, 2020, fire that destroyed historic Middle Collegiate Church and the uplifting aftermath between two very different houses of worship. Doreen is the recipient of SCBWI Florida’s 2023 Mirrors and Windows Scholarship and received an Honorable Mention for the 2023 PB Rising Stars Mentorship program.

Yuke Li graduated from the MFA Illustration program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City before embarking on her career as a visual artist and storyteller. She works both digitally and traditionally and has worked on books, editorial illustrations, and public art projects. Yuke’s goal is to inspire through sharing new possibilities, to offer comfort, and to plant a hopeful seed in the mind. She lives and works in New York City.