Jewish in Tega Cay/Fort Mill (Rock Hill: school, living in, children)

[lorib49]

hey
I'm from New Jersey and lived in Columbia, SC for 6 years, I'm Jewish and had a friend who lived in Charlotte and attended synagague there for the High Holidays, there is a very large Jewish population in South Charlotte, and lot of the families are inter-faith, there are 2 synagagues in Charlotte, a reform and a conservative they are both in a sub-division called Shalom Park and they have a JCC between the two synagagues that they both share, my experiences there have been great and the people have been very friendly, I would look into South Carlotte, but you could also live in Fort Mill and be in commuting distance to the Jewish community in Charlotte for holidays

[Jennygwen]

Hi! I am Jewish, although not very religious and I live in Tega Cay, SC. I grew up in Charlotte and my parent's are from NY. People are much more tolerant now then when I was a kid. Mostly the Jewish community is in S. Charlotte. There are actually technically 4 or 5 synagogues. There are the Conservative and Reform, but also the Lubavitch, the Reconstructionists and I think a community in Lake Norman.

I recently saw a sign about Shabbat services in Fort Mill, which is what I was searching for, but it may be something else.

People are very excepting here in general.

Good luck!

[PA Family]

Hey there- we just got our internet set up yesterday (we moved to Tega Cay last weekend) or I would have responded sooner. We are also an interfaith family who are mostly jewish but we celebrate all the holidays to honor all the members of our family. We are brand new also, but welcome!

[ald]

Originally Posted by amynoel

Hi All-
My husband, myself, and my 2 daughters (3 yrs. and 8 mo.) are planning to move to the Carolinas from Huntington, NY after the 06-07 school year. I'm a teacher and my husband a business analyst/controller in the restaurant/food service industry. I've spent a lot of time doing research on the Carolinas and have narrowed my search down to Tega Cay and Fort Mill in SC or south of Charlotte in NC. One area I'm having a difficult time finding info. on is Jewish life in the area. My husband was brought up Jewish and myself Episcopal. In NY, interfaith marriages are common these days and the Jewish religion is as typical as any christian religion. We do not practice one religion over the other and we basically just celebrate the holidays we have each been brought up celebrating at this point. We're wondering how we would be accepted in the area? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

Shalom:

I am glad you posted on this site. I am Jewish and moved to NC from NJ four years ago. Three years I spend in SOuth Charlotte and I just moved to Fort Mill last week.

Before I moved to Charlotte I had the same concerns. Do not believe what people tell you about the south and the sterotypical belief that Jews are not accepted. It is simply not true. Of course there are people all over the country that are prejudice even up north and I am sure the same holds true for Charlotte. When I first move down here I was intimidated to tell people that I am Jewish and when I think back to that I am totally embarassed.

I'll give you a great example of acceptance. My daughter attended daycare at a VERY large and famous church in CHarlotte. Prior to her attending this school, I was worried that she would not be accepted due to her religon. Both my daughter and I were accepted with open arms. In fact, I became very close with some of her teachers and told them how I felt prior to my attendance and they were shocked!

Many of the very religous individuals (baptist etc) I have met over the years have a love and respect for Judiasm.

You will find the Jewish population in South Charlotte which is very close to Fort Mill. I am sure this will change in time as more and more people are moving to Fort Mill each day.

I have so much information to share and I have to leave for work. I am happy to answer any and all questions you have. Please PM or post questions and I'll answer them.

I love NC and would never go back to NJ.

[mindyrockhill]

My family just moved to Rock Hill area and we are Jewish. There are several synagogues in Charlotte, but I have not found any Jewish groups south of the state line.

My son started school here and joined the football team. The coach was having players saying prayers (in the name of Jesus) on the practice field and was condemning players to hell if they didn't respect their coaches, parents, teachers etc. My son was terrified as it was so "in his face" and aggressive. He quickly quit football to do another sport and confided that he was scared to let anyone know he was Jewish.

My husband attended a company banquet only two weeks after arriving here as well and during the banquet the company owners led a very Christian prayer.

Southern Christianity is so ingrained in the culture here, combined with ignorance of other religions (not all, but many), it is assumed that you must be a God fearing Christian to be a good person. More than anything, I believe it is due to the lack of exposure to any religious groups other than the status quo. That said, I do see the potential for some to oust Jews here than in other cities.

Rock Hill was actually founded by Jews and in the write up about this family, there is an interesting footnote at the bottom of the page stating that although the family was Jewish, they did not practice their religion, but regularly attended the Presbyterian Church.

My son in kindergarten has come home very confused because children in class keep telling him that he is going to hell because Jesus is not his Savior and the teacher seems to ignore this. I understand that children parrot what they have been taught, but there seems to be no effort made from the staff to perhaps explain that some are different in beliefs and that it is okay. At the very least, she should not allow the discussion of religion in the classroom. And in my other son's case, the staff person himself was intolerant and intimidating.

I was taught that you do not discuss religion and politics in polite company, I wish more people were informed of this lesson as a child. It should definately be kept out of the workplace and schools.

Some sort of Jewish group would be nice in this area.

Other than this, I love South Carolina and most of the people here are great. Southern hospitality is a wonderful thing.

[megassel]

I'm horrified for you at what your children have had to hear. And embarassed at the ignorance. I'm glad you're able to look past it and enjoy your new home!

Originally Posted by mindyrockhill

My family just moved to Rock Hill area and we are Jewish. There are several synagogues in Charlotte, but I have not found any Jewish groups south of the state line.

My son started school here and joined the football team. The coach was having players saying prayers (in the name of Jesus) on the practice field and was condemning players to hell if they didn't respect their coaches, parents, teachers etc. My son was terrified as it was so "in his face" and aggressive. He quickly quit football to do another sport and confided that he was scared to let anyone know he was Jewish.

My husband attended a company banquet only two weeks after arriving here as well and during the banquet the company owners led a very Christian prayer.

Southern Christianity is so ingrained in the culture here, combined with ignorance of other religions (not all, but many), it is assumed that you must be a God fearing Christian to be a good person. More than anything, I believe it is due to the lack of exposure to any religious groups other than the status quo. That said, I do see the potential for some to oust Jews here than in other cities.

Rock Hill was actually founded by Jews and in the write up about this family, there is an interesting footnote at the bottom of the page stating that although the family was Jewish, they did not practice their religion, but regularly attended the Presbyterian Church.

My son in kindergarten has come home very confused because children in class keep telling him that he is going to hell because Jesus is not his Savior and the teacher seems to ignore this. I understand that children parrot what they have been taught, but there seems to be no effort made from the staff to perhaps explain that some are different in beliefs and that it is okay. At the very least, she should not allow the discussion of religion in the classroom. And in my other son's case, the staff person himself was intolerant and intimidating.

I was taught that you do not discuss religion and politics in polite company, I wish more people were informed of this lesson as a child. It should definately be kept out of the workplace and schools.

Some sort of Jewish group would be nice in this area.

Other than this, I love South Carolina and most of the people here are great. Southern hospitality is a wonderful thing.

[ald]

Originally Posted by mindyrockhill

My family just moved to Rock Hill area and we are Jewish. There are several synagogues in Charlotte, but I have not found any Jewish groups south of the state line.

My son started school here and joined the football team. The coach was having players saying prayers (in the name of Jesus) on the practice field and was condemning players to hell if they didn't respect their coaches, parents, teachers etc. My son was terrified as it was so "in his face" and aggressive. He quickly quit football to do another sport and confided that he was scared to let anyone know he was Jewish.

My husband attended a company banquet only two weeks after arriving here as well and during the banquet the company owners led a very Christian prayer.

Southern Christianity is so ingrained in the culture here, combined with ignorance of other religions (not all, but many), it is assumed that you must be a God fearing Christian to be a good person. More than anything, I believe it is due to the lack of exposure to any religious groups other than the status quo. That said, I do see the potential for some to oust Jews here than in other cities.

Rock Hill was actually founded by Jews and in the write up about this family, there is an interesting footnote at the bottom of the page stating that although the family was Jewish, they did not practice their religion, but regularly attended the Presbyterian Church.

My son in kindergarten has come home very confused because children in class keep telling him that he is going to hell because Jesus is not his Savior and the teacher seems to ignore this. I understand that children parrot what they have been taught, but there seems to be no effort made from the staff to perhaps explain that some are different in beliefs and that it is okay. At the very least, she should not allow the discussion of religion in the classroom. And in my other son's case, the staff person himself was intolerant and intimidating.

I was taught that you do not discuss religion and politics in polite company, I wish more people were informed of this lesson as a child. It should definately be kept out of the workplace and schools.

Some sort of Jewish group would be nice in this area.

Other than this, I love South Carolina and most of the people here are great. Southern hospitality is a wonderful thing.

Mindyrockhill-

I am so sorry that is terrible for your son. My daughter just started K and I can't believe that children so young are speaking of this in a classroom. I too was raised not to speak of religon. Hang in there....perhaps you should speak w/ the teacher. Your child should not be made to feel that he/she is different based on religon. I have not heard of anything like that in all my years in Clt. Like I wrote in an earlier post my daughter went to a religous preschool and accepted us with open arms on many occassions the director would say "jesus was jewish" LOL. Hang in there it will get better and I think what you're son experienced is rare.

[newtocharlotte2008]

I don't know if anyone is still reading this thread. But I'm just curious about the Jewish population around Fort Mill vs. say Matthews. Would there likely be less jewish kids in school in SC than in NC -- or do jewish folks seem to live everywhere. It just seems the further out we'd be from Shalom Park...the less jews we'd find and I'd like for the kids to have some other jewish classmates. thanks.

[krichman65]

We moved from West Palm Beach, Florida to Waxhaw, NC in 2008. We are reform Jewish and felt after moving 15 miles away from Shalom Park in Charlotte that we would not be the only Jewish Family. We were so excited after seeing Shalom Park and felt like it would be such a smooth transition.
My children attended both Weddington Elementary and Weddington Middle School to find that we were one of three families that were Jewish at those school. It was extremely uncomfortable. When taking off school for Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana, the schools didn't excuse those days and counted them as absences. It wansn't until we mentioned that we were bringing in the media did they excuse those days.
Our 4 year old attends the Charlotte Jewish Preschool, and I drive there daily to try and give her some connection to her roots. Unfortunately, 15 miles four times a day has become financially draining and we have had to stop. We recently enrolled her in Kids R Kids. We love this program, however, they do not acknowledge any Jewish Holidays.
We have realized that if you are not within 5 to 7 miles from the Jewish Community Center then there will be no connection to being Jewish.
We are actually considering Baxter Village in SC. Has anyone felt unaccepted or ignored because they are Jewish? Will we feel like an outcast there where I have to be quite as to my background? Any suggestions?

[smclaughlin]

I live in Rock Hill and would love to join a local congregation and share shabbat services Friday evening. Traveling to Charlotte after a long day/week is just too far. I've heard that there is a location for Friday services - are there?