Father Balasko to be honored at celebration

YOUNGSTOWN — Temple El Emeth, in conjunction with the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, will honor Father George Balasko for his lifetime commitment to interfaith relations and the 35-year-old Jewish/Christian Dialogue series of programs.

The celebration will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 at Temple El Emeth, 3970 Logan Way, Liberty.

The program is timed to coincide with the holiday of Sukkot, a Jewish harvest festival of thanksgiving, taking its name from the booths in which Jews lived after their deliverance from Egypt. In appreciation of his honor, and in recognition of his 75th Baptismal anniversary, Father Balasko will present as a gift to El Emeth a series of Israeli State Medals painted by Salvador Dali, depicting the Twelve Tribes, that he obtained during one of his many trips to the Holy Land.

Ordained into the priesthood in 1967, Father Balasko is the current pastor of St. Ann Church in East Liverpool and the adult education specialist for the Diocese of Youngstown. Through his many ecumenical programs, Father Balasko is well-renowned and highly regarded in the local Jewish community. He is the founder, general editor and producer of a continuing education program in cooperation with Alba House communications, and for more than 20 years has served as host and producer of the “Jewish/Christian Dialogue” network television series, which airs in several markets around the country.

With the late Rabbi Samuel Meyer of Temple El Emeth, Father Balasko co-founded the local Jewish-Christian Dialogue group 35 years ago. Still in existence, the group has expanded to include Rabbi Joseph Schonberger of Temple El Emeth, Rabbi Joel Berman of Ohev Tzedek Congregation and numerous Protestant ministers, and has been recognized nationally by the Journal of Ecumenical Studies. The ongoing series features regular joint-study programs, special speaker events, days of prayer, annual Seders and pilgrimages to the Holy Land in Israel and to Rome in Italy, where Jewish and Christian roots are jointly explored.

For his work in the Dialogue and for his love for the people and country of Israel, Father Balasko has been honored by the local chapters of B’nai B’rith and the Zionist Organization of America. With Rabbi Meyer, he received the Warren-Youngstown Area Brotherhood Honorees Award.