St. Clare of Assisi Episcopal Church (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

St. Clare's began as a mission of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in 1953. Holding their first services at the old Stone School, the membership steadily grew necessitating the building of their own sanctuary completed in the winter of 1956. In 1974, the members of St. Clare agreed to joint ownership and shared use of the sanctuary and classrooms with Temple Beth-Emeth, a Reform Jewish assemblage. Under the corporate name, Genesis of Ann Arbor, each congregation would share in the management of the facilities, while maintaining its own religious program. This was the first instance of a joint ownership of a house of worship by a church and synagogue in the world. The Genesis Corporation was run by a board made up of representatives of both congregations, with the clergy of each having veto power over the appointment of new clergy to the other.