Ark Builders: Worship Through Woodworking

Ark Builders is a celebration of the work of a group of Jewish men at Temple Israel in Natick, Massachusetts. It chronicles, over nearly three decades, their design, construction and presentation to the Temple of dozens of highly artistic yet functional pieces of wooden furniture. The book traces projects from envelope sketches and engineering schematics through photographs of the fabrication process and presentation. It also examines the dynamics of small group functioning, as the men hash out ideas and alternative designs over bagels and coffee. Perhaps most importantly, the book considers the impact the group has made on the community, and how faith suffuses everything.