"The work of belonging": Bronze plaques will highlight Boston's diverse history

Driving the news: The nonprofit Embrace Boston and Combined Jewish Philanthropies unveiled the plaque Thursday night at the Vilna Shul.

• It's one of 20 plaques going up this year as part of the Everyone250 initiative, says Imari Paris Jeffries, Embrace's executive director.

What they're saying: Jeffries asked the audience on Thursday to "join us in the work of remembrance, in the work of belonging, in the work of building something that outlasts any of us."

• "Events like this aren't just about looking backward," Marc Baker, CJP's CEO, told the crowd. "They ask us to look forward and reflect on the kind of country we want to be."

Flashback: The Vilna Shul's roots can be traced to the late 19th century, when Lithuanians from the Vilnius Gubernia province immigrated to Boston and formed a community group for other families from Eastern Europe.

• When the Twelfth Baptist Church moved from Beacon Hill to Roxbury in 1906, Lithuanian Jews bought the Beacon Hill building and opened the Vilna Shul.

• They moved down the street to 18 Phillips St. 10 years later, after the city took the original property through eminent domain and gave the synagogue $20,000.

At one point, the Vilna Shul was one of 50 synagogues serving Boston's immigrant Jewish population.

• Today, the Vilna Shul is a cultural center rather than an active place of worship.

What's next: The plaque will be installed soon, pending approval from Boston historic preservation officials.