HOLYOKE – Congregation Sons of Zion now meets in a former mill building, reusing a remnant of the industrial capacity that brought its immigrant founders to the Paper City at the dawn of the 20th century.

The new worship space for the Jewish community stands in contrast to the 19,000-square-foot sanctuary and community center at 378 Maple St., with its soaring stained-glass windows, that Sons of Zion once occupied a few blocks away.

“But if we don’t have money. We don’t have a choice,” said the congregation’s president, Joanne Saltman. “It was a difficult process.”

Many religious groups have gone through the same process, selling buildings and downsizing as congregations shrink.

On Nov. 7, Congregation Sons of Zion of Holyoke Inc. sold the former synagogue and its property to a chur

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