Celebrating Beth El’s 25^th Year

As Congregation Beth El begins the 2005-06 year, we begin celebrating our 25^th anniversary. Each month in the newsletter, there will be an article related to the Congregation’s activities during the first 25 years. It seems most appropriate to begin with a brief, but rich history.

Congregation Beth El was born in Spring1981, from the vision of five families. An earlier Beth El had existed in Bangor forty years before, but had been subsumed under Congregation Beth Israel and lost its Reform identity. The families placed an advertisement in the Jewish Community Council Newsletter announcing an open meeting. The response was powerful and, within a very short time, there were 25 families embarking on developing a Reform synagogue.

Services were scheduled one Friday a month, were led by congregation members, and alternately in the Jewish Community Center and the Unitarian Church. The tradition of the Oneg Shabbat caught on very quickly and soon there were more families, many with small children, some with grown children, enjoying services, challah, wine, grape juice, and any other goodie prepared by the newly established Social Committee. The Board of Directors of the fledgling congregation held meetings in the office of the President or in people’s homes.

It became apparent very early on that certain decisions had to be made: Would services be held at the Jewish Community Center or at the Unitarian Church? Would there be a religious school? Who would teach the children? How often would services be held? Would the laws of Kashruth be strictly observed for the Onegs? How would the congregation survive financially?

One by one, these questions were addressed and Congregation Beth El began to develop its own identity and traditions. Membership increased, with folks coming to Bangor from as far away as Patten, Blue Hill, Bar Harbor, Penobscot and Searsport – an area of nearly ten thousand square miles!

Within two years, there were 13 students enrolled in the religious school. Jewish history, Hebrew and Jewish holiday traditions were taught. The first B’nai Mitzvah occurred in October 1983; there were several more in Spring 1984. Sidney Block was elected as the first president in 1981, serving for five years. Mark Roth was then elected under the new bylaws of 1986, to a two-year term.

While rabbinic leadership and guidance was needed, Beth El was not able to employ a rabbi. Rabbi Paul Menitoff, of the UAHC, felt a strong commitment to this small congregation in Maine and came to Bangor with his family in 1982 to serve as Rabbi for the High Holidays. Each year after that, when he traveled the Maine Turnpike from Boston to Bangor, Rabbi Menitoff brought a borrowed Torah to use during services. When the holidays were over, Rabbi Menitoff and his family, and the Torah, returned to Boston.

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A significant milestone was achieved when Beth El was presented with a plaque signifying its membership in the UAHC. Soon after, Beth El was presented with a two hundred year old Torah that had been rescued from Czechoslovakia after World War II, and had been restored by the Westminster Synagogue Trust in London. This Torah, given to Beth El on permanent loan, was designated for use by young congregations until these congregations could buy a Torah of their own.

Through the mid 1980’s, Beth El brought in an occasional visiting Rabbi for services. In 1987, the Board of Directors, in consultation with the members, voted to search for a permanent Rabbi who, though he/she would not be full time, would travel to Bangor regularly and provide the rabbinic leadership that was needed. In 1987, Rabbi David Sandmel assumed the position of Rabbi on a part-time basis. (Beth El shared his time with the Reform Congregation in Portland.) Within a year, Rabbi Sandmel needed to devote all of his time to the Portland congregation. In 1988 Beth El enlisted Rabbi Shoshana Perry to serve two long weekends per month. She traveled from New York City, and later from Philadelphia, while first she, and then her husband, finished school. Rabbi Perry devoted her time to worship, teaching, adult education, and outreach to Bar Harbor, helping shape Beth El as we know it now. In 1991, Rabbi Perry moved to Bangor and became Beth El’s first resident Rabbi, serving until 1994 when she became Assistant Rabbi in a larger synagogue in the Boston area.

By 1994, the membership had grown to almost 100 families, and Beth El was ready to hire a full time Rabbi. A search committee, chaired by Irwin Gross, was established by President Ellie Pancoe. After a comprehensive search and visits to Bangor by three finalists, Rabbi Laurence Elis Milder was selected to be the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth El. With a full time rabbi in residence, membership increased to about 150 families, and has been relatively constant ever since. Through the years, Rabbi Milder served as the Principal of the Religious school, providing consultation and guidance in developing a formal curriculum, introduced confirmation classes to the high school students in the congregation, and trained numerous students for their B’nai Mitzvah by teaching them trope and the numerous prayers to lead Shabbat morning services. Rabbi Milder, who is also a professional musician, introduced a great deal of music to Shabbat services, and developed a wonderful choir that participates in the High Holiday and other services throughout the year. Adult education classes, an Introduction to Judaism series for those people considering conversion to Judaism, and outreach to Jews in rural Maine were all instituted. In 2002, Rabbi Milder led the first congregation trip to Israel.

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Perhaps Beth El’s proudest achievement was the decision in 1995 to spread its wings and seek a home of its own. After a six month capital campaign, co-chaired by President Irwin Gross and Mark Roth, pledges of $325,000 were made, allowing the congregation to purchase the current building at 183 French Street in Bangor. This building had been a Christian Science Reading Room and, more recently, the home of the Messiah Baptist Church. On March 1, 1995 - a cold, snowy day - Rabbi Milder and congregants proudly walked the Torah from the Unitarian Church to French Street as our new home was officially designated Congregation Beth El. In April, the building was officially dedicated with distinguished guests in attendance: including Congressman John Baldacci and leaders of the other Bangor synagogues. Governor Angus King issued a proclamation, read by State Representative Michael Saxl, - a Beth El member since childhood - declaring it Congregation Beth El Day in the State of Maine.

Renovations to the downstairs, to provide classrooms for the religious school, took place in the summer of 1995. Since then, various projects have made the building more comfortable for all of the congregation’s activities, including handicapped accessibility. At the present time, an Architecture Committee is studying the facility and will be making recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding building improvements.

In 2002, Beth El received from Congregation Beth Israel a generous donation of land abutting the other Jewish cemeteries near Mount Hope Cemetery. The land was developed and is now the Beth El Cemetery in Bangor. The beautiful, sacred grounds will serve the needs of our members for years to come.

Between 2002 and 2004, many Beth El programs were added: youth attemding URJ summer programs; a new youth scholarship program for attending summer programs; the joyous (and sometimes silly) Purim celebrations; the continuing tradition of congregational Seders; and the first Beth El youth conclavette in November, 2004, which attracted more than 80 Jewish youth from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

Congregation Beth El continues to thrive, with friendliness, warmth, a welcoming spirit to newcomers, and the support for members through simchas and grief. We have developed a very strong tradition of social activism, which is expressed through social action, education, and worship. Beth El remains a powerful Jewish voice in Bangor and eastern Maine. While the congregation will miss Rabbi Milder, who has recently taken a position in Westborough, Massachusetts, our Beth El family looks forward to growth under the new rabbinic leadership of Rabbi Lerner.

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From the Beth El Archives 2

Last month I wrote about some lesser-known Beth El traditions. In this month’s column, I am writing about the parallels between the development of our congregation and the processes that have been used to hire rabbis.

When Beth El was established in 1981, our worship services were primarily "do-it-yourself" affairs, calling on the collective knowledge of Sid Block, Eliot Strom, Ron Blum, Cliff Rosen, and myself. We didn’t have a rabbi to lead or even advise us. Despite "flying by the seat of our pants," we actually did a very good job. People continued to come back with their friends and relatives and we began to grow. Because the UAHC (now the URJ) was committed to having a viable Reform Jewish Congregation in Eastern Maine, Rabbi Paul Menitoff, an administrative rabbi, traveled with his family to Bangor for several years to conduct High Holiday services.

As Beth El grew, we needed regular rabbinical visits. We heard that Rabbi David Sandmel (the son of a rabbi as well) was interested in returning to his Maine roots to work part-time. Beth El’s need and Rabbi Sandmel’s desire were like a marriage made in heaven. No formal application was written, no extended interviews were conducted, and we had ourselves a part-time rabbi. We shared Rabbi Sandmel with the up and coming Reform congregation in Portland, Bet Ha’am. We enjoyed a happy collaboration for one year, until Bet Ha’am grew so rapidly that Rabbi Sandmel was needed in Portland full time. Trouble was that Beth El was also growing and we, too, needed increased rabbinical services.

In 1986 Sid Block retired from the presidency after five years, and I became the first president elected for a two-year term. At one Board meeting in my dining room we talked about contacting the UAHC to hire an ordained rabbi for monthly visits to Bangor. We asked that our flyers be put only in the mailboxes of the rabbinical faculty. Serendipitously, an error was made and the flyers also went into the mailboxes of the advanced students. Shoshana Perry called me one evening to inquire about the job. After speaking to Shoshana for 15 minutes, I was smitten. I spoke enthusiastically with the Board about her interest, knowing full well that we had specifically said we only wanted an ordained rabbi. The rest is history. Rabbi Shoshana Perry became our part-time rabbi and stayed with us through her ordination and beyond, until 1994. Our application process this time was a bit more formal, in that we developed an informational flyer, invited Rabbi Perry to Bangor for a visit, and then made our decision.

The next search began when Rabbi Perry and her family moved back to the Boston area. We decided that Beth El could support an almost full-time rabbi. The process was now more formalized, but the Board still resisted using the complete UAHC application. We used, with the support of the UAHC, a process in which we had a search committee (headed by Irwin Gross), solicited applications, received about ten, conducted telephone interviews, invited three finalists to Bangor for weekend visits, and chose Rabbi Larry Milder - who stayed with us for eleven wonderful years. Our process was a far cry from the hiring of Rabbi Sandmel, but it fell short of what was to come in 2005, when another committee began the search for Beth El’s next rabbi.

By 2005, Reform congregations seeking rabbis were required to follow a highly structured application process that was essentially a self-study. A committee of 16 people representative of the diversity of Beth El spent several weeks writing, editing and tweaking the description. Telephone interviews were conducted with all applicants, and three finalists were invited to visit Bangor for a few well-planned days. The outcome was that we hired the just-ordained Rabbi Darah Lerner, utilizing the match process (similar to what physicians do for internships and residencies). This was the most formal process that Beth El had ever been involved in, but I think, also the most rewarding. In essence it represented the enormous growth and maturity that makes Congregation Beth El a powerful voice of Reform Judaism in Eastern Maine.

• On Saturday night, October 21, following Havdalah, there will be a family friendly evening of entertainment open to the entire Jewish community. Beth El bakers will be serving up wonderful desserts to be purchased as a fundraiser for the synagogue.
• On Sunday morning, October 22, there will be a series of events, a sunrise service in Bar Harbor conducted by the coastal contingent of Beth El, a potluck brunch at the synagogue with a family education program taking the place of Religious School, and entertainment by Rabbi Milder. The committee is looking into having some activities for the children possibly with various types of games, and perhaps the appearance of a clown or two.
• On Sunday evening, October 22 at 5:00, there will be an adults-only dinner. Festivities will include entertainment, testimonials, and recognition of some Beth El members who have given so much of their time and talent to Beth El over the years. Both Rabbi Milder and Rabbi Perry will be attending and will reflect on their years here at Beth El. At the time I am writing this, it looks like the dinner will be at the Penobscot Valley Country Club.
• A commemorative program will be put together which will include space for advertisements for area businesses and for best wishes from congregation members. Prices and more details will follow later in the year.
• Tammy Nesin has generously volunteered to coordinate the sale of long and short-sleeved T-shirts, sweatshirts and baseball caps with the Beth El 25^th Anniversary logo on them. More details will follow soon.

If you would like to help with any of the planning of the activities, or participate in any of the programs described above, or if you have any other ideas for activities or fundraisers, please contact the Beth El office.

The 25^th anniversary committee has been working on the program for the October 21-22 celebration and has planned several events. Read on for an update on what we have planned for Beth El.

Saturday morning, October 21: There will be a sunrise service in Bar Harbor atop Cadillac Mountain that will be led by Rabbi Lerner and others from the Bar Harbor area. If you plan on attending, bring some strong coffee for Rabbi Lerner who has told us she is not an early morning person.

Saturday evening, October 21: The Saturday evening program will include Havdalah followed by an evening of Klezmer entertainment and Israeli dancing. Gourmet desserts will be available for sale and will be prepared by the social committee and others. We are also working on having a comedy monologue as part of the evening.

Sunday morning, October 21: The Sunday morning program will be entertainment by Rabbi Milder. We are hoping to provide some educational programming by Rabbis Lerner, Milder and Perry as well. This program will take the place of religious school. Bagels and coffee/tea/juice that is the usual for Sunday religious school will be available.

Sunday evening, October 22 at 5:00 p.m.: The gala dinner will be at the Penobscot Valley Country Club from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.. There will be a selection of 4 dishes selected by the dinner committee (fish, meat, chicken, vegetarian). Dinner will include salad, rolls, entrée with vegetables, dessert, coffee and tea. Preceding the dinner will be a social hour with hors d’oeuvres selected by the committee. A cash bar will be available. The program after the dinner will be put together at a later date. We are in the process of arranging for an individual to play quiet music during the social hour and dinner prior to the evening’s program. This is an adults only dinner but will be open to teens of confirmation age (15 and up). More details will follow.

There will be a commemorative program booklet which will include the full program for the weekend. There will also be space for congregation members to offer good wishes, and advertising space for businesses and other groups in the area to advertise their business and/or to provide a message of congratulations to Beth El. Look in the May newsletter for the order form which will have all the details, costs, and space to write the message you would like to appear in the booklet.