
175th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate this milestone anniversary as Indiana’s oldest Jewish congregation during our “175th Season” of events from summer 2023 through winter 2024!
Exciting programming is coming as part of the Temple’s 175th anniversary celebration, including a visit by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, and a Scholar-in-Residence program with Rabbi Dr. Gary Zola, Executive Director Emeritus of the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati.
We’ll mark this significant milestone as Indiana’s oldest Jewish congregation with a festive weekend on November 10-12, 2023, featuring Shabbat programming, a Havdalah concert, and a Sunday open house for the community.
Musical programs, art exhibits, and educational offerings will be held during our “175th season” that goes from spring 2023 and through winter 2024.
Find out more about upcoming events:
Friday, November 10-Sunday, November 12, 2023
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Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, will give the D’var Torah during our Shabbat service. Orin Reynolds, a Seattle-based musician who grew up at the Temple, will be our guest musician. A festive Oneg Shabbat will follow the service.
A Torah scroll will be presented to Jeremy Klotz, director of Goldman Union Camp Institute, our regional URJ camp in Zionsville, in appreciation of our long association with the camp. Many campers and Rabbis from Achduth Vesholom spent memorable times at GUCI.
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- Morning Shabbat service, followed by a Kiddush luncheon Find out more
- Pizza dinner, followed by evening song session and Havdalah with Orin Reynolds Find out more
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Community Open House for congregants and the greater Fort Wayne community from 1 to 5 pm:
- Take a docent-led Jewish Heritage Tour by trolley. Developed with ARCH, the tour focuses on locations related to Jewish life in Fort Wayne from the early days of Jewish immigration to the present. Tours will leave the Temple at 1:30 pm and 2 pm. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Ages 12 and up only. Tour is approximately 2 hours. A self-guided tour will be available later this year.
- Visit the Goldman Memorial Museum in the Madge Rothschild Resource Center for its grand opening. Highlights include a timeline covering 200 years of Jewish history in Northeast Indiana; an exhibit about the Jewish holidays; and a Torah remnant that survived the Holocaust.
- Discover more about Jewish traditions and community. Docents will be available to answer your questions.
- Experience klezmer-inspired music performed by a String Quartet from the Fort Wayne Philharmonic
- Enjoy a nosh that includes Jewish favorites for holidays and year-round.
- Learn more about the Temple’s partners on the Rifkin Campus.
Thank You To Our 175th Anniversary Committee:
Co-Chairs: Kathy Sider and Beth Zweig
Fran Adler
Rabbi Meir Bargeron
Jamie Berger
Nancy Dicker
Janet Finkel
Stephanie Gottesman
Norm Greenberg
Ronnie Greenberg
Dawn Hammond
Marie McFadden
Marcia Reynolds
Cheryl Schorey
Samara Sheray
John Stein
Jon Tam
Donna Tourkow
Irene Walters
Mimi Zelman