By Rabbi Dr. Barbara Thiede
Almost a century and a half ago, two Jewish partners ran a dry goods store in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. Koopman, Phelps & Co. opened in the little town of Concord. But by 1865, the firm was out of business and off the historical record. Five years later, Julius Israel opened a general store in Concord. Sadly, the terrible depression of 1873 closed down the second-known example of local Jewish merchandising.
Other Jewish folks have probably found their way in and out of Cabarrus County in the last century or so. But so far as anyone knows, there has never been even the slightest sign of any organized Jewish community in the area. No services with prayers, praise, and song in Hebrew. No multi-family holiday celebrations, no tables laden with traditional Jewish foods. Not enough folks to link hands and dance the hora. No “yiddishkeit.”
When I came to Concord in 1993, I joked that my family might be the only Jews in town. Then, in the spring of 2003, I met Brian Cutler, a Jewish transplant who hailed from the Northeast. One day, over coffee (Brian) and tea (me), we wondered aloud if we could find just a few other Jewish or interfaith families – enough to make it possible to organize a Passover seder, celebrate Hanukah, or conduct a modest Friday night service.
I’d been writing a column for a local paper for nine years, so I checked with my editor, told our story, and asked the question: were there other Jewish and interfaith families out there?
There were! By the fall of 2003 we had managed to picnic together in the park, celebrate Erev Rosh Hashanah, and create monthly Friday night services.
We began building a community – one that would offer everything we needed to live Jewishly – social events, holiday programming, and religious services. We began dreaming of the first Hanukah and Purim celebrations to be held in the county, the first High Holy Day services, the first bar or bat mitzvah.
It all happened. And then some. In 2006, I entered rabbinic school and was ordained as a rabbi by ALEPH, the Alliance for Jewish Renewal after racking up more than 60 classes in All Things Jewish.
We grew from a havurah, a community of friends, into a congregation. We became Temple Or Olam. Why did we choose this name? The Hebrew word or evokes light and enlightenment. Olam means world, universe, even eternity. The name tells who we are and what we aim to do: we want Temple Or Olam to bring more light into our world, and to do so with love, acceptance, tolerance, and a whole lot of social action.
We are committed to caring for our community and acting for the sake of the larger one around us. We anticipate the joy of lively and spiritually enriching services, festivals, and onegs. We like to see our children grow and flourish in our personal, loving, and creative Jewish environment. We love good food and great music!
We encourage our members to participate actively. We want to send a message of inclusion to all: Regardless of denominational past, sexual orientation, or interfaith relationships, all Jews are welcome at Temple Or Olam.
In the end, Temple Or Olam is all about the world – physical and spiritual. In either realm, it turns out, none of us is alone.
