Family… Diversity … Acceptance … Caring … Home … Just a few of the words used to describe Temple Emanuel.
Temple Emanuel of the Merrimack Valley has a broad foundation composed of many things — Judaism, social action, education, to name a few — but what truly supports the Temple is its center, its heart: the members of the congregation. We have all taken different paths to Temple Emanuel and have had different experiences here, although there are many common threads. In our own words, here are what some of Temple Emanuel’s members have to say about this remarkable place.
- Temple Emanuel is a warm, welcoming, caring, and inclusive community. It’s hard to decide the order of importance of all those and the only word I can think of that may contain all is "family". — Jim
- Our interfaith marriage made it tricky to find a place of worship that we were both comfortable with ... Temple Emanuel’s welcoming and relaxing atmosphere has worked out well for our whole family. — Jane
- Temple Emanuel has been a spiritual and communal home for our family for almost 25 years. We have celebrated joyous occasions such as Bar/Bat Mitzvahs of our children and Eshet Mitzvah for myself, a wedding ceremony for my daughter and son-in-law, and the birth of our grandchild. The community has also supported us during sad times as well. We have been fortunate to have had the experience to learn from three wonderful rabbis over these years and look forward to more of the same. Just knowing that we are part of such an open, warm, and welcoming Jewish environment has made all the difference in our interfaith marriage and family life. Oh yes, and Shabbat services are like a deep breath of fresh air. — Carole
- Temple Emanuel is a place where people know who you are and reach out to you in times of need. This summer my husband had surgery around the time our third child was due. Many, many friends from Temple reached out to us, expressing their desire to help in any way possible. Our rabbi called to check in on us. What a great feeling it is to know that if we need help in any way, it is there for us. — Sue
- I joined Temple Emanuel about 25 years ago so my children could get a Jewish education. I was from a “Southern Reform” congregation and my parents were rather secular. Also, I'm part of an interfaith family and my children are Hispanic. None of that made a difference at TEMV. Over the years, I've attended Adult Education, learned Hebrew, had my Bat Mitzvah, and much more. I've been Chair of several committees, a Trustee, and was given the honor of being President of the Board of Trustees. I remain active on several committees. TEMV has given me the opportunity to learn about my religion and encouraged me to be a leader and in the process I've grown as a Jew and a person. As another bonus, I've met some fabulous people and developed very close friendships. — Linda Gilmore
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