In early 1959, about 20 families discussed forming the first Reform Jewish congregation to serve the area around Red Bank, New Jersey. In June of that year, 50 families attended a dinner in honor of the founding of Monmouth Reform Temple.

From 1959 to 1961 Rabbi Henry Bamberger, who was then a student at HUC-JIR, served as student rabbi at Monmouth Reform Temple. Rabbi Richard Steinbrink served as our first full-time spiritual leader until 1966.

During the early years, prior to the building of our synagogue in 1967, the congregation worshiped and educated its children at the Presbyterian Church at Shrewsbury. The ties that developed between the two congregations are renewed each year in a joint Thanksgiving Eve service, during which the generosity of the church to the Temple is recognized.

Rabbi Edward Ellenbogen, who served Monmouth Reform Temple from 1966 until his retirement in 1970, was followed by Rabbi Harry Scherer, who served briefly as part-time rabbi. In 1971, Rabbi Alton M. Winters began ten years of service to the Temple, during which he established a strong tradition of adult education. Also, by the early 1970's, the Religious School had evolved from a group of volunteer lay teachers into a school with a professional faculty and principal. Our Religous School has thrived since 1983 under the leadership of principal David Levinsky.

Evolution

Rabbi Sally J. Priesand, who was ordained as America's first woman rabbi in 1972, became spiritual leader of our Temple in 1981. Worship services began to evolve; today there is significantly more congregational participation, more Hebrew is used, the Torah is read weekly, and additional services are held for festivals and special days in the Jewish calendar. Rabbi Priesand has always encouraged Temple members to take responsibility for their own Jewish lives, to create positive Jewish memories for all our children and grandchildren, and to remember that we are all members of one Temple family.

Under Rabbi Priesand's leadership, the Temple also became more deeply involved in the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the local Jewish Federation, and the larger community of which we are a part. We are recognized as a leader in dealing with change in several aspects of the Reform Movement: the partnership between clergy and Temple members, the empowerment of Temple members as Jews, and recognition of the role of non-Jewish members. Social action activity has also increased with Temple members accepting leadership positions in community programs that focus on housing and feeding those in need, working against drunk driving, and improving the lives of those affected by HIV and AIDS.

Temple activities are partially supported by the annual Monmouth Festival of the Arts and the Tinton Falls Cooperative Nursery School, both of which serve the entire community. "Festival" is a monumental five-day undertaking that benefits from the active participation of most of our Temple family.

Planning for the Future

Every few years a Long Range Planning Committee is appointed to assess the goals of the Temple, evaluate what is needed to meet those goals, and recommend how best to achieve them. Based on the work of these committees, and the insight provided by our members, we plan for the future. The work of an early LRP committee led to our hiring our first cantorial student in 1983, and another committee's recommendation led to our hiring our first full-time cantor in 1998. Temple organist Ken Clayton has served faithfully and well since 1985.

Long Range Planning has also guided our physical growth. Following initial construction of our synagogue, the education wing was expanded in 1977, the sanctuary and social hall were enlarged in 1987, and another building expansion was completed in 1998 to accommodate our growing needs for the Religious School, office space, and meeting rooms for our very active committees and programs.

The most recent Long Range Planning activity yielded a Mission Statement that will help guide our future endeavors. It also recommended formation of six task forces, three of which are already functioning in the areas of membership involvement, spirituality, and adult Jewish learning.

In all our endeavors, the members of Monmouth Reform Temple strive to create and maintain a community that embodies the ideals and practices of Reform Judaism; a synagogue that is a House of Learning (Beit Midrash ), House of Worship (Beit Tefilah ), House of Assembly (Beit Knesset ), and Repair of the World (Tikkun Olam ).

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