About Us
Congregation Or Ami is a dynamic Reform synagogue and the center of Jewish life in the Lafayette Hill area. We foster meaningful experiences through life-long education, spiritual worship, social action, and acts of loving kindness. We believe in transforming our tomorrow by inspiring and supporting an inclusive and diverse congregation. With links to our past and an imaginative and contemporary eye towards the future, we practice Judaism filled with compassion, love, music and joy. Our connected congregation shines an innovative light on our Jewish traditions as we support each other through life’s most significant moments.
or ami is...
A vibrant Reform Jewish community that traces its founding back to 1947. Congregation Or Ami (COA) is located in the Montgomery County suburbs of Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania. We are a warm, welcoming congregation that seeks to fulfill the ethics of our forefathers and foremothers in our passion for worship, quest to study Torah, strengthen Israel, and perform daily acts of tikkun olam. Congregation Or Ami is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ).
History
In 1947 a small group of women who had been meeting regularly for a social evening decided to form a club of interest to Jewish men and women. Calling themselves the “Jewish Community Group of Roxborough,” the group of Jewish men and women met often in various locales. By the following year, the need for a Jewish community center was determined and the fledgling congregation held its first High Holy Day Services in an empty house donated by one of its members. The group became affiliated with the Conservative movement.
In 1949 the congregation purchased the vacant Epiphany Lutheran Church in Roxborough. With a membership composed of 25 families, it became known as the Ivy Ridge Jewish Community Center. After several years of study and debate, the congregation voted to join the Reform Movement and became affiliated with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Prompted by the move of many congregations to the suburbs, the congregation purchased a tract of land in Lafayette Hill. It is on this land that the present structure was dedicated on May 20, 1960 and enlarged in 1964. Subsequent major enlargements occurred in 1972 and 1990. Each took years of planning and resulted in modernization of the building.
In 1965, the Ivy Ridge Jewish Community Center became known as Congregation Or Ami. The name means “light of my people.” Judaism, at Or Ami, is viewed and experienced as an evolving religious civilization. It is the ongoing creation of the Jewish people, rooted in the dreams and tradition of the patriarchs, the prophets and the sages offering us the insight, wisdom and experience of four millennia of our people’s pilgrimage among the nations.
The congregation elected its first full-time rabbi, Rabbi Tibor Fabian, in July, 1961. Rabbi Seymour Prystowsky led the congregation from 1963 until his retirement in June 2001, when he became our Rabbi Emeritus. Rabbi Kenneth Carr was the spiritual leader of the Or Ami Community from July 2001 through June 2016. Rabbi Glenn Ettman served as interim Rabbi from July 2016 through June 2017, and he became the Senior Rabbi beginning in July 2017. Cantor Jordan Franzel is our first full time cantor.
Mon, January 18 2021
5 Sh'vat 5781
Donations / Payments
MAKE A DONATION
Please CLICK HERE to make a donation to Congregation Or Ami
on our Online Payments page, where you can select which fund you would like to contribute to, and you may also specify a Dedication for your donation.
Please note that we are only sending virtual torah cards via email to acknowledge donations upon request at this time.
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make a payment
Please CLICK HERE to make a payment on your account.
Then, select "Payment is for an account balance."
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tree of life plaque
Celebrate a Simcha
Become a permanent part of 40+ years of Or Ami history with a Tree of Life leaf plaque commemorating a special moment in your life or the lives of your loved ones.
$118 per plaque
Your purchase supports the Or Ami Fine Arts Committee!
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Yahrzeit memorial plaque
Memorialize your loved ones.
$450 per plaque
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COMING UP AT OR AMI
January 7 - 13, 2021
Friday
6:30 PM
Erev Shabbat Service
Facebook Live
Saturday
9:00 AM
Zoom Meeting: Torah Study
sunday
9:00 am
Religious School
Morning Shir / Singing
9:30 am
Religious School
TUESday
11:00 am
Cantor Franzel presents MUSAR!
A virtual event
4:00 pm
Religious School - virtual
7:00 pm
LAB
8:00 PM
Leadership Academy/Confirmation with Rabbi Ettman
WEDNESday
1:00 pm
Rabbi Ettman presents:
Tapping into Torah
Click for virtual Shabbat prayer books