Temple Emanuel is a

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

located at 12166 Conway Road, near the corner of New Ballas Road, in Creve Coeur,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, in the United States. Organized in 1956, it is affiliated with the

Union for Reform Judaism The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establ ...

(UAHC). It has a membership of 300 families. The Temple is notable not only for its size, but for its unique

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

architecture.

History

A group of parents in the area first had the idea to form a synagogue in the 1940s as a way to further their children's religious education. They founded St. Louis School for Judaism in September 1953 and organized the synagogue in 1956, choosing the name "Temple Emanuel" on December 16, 1956. It was the first Reform congregation founded in St. Louis in 70 years. The congregation initially had 48 families, and services were held at the

Bible Presbyterian Church The Bible Presbyterian Church is an Protestantism in the United States, American Protestant denomination in the Reformed tradition. It was founded by members of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church over differences on Christian eschatology, eschatolo ...

. Construction at the Conway Road site began in September 1961, and the completed building was dedicated in January 1963. The synagogue is affiliated with [the

, which was formerly called] the UAHC. In March 2008, the synagogue and Congregation Temple Israel (Creve Coeur, Missouri), Temple Israel in Creve Coeur (which had approximately 1,000 families) announced a plan to merge, which would have created a congregation of 1,400 families, one of the area's largest Reform Jewish congregations. After two months of discussions among some leaders of the synagogues, the matter became public when the two Boards of Directors were asked for their input. The membership of Temple Emanuel were given presentations on possible merger in April. The school enrollment had declined from 137 students in 2001 to 79 students in 2008. Ultimately, after 2/3 of congregants indicated that they preferred independence in balloting the following month, the congregation decided overwhelmingly to remain independent. In 2010, Temple Emanuel mounted an exhibition of black and white photographs of Albanian Muslims who rescued 2,000 Jews during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Its rabbi said a goal of the congregation with the exhibit was "to tell people ... these are examples of Muslim-Jewish respect, tolerance and love."

Services, classes, and programs

The synagogue provides

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

and Sunday religious services. Temple Emanuel instituted its Sunday services in 1958, decades after the Sunday-Sabbath movement in American Reform Judaism had largely ended. It also provides Sunday religious school and Hebrew in preparation for Bar/Bat Mitzvah, as well as Torah study and adult learning courses. In addition, it provides programs on interfaith issues and family learning, as well as youth and senior programs.

Membership, clergy, and leadership

As of 2016, the synagogue had a membership of about 250 families. Temple Emanuel's Senior Rabbi is Elizabeth Hersh. Its Rabbi Emeritus and Senior Scholar is Dr. Joseph R. Rosenbloom, who has been rabbi at the synagogue for more than 42 years. Since 1977, the temple's " Cantorial Soloist" has been Malachi Owens, a non-Jewish

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

who worked as an electrical engineer and has also been a Baptist minister since 1998.

Design

Its 1962 building in the St. Louis suburb of

Creve Coeur, Missouri Creve Coeur is a city located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, a part of Greater St. Louis. Its population was 18,834 at the 2020 census. Creve Coeur borders and shares a ZIP code (63141) with the neighboring city of Town and Co ...

, was designed by architect William Bernoudy, of the firm Bernoudy-Mutrux-Bauer, which was known for its originality. It was designed in the shape of the six-pointed Jewish star.''Modern Architecture in St. Louis: Washington University and Postwar American Architecture, 1948–1973'', Eric Mumford, Washington University Press, 2004. The congregation owns the building, and the land on which it sits. The St. Louis County Historic Buildings Commission has named the synagogue an outstanding example of mid-century Modern architecture worthy of preservation.

References

External links

*
''Dedication Temple Emanual: 5723 (January 1963)''
Temple Emanuel (St. Louis, Missouri), Temple Emanual, 1963
''The building art in St. Louis''
by George McCue, published by the St. Louis Chapter,

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

, 1967 {{DEFAULTSORT:Emanuel (Creve Coeur, Missouri) Synagogues completed in 1962 Reform synagogues in Missouri Jewish organizations established in 1956 Religious buildings and structures in St. Louis County, Missouri Modernist synagogues Modernist architecture in Missouri 1956 establishments in Missouri 20th-century synagogues in the United States