For the handful of Jewish families who lived in Lawrence Township in the 1960s, finding a house of worship was easy – join one of six synagogues in Trenton on the lone synagogue in Princeton.
But for some families, none of those synagogues was a good fit. They were expensive to join and were not always welcoming to newcomers – and never mind the range of religious observances, from the traditional to the liberal.
So one night in 1969, about two dozen people gathered in Stuart and Paula Gottlieb’s living room at their home on Merion Place – and out of that meeting, Temple Micah was born.
Temple Micah, which holds its religious services at The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville on Main Street, will celebrate its 50th anniversary on March 23. There will be a Havdalah service, which marks the end of Shabbat, followed by a celebration.
“In any organization, there are rebels who think it ought to be different. It was the Vietnam War era, there were liberal social movements and there were people looking to change the status quo in general,” said Bob Pollack, a longtime member and former president of Temple Micah.
It was those rebels who showed up for the informal meeting at the Gottlieb home to discuss creating their own synagogue. They wanted one that was more inclusive and accepting, and that focused less on traditional elements of Judaism, Pollack said.
“When Temple Micah was first started, it was different. It was about having a personal relationship with Judaism,” Pollack said. There was never a plan to align with any of the three movements within Judaism – Orthodox, Conservative or Reform.
That was fine, but it still begged the question – where would Temple Micah meet?
When Temple Micah was unable to rent space at Rider University for its worship service, someone suggested asking The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville, which was led by the Rev. Dana Fearon III, whether it would be willing to accommodate the fledgling synagogue.
As it turned out, Pollack said, one of Rev. Fearon’s children was a student in Mrs. Gottlieb’s second-grade class at the Lawrenceville Elementary School. The synagogue approached Rev. Fearon, and the church was agreeable to the proposal.
“Dana thought, ‘We have the space, why not use it. More importantly, as Christians, we are welcoming, helpful and supportive of all religions.’ Dana was very much the leader,” Pollack said.
And that is how Temple Micah began holding services at The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville.
In return for being allowed to hold worship services at the church, Temple Micah has contributed to its capital campaign, Pollack said. If the church needs something and Temple Micah can help, the synagogue does so, he said.
Form a core group of about two dozen families, Temple Micah has grown to about 200 members and 80 children. Temple Micah has a religious school for the children, who learn about the Jewish holidays, values and culture. They also learn Hebrew.
“We have a ‘come as you are’ approach. We want to create an opportunity to connect in some way. We don’t want you to feel like a stranger, we want you to feel like you belong,” Pollack said.
“We want to maintain a feeling of warmth and inclusiveness,” Pollack said, adding that the congregation is open to families in which one member is Jewish and the other is not.
“If Temple Micah did not exist, someone would have to invent it,” he said, describing Temple Micah’s philosophy.
It is that approach which has drawn members from the surrounding area – from Lawrence Township, of course, but also from Princeton, the Hopewell Valley, and West Windsor and East Windsor townships, he said. Members also come from Bucks County, Pa.
Meanwhile, Pollack is quick to emphasize that The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville is integral to Temple Micah’s existence – and that without its support, Temple Micah might not even exist.
The Rev. Jeffrey Vamos, who succeeded Rev. Fearon as the minister of The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville, agreed that the ongoing relationship with Temple Micah has been a good one for the church.
“It has become part of The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville’s ethos. It makes us who we are and what we are,” Rev. Vamos said.
“It is a symbol of who we are as Christians and Jews. We can co-exist as two different faith communities in the same space,” Rev. Vamos said.
