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Founded in 1870 by a handful of pioneer families, it has
been a Reform congregation from the start. Throughout its
history, it has had the largest number of members among all
local Jewish congregations. Membership currently numbers about
1,120 families.
The Temple, Congregation B'nai Jehudah was among the 34 founders
of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) and has
supported it consistently ever since. In 2003, the organization
changed its name to URJ (Union for Reform Judaism). The URJ
now consists of more than 900 congregations in the United
States and Canada.
Through our affiliation with the URJ, we support the movement's seminary, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, which trains rabbis, cantors, Jewish educators, administrators and other Jewish communal social service professionals for world-wide service. We are linked to Reform Judaism in over twenty countries through our support of the World Union for Progressive Judaism.
In 1870, twenty-five families gathered, pledged $800 and rented a hall at Eighth and Main Streets, thus forming the first Jewish congregation in Kansas City, Missouri. They called this congregation "B'nai Jehudah" (Children of Judah).
The congregation's modest first building, built in 1875 at Sixth and Wyandotte, was succeeded ten years later by a more substantial one at the southwest corner of Eleventh and Oak, opposite the present City Hall.
In 1908, the congregation built an imposing new building
at Linwood Boulevard and Flora Avenue. Membership more than
doubled soon after World War II, with the majority relocating
farther south. This led to relocation of facilities to 69th
and Holmes, beginning in 1957 with a new religious school,
social hall and chapel; and, in 1967, with a striking sanctuary
addition.
In 2000, the congregation built a state-of-the-art Learning
Center at 123rd and Nall, reflecting the trend of the Jewish
community to move farther south and west. In 2004, following
the sale of its facility, the congregation moved all its operations
to the Learning Center. While the congregation no longer is
located physically in Missouri, it continues to be a vibrant
participant in the life of the Greater Kansas City area.
Members enjoy a breadth of programming that reaches to every congregational member. Our size is an asset, for it enables us to build many different kinds of bridges to one another. We seek always to enable individuals to flourish in their unique ways within the congregational family.
It is written in Pirke Avot,
the Sayings of the Sages, that
the world is sustained by three things: study of Torah, worship
and acts of loving-kindness. At The Temple, Congregation B'nai
Jehudah, we take this commitment very seriously -- indeed,
all the many facets of our community life fall into one or
another of these fundamental areas.
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