BIDDEFORD — Jewish Congregation Etz Chaim of Biddeford has announced its summer schedule.
Cantor Beth Strassler will be leading Friday evening Shabbat services on July 6 and Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. Saturday Shabbat services will be held on July 21 and Aug. 18 beginning at 9:30 am. Refreshments will be served after each service.
New this summer, Torah study sessions will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday July 14 and Aug. 11. Study sessions will be led by Dr. David Strassler and Jack Schraeter. Bagels and coffee will be served.
The Samuel Osher Memorial Library will be open during the summer. Check etzchaimme.org or e-mail library@etzchaimme.org for more information.
Congregation Etz Chaim is at 36 Bacon St., Biddeford. Parking is available in the lot next to the Biddeford Police Station.
The synagogue offers High Holiday Services; Shabbat Morning Services twice a month; Jewish Holiday celebrations; Community Friday Night Potlucks; weekly Hebrew School for school-age children; Sunday School for young children and families; adult education and community programming; and training for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.
Congregation Etz Chaim was founded in 1906 in a former Episcopal church in Biddeford. The congregation prospered through the 1950s when it served more than 125 families in Biddeford and Saco alone.
But by the 1970s, membership had dwindled to about 25 families, and the synagogue no longer had a rabbi or offered Hebrew school.
Around 1980, lifetime member Arnold Shapiro of Biddeford became president of Congregation Etz Chaim; he encouraged a more non-denominational approach for the synagogue, and it attracted more people to the congregation, especially interfaith families. Membership started rising again and the synagogue started offering Hebrew school again.
The congregation continues to thrive and today welcomes all types of Jewish families, from orthodox to reconstructionist. Membership has grown to include more than 100 families who lead and participate in religious and social programs.
As the synagogue has grown in the last decade, structural improvements have been made to the Congregational Etz Chaim facility. Some of those upgrades are a handicapped outdoor ramp, indoor elevator, and new flooring in the social hall.
For more information about Congregation Etz Chaim in Biddeford, visit etzchaimme.org or send an email to cantorstrassler@gmail.com.
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