local
Or Ami in
Lafayette Hill
Updating its
Sanctuary S
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
ometimes, an institution’s public
relations description of its project
actually does sum it up quite well.

In a recent Facebook post,
Congregation Or Ami in Lafayette Hill
announced a “once-in-a-generation”
update to its sanctuary.

Th e Reform, 200-family synagogue
is “completely redoing the sanctuary,”
according to Executive Director Scott
Allen. Individual seating will replace the
pews, which have already been taken out;
the bimah will be lowered in an appro-
6 JUNE 23, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
priate metaphor for bringing God closer
to the people; and new carpeting, fl oor
tiles, paint and lighting will be installed.

Th e several hundred thousand dollar
project is the fi rst major update to the
sanctuary in 40 years, per Allen. Th e goal
is to complete it before the High Holidays.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming
more people back and having a beautiful
new space to pray in,” Allen said, referring
to the pandemic’s curtailing of in-person
activities over the past two years.

Or Ami’s update is both practical and
stylistic, according to Allen.

Practically, a 40-year-old sanctuary
Congregation Or Ami’s sanctuary prior to renovation
Courtesy of Scott Allen and Rabbi Glenn Ettman
just needs an update, and a period with
reduced activity is an ideal time to
do it. About 700 people attended High
Holiday services in pre-COVID times,
and synagogue offi cials want to prepare
for that crowd to return.

Stylistically, though, Or Ami wants
to enter post-COVID times with a more
fl exible and egalitarian aesthetic. Allen
mentioned the addition of individual
seating and the lowering of the bimah
as the key updates.

Th e new seating allows for more
versatility for activities ranging from
bar and bat mitzvah services to rock
Shabbats. A lower bimah brings the
rabbi closer to the congregation.

Altogether, Allen believes the new
setup will be more inviting.

“Th e idea of being able to make the
space fi t the programming is one way of
making the space more contemporary,”
he said.

For the update, Or Ami depended on a
combination of big and small donors, per the
director. To start the process, temple offi cials
asked congregants who they thought would
contribute. Th at eff ort landed enough fund-
ing to secure the project.

“By targeting some people we felt would
fi nd this project meaningful and special,
we were able to raise a sizable amount of
money,” Rabbi Glenn Ettman said.

Ettman and his leadership team
started dreaming about the overhaul
four years ago. During a service on Rosh
Hashanah morning, Ettman opened the
Torah ark doors to reveal the stained
glass windows behind them. A congre-
gant sitting in the back, who grew up at
Or Ami, told the rabbi aft er the service
that he felt like he was seeing the stained
glass for the fi rst time.

He thought it was beautiful and won-
dered if the synagogue could update
its sanctuary to enhance that beauty.

Together, the member and the rabbi
came around to a clarifying question:
What if you could walk in, see the
stained glass and understand its beauty?
Now, with the bimah lowered, con-
gregants will be able to do just that.

“To know that it’s a special, sacred
space,” Ettman said. “Th at began the
conversation.” But the size of the project and the pan-
demic kept the idea fi rmly in dream ter-
ritory for a few years. Recently, though,
Or Ami renovated its kitchen to allow
for more space for “alternative-type pro-
gramming,” as the rabbi described it,
like cooking classes for young adults.

Ettman wanted to bring the same
spirit to the sanctuary upgrade, too.

Synagogue members today want reli-
gion, yes; that’s why they are synagogue
members aft er all. But they also want
community in more modern, inter-
est-based ways, like through cooking
classes where they can learn recipes.

Th is, according to Ettman, is what
Judaism will look like post-COVID.

“Believing in religion as well as a
knish bread recipe is how Judaism
will continue,” he said. “Being able to
revamp the spaces, to give it a fresh look,
to say, ‘Here we are. Let’s come back.

Let’s do this.’”
For a smaller synagogue, Or Ami
has a healthy mix of younger and older
families. Some are multigenerational.

Others are kids who grew up in the
temple and came back.

Ettman hopes they all attend High
Holiday services in the fall and stick
with Or Ami moving forward. His
young daughter has graduated from
the synagogue’s Early Childhood
Education program and is a student in
its religious school.

“Our goal is to bring together the
Jewish community starting with the
ECE (Early Childhood Education pro-
gram) and all the way through the
Jewish life cycle moments,” he said.

“And the non-life cycle moments.” JE
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com