Mission Statement and History
The mission of Temple Am Shalom is to be the center for Judaism in Lake County Ohio.One of our goals is to provide spiritual support for all Jewish Lifecycle events. Another goal is to foster the vibrancy of Judaism through Torah (lifelong Jewish education), avoda (worship of God through prayer and observance) and
gemilut Chasadim (the pursuit of peace and deeds of loving
kindness).
Am Shalom takes great pride in its informal atmosphere and community orientation. High Holiday services are conducted in our lovely sanctuary during
Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Family services (for school age children and their families) are held monthly. Our students and youth group also take active roles facilitating services. Services at Am Shalom are lively and interactive. Our music is a blend of traditional and contemporary melodies in both Hebrew and English. Members and guests are always invited to actively participate. At the conclusion of Shabbat Services, Temple Am Shalom members sponsor an Oneg Shabbat (sweet table). The Oneg Shabbat gives members and guests an opportunity to share in the warmth of Shabbat with a cup of coffee and a pastry.
Temple Am Shalom is a vital part of
the larger
Lake County community. We are active along with various other Church and
Civic organizations. We sponsor community programs such as current event
seminars, interfaith community celebrations and joint musical programs. We also
participate in programs involving the larger Cleveland community.
Am Shalom is led by Spiitual Director Renee Berenson and Assistant Spiritual
Director Elise Aitkin and lay leaders from committees and
our Board of Trustees. We are the only Jewish congregation in Lake County. While
Painesville is the seat of Lake County, Mentor is the center of our population. Our members come from nearby
communities including Concord, Kirtland and Willoughby. But we
also have many who join us from greater Cleveland, including Ashtabula, Geauga
and Cuyahoga counties.
Our congregational roots reach to the 1940's to a small group of families who
started the group in Painesville, Ohio. During the mid 1970's, with the dramatic
growth of business in Mentor, young families rejuvenated the group as they moved
east from the Cleveland area for land and work. Here families grew and new
business flourished. In those years we shared space for services and Sunday
School from several of our welcoming area Churches. We also rotated use of
member homes and public school rooms. Since that time we have established a Jewish
cemetery for the community. We moved to our own building and dedicated our
sanctuary in 1987.
This location's own roots started as the first Catholic
church in Mentor in 1868.