By Leyna Krow, Assistant Editor, JTNews
This year, Congregation Bikur Cholim-Machzikay Hadath will celebrate its 120th anniversary, making it the oldest synagogue in the city of Seattle.
A lot has changed over the years for BCMH, which began in 1891 as little more than a minyan of businessmen who met in a storefront, according to the 2003 book on Washington Jewish history, Family of Strangers. Originally called Chevra Bikur Cholim, the congregation’s first permanent home opened in 1898 in what is now Seattle’s Central District. The synagogue moved again to a larger Central District location in 1910, and then to Seward Park in the 1960s. In 1971, Bikur Cholim merged with Congregation Machzikay Hadath and the next year built a new synagogue on S Morgan St., which is the congregation’s current home.
Despite the moves in its earlier incarnations, BCMH program director Julie Greene says there’s one thing that’s always stayed the same at BCMH.
“People’s devotion to the congregation has always been strong,” she said. “I think one constant is the families that have been so involved. We’re talking several generations — people with their parents, grandparents, even great grandparents.”
Greene pointed out that because the congregation was founded in 1891, it won’t actually be 120 until 2011. But BCMH is making its 120th anniversary a yearlong celebration, beginning with its annual fundraising dinner on June 27.
Other anniversary events will include the purchase and dedication of a new Torah.
“It seems like a nice way to commemorate this milestone,” Greene said.
As for what the future might hold for BCMH, Greene said she hopes the coming years will bring continued growth in membership as well as expansion of social programs and the construction of a new youth center.
BCMH has almost 250 member families currently, about a 20-member increase from last year, according to Greene. Prior to 2010, BCMH had seen a short decline in membership numbers, mostly as a result of families moving away as well as the decline in the economy.
BCMH doesn’t do much in terms of marketing to attract congregants. Mostly, Greene said, the synagogue works to make itself a welcoming resource for Orthodox people, many with families, who move to Seattle.
“We love visitors. We love newcomers. For anyone moving to Seattle looking for a synagogue, we welcome them to our fold,” Greene said.
Another draw is the congregation’s longtime rabbi, Moshe Kletenik. In addition to being a well-known expert in medical ethics in Jewish law, he is also the first president of the Rabbinical Council America, the governing body of Orthodox rabbis, to hail from the Pacific Northwest.
BCMH currently offers a variety of educational programs, including daily Daf Yomi Talmud study sessions and other adult study groups. But Greene said she’d like to see BCMH host more social events for congregants as well, such as monthly seniors’ lunches or mid-week family dinner nights.
The roadblock to initiating new social programs, of course, is money. Greene said BCMH simply doesn’t have the funds or the staff to implement every idea they come up with. She added that the congregation is increasingly looking for ways to utilize volunteer support, or to provide services for themselves for which they might otherwise pay an outside organization.
“We’ve been taking kind of a grassroots, let’s-get-back-to-doing-it-ourselves approach,” Greene said.
One of the congregation’s most active existing programs is its youth program. Between youth minyans, classes for kids of all ages, and hangout nights for both middle and high schoolers, the congregation has outgrown its existing youth center. Tentative plans are in the works for a new facility, but Greene acknowledged the funds for such a project are not yet in place.
“We’re talking about a million-dollar project,” she said. “I have no idea where those funds would be coming from. This is a long-term plan.”
In addition to the youth program, Greene said other popular offerings at BCMH include the synagogue’s quarterly scholar-in-residence Shabbat weekends, its annual August barbecue, and, of course, holiday celebrations.
BCMH is far from alone in Seward Park. Greene noted that the congregation gets together with nearby Sephardic Bikur Holim and Ezra Bessaroth for a variety of events each year.
“Just this last weekend we had Rabbi Dovid Katz in town and he spoke at all three [congregations],” Greene said. “Scholars in residence are something we often partner on. We share the cost and get to bring in some really interesting people.”
BCMH is home to the Seward Park neighborhood’s mikvah and the Seattle Jewish Chapel. It also hosts the Capitol Hill Minyan, which offers Shabbat and holiday services at the Council House senior residence on 17th Ave. on Capitol Hill.