Temple Kol Ami Emerges From Behind the Screen

Charlotte Jewish News June 2021

By Shari Baum

Hineh mah tov umah na’im Shevet achim gam yachad Behold how good and how pleasing it is for people to sit together in unity.

The words of this Jewish hymn, traditionally sung on Shabbat, have never been truer than now. Over the past almost year and a half, we have not been able to sit together except with our immediate family. Events that had previously brought us together, such as B’nei Mitzvahs and High Holiday services, were moved from inside the sanctuary to behind the computer screen. While we are grateful that we were able to carry on virtually, there is no substitute for praying and playing together. Over the past couple of months, as more and more individuals have been vaccinated, Temple Kol Ami has started to emerge from behind the screen and come together in person again. In May, we held our first in-person service (albeit outside) in over a year, had a “Bark Mitzvah” at a park, and celebrated the end of religious school with a picnic. On June 19, we will have an in-person B’nei Mitzvah when Reece and Cassandra Dobro will be called to the Torah (a reschedule from June 2020 due to the pandemic). Additional B’nei Mitzvahs are scheduled for October, November, and December. So we are starting to take baby steps and enter into our “new normal.”

It is the intention of Temple Kol Ami to have in-person Religious School starting in the fall of 2021. All of our teachers have been vaccinated and are excited to get back into the classroom with our kiddos. We completed an excellent year of virtual learning but are anxious to have the interactions and friendships that are so crucial to growing up Jewish (especially in a small Jewish community). This is a work in progress and subject to change if circumstances change. If you have a child who is ready for Religious School (Torah Tots through B’nei Mitzvah), check out Temple Kol Ami. For more information, please contact tka. religiousschool@gmail.com.

If you live in York County or the Ballantyne area, Temple Kol Ami might be the place for you! We are a warm and inclusive Reform congregation in Fort Mill comprising Jews from diverse backgrounds. We hope you will join us soon (hopefully, in-person) and find your Jewish home in our welcoming community. Go to our website, www.templekolamisc.org, to keep up with all that is going on at Temple Kol Ami.