The Lake Norman area’s Jewish congregations have chosen a name as they combine into a single group: Temple Kol Tikvah of Lake Norman.

Kol Tikvah is Hebrew for “voice of hope” and was adopted after a vote of community members, leaders said Tuesday. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Lake Norman’s two Jewish congregations – one Reform and one Conservative – emerged out of one group six years ago. Now they’re getting back together to form a single organization that leaders say will strengthen the Jewish community in the area. Read the full story

Rabbi Michael Shields of the Lake Norman Jewish Congregation notes on his Lake Norman Jewish Life blog today that the area’s Jewish community is flourishing these days. Yet despite growth, he writes, “we have maintained the intimacy that comes with a community focused congregation.” Read the full story

Rabbi Michael Shields of the Lake Norman Jewish Congregation leads the religious school students through a pep-rally parade, under the arms of the teachers, before the start of the 3rd annual Shalom Lake Norman Festival Ramsey Creek Park. (Gayle Shomer photo)

CORNELIUS – The 3rd annual Shalom Lake Norman Festival brought families and friends to Ramsey Creek Park in Cornelius on Sunday. The day had music, food and fun for children and adults.

The festival was sponsored by the Jewish Council of Lake Norman, which consists of Beth Shalom of Lake Norman, Lake Norman Jewish Congregation, Congregation Emanuel of Statesville, Chavurah, and Hadassah, with support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte. Read the full story

Lake Forest Church of Huntersville says it will “plant” a new church in Davidson on Sunday, Aug. 21, when it begins weekly services at Davidson Elementary School.  Meanwhile, Beth Shalom Lake Norman has welcomed Rabbi Adam Baldachin, the congregation’s Gladstein Fellow for 2011-13. Also, Davidson College Presbyterian Church plans an outing to a Charlotte Knights baseball game that will raise funds for missions in Haiti, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Lake Norman is looking for a music director.
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Beth Shalom of Lake Norman President Len Sadek enters the ceremony with the new Torah in August.

The area’s Jewish congregations are preparing to celebrate the High Holidays, a 10-day period beginning Wednesday, Sept. 8, that includes the holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. For Beth Shalom of Lake Norman, this year’s High Holidays bring with them signs of growth.

The Conservative congregation last month held a celebration to dedicate a new, second Torah – a scriptural scroll that includes the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. In adding a second Torah, Beth Shalom of Lake Norman is meeting a practical need, but also marking an evolution, Rabbi Corey Helfand said.

Below: See a schedule of services at 2 congregations

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Corey Helfand

Rabbi Corey Helfand is leading his first services this weekend at Beth Shalom of Lake Norman, as he begins a 2-year stint as the congregation’s Gladstein Fellow. The program provides rabbinical leadership to emerging Jewish congregations by linking them with a young rabbi and an established congregation elsewhere – in Beth Shalom’s and Rabbi Helfand’s case a temple in the Bronx, N.Y. DavidsonNews.net editor David Boraks talked to Rabbi Helfand Friday at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church as he settled into his new post. Listen to their conversation about his background, the Gladstein program, and Beth Shalom’s relationship with St. Alban’s, which provides a home for the congregation.

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