The Temple celebrated its 150th birthday with a party for the congregational family Sunday afternoon, Aug. 20.
A large tent decorated with green and white balloons covered most of The Temple’s parking lot, and everyone from young children with their parents to seniors walked through the event.
Temple volunteers dotted the crowd, offering birthday T-shirts, manning the ice cream and food stations, and socializing with the congregation. Los Angeles-based Oh No Stereo played pop covers while attendees got their Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q catered lunches and sat to enjoy the music.
Although the celebration coincided with the first day of religious school, most Temple staff members were on hand to enjoy the festivities. Temple Executive Director Mark Jacobson and Rabbis Peter Berg, Lydia Medwin and David Spinrad met and chatted with friends and colleagues before enjoying lunch with their families beneath the tent.
Rabbi Berg has written about using the sesquicentennial to look thoughtfully into The Temple’s past. “It’s a time for tremendous introspection as we look back on a small group of pioneers who started Atlanta’s now-thriving Jewish community,” he wrote. “Our history inspires our future.”
Photos by Eli Gray unless otherwise noted