Since 1977, Temple Beth Tikvah has been a beacon for the area’s Jewish community and a symbol of the shoreline’s communal sense of spirituality. The temple is undergoing a massive transformation and the congregation is feeling the excitement now say that the completion date is in sight.

Since its inception, the temple has been an important institution for the shoreline’s Jewish community, after forming around the efforts of the founders, according to members. The plans for the renovation were being discussed for many years and the project broke ground just before the pandemic arose in 2019, according to Temple President Sarah Mervine.

Mervine said after more than four decades, it was time to update the property and the building.

“The building held very well for 10 years, but it simply can’t hold up forever. There were issues including leaks and things that needed to be addressed,” Mervine said. “So, when we looked at what it would take to fix these issues, it just made more sense as a renovation. When we balanced the cost of spending quite a bit of money repairing what we had, or whether we could make the building into what we really wanted it to be, that’s when things really got started.”

Mervine said that initially there were voices who said that finding the money for such a major renovation within such a small community would be near impossible. However, the temple’s members soon shot down that conclusion as they have raised more than $8 million to fund the project.

“In the end the capital campaign was brought in at around $8 million and to date we have raised $6.5 million,” Mervine said. “It has been totally incredible. This project is not publicly funded and this has been funded totally by private grants and donations. We were extremely lucky to get two, $1 million gifts from two separate anonymous donors, and another anonymous donor gave us another $750,000 gift, and almost 70 percent of the congregation have participated. People have been exceedingly generous. Every amount and every donation has been incredible. Essex Savings Bank has also been incredible in dealing with us and giving us our loan.”

Pre-COVID, the completion date was the end of 2021, but the supply chain issues and labor issues delayed the project as it did with many construction schedules across the state, according to Mervine.

“We are getting close now and the space will be a much more physically sound space and completely accessible,” Mervine said.

Some of the amenities the temple will feature are new preschool classrooms, complete accessibility by making the parking level with all entrances and the installation of an elevator, large windows to celebrate the temple’s unique setting, and technical upgrades to the sound and audio systems. There will also be a commercial kitchen to help the congregation feed members and a community meeting room that will be open to the public.

Though the administrative offices and the preschool remained open during construction, some events and services had to be held elsewhere and area churches extended their spaces to the congregation, said Mervine.

“Our neighbors have been just amazing. The First Congregational Church has opened their door to us, allowing us to hold services there, which is a truly amazing and generous thing for them to do for us whenever necessary,” said Mervine. “That has been very helpful. There is a congregation is Chester which has also extended their help, and also Camp Laurelwood has been incredible in helping us out as well. So we have been able to continue with holiday services and bar mitzvahs throughout the pandemic and construction.”

According to temple officials, the congregation hopes to be issued a temporary certificate of occupancy from the town some time in late spring and begin holding more and more events in the new space. Ultimately, the goal is to try and get the project completed by the time the Jewish High Holidays roll around this autumn.

Rabbi Danny Moss, who just joined the temple last year, said he is amazed at the progress and excited about what the renovations will mean for both the congregation and the community.

“I haven’t been here long, but I get the benefit of all this hard work. We definitely see the end in sight and that is making everyone very excited. I feel incredibly privilege to be entering into this new phase of the congregation’s life,” said Moss. “We will beginning a new chapter symbolically, and in reality. We are very thankful for this beautiful and more accessible space for our joyful moments, and for our sad moments, and for the community. We are truly excited.”

Moss stressed his gratitude to other area religious institutions who are helping host events and coordinating with the temple to keep services running during the renovation.

“I hope this means this is a symbolic beginning of a new chapter of our interrelationships with other faiths across the broader shoreline and a deepening relationship with our partners in the nonprofit world and with the community,” he said. “We also hope that people will feel comfortable to come and see what Judaism is all about, and feel welcome.

“The future of the synagogue is not just the space. The space is such an important symbol of our home, but one thing we’ve learned over these months and years is that we can build wonderful Jewish community out in the community, too,” Moss continued. “We are very, very grateful to the First Congregational Church in Madison, who have hosted us with great generosity and hospitality. We are also very grateful to Camp Laurelwood, as well. We want to invite our community in to see who we are and to and experience some of the joy of Judaism.”