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By BARBARA S. ROTHSCHILD
Courier-Post Staff
MOUNT LAUREL
Ten years ago, the sole synagogue in the township was an empty shell on Hartford Road, the remnant of a small Jewish community that had largely died out by 1970.
The only clues to what it had been were the rusting Star of David and the Hebrew letters spelling out the congregation's name, Agudas Achim, on the weathered facade.
Today, the township is home to Adath Emanu-El - a Reform temple whose sanctuary is crowned with a roof in the shape of the Star of David, with skylights so congregants can see the heavens as they worship. Its bustling parking lot sits along Hainesport-Mount Laurel Road at Elbo Lane.
Since moving here from Willingboro four and a half years ago, the 43-year-old congregation has built a thriving membership - 570 families, including 217 from Mount Laurel. In its first year, family memberships climbed by a stunning 33 percent.
Leaders of the area's Jewish community bolster what the numbers seem to say: The Jewish community in Mount Laurel is in a renaissance.
"I think there will be a definite continuation of this trend, with more Jewish seniors and young families moving to Mount Laurel," said Stuart Alperin, executive vice- president of the Cherry Hill-based Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey.
Although the federation does not count the number of Jews residing in areas outside Cherry Hill, Alperin said the growth of Jews in Mount Laurel has been substantial - particularly because it still is developing.
The Jewish community is not the only religious group that has seen new growth as Mount Laurel has developed.
The number of Roman Catholics at St. John Neumann parish has increased from 400 to 3,200 families since its founding in 1978, said Father Lino Parente.
"Mount Laurel developed like a fungus - Larchmont, Fox Run, Chamonix and so many others - and we grew," said Parente.
Next door to Adath Emanu-El, Fellowship Baptist Church recently dedicated a 20,000-square-foot addition that tripled its size.
"We started out with 30 people 18 years ago, and have grown to 650 members - 250 families," said Pastor Andy Wallin.
While growth embraced all major township denominations, the 1990s brought the Jewish community a synagogue when it had none.
At Adath Emanu-El, the numbers suggest that a vibrant Jewish community has again sprung up in the township, which is emerging as the Burlington County hub of Judaism. Additionally:
•Last March, the Cherry Hill-based Jewish Family & Children's Service opened a satellite office here. Already, 500 clients, most of them Jews, have been seen at the nonsectarian center.
"It's been very successful and very busy, showing that many of us were correct when we said there was a growing need for services to the Jewish community in Mount Laurel and in Burlington County overall," said Michael Partnow, a longtime Moorestown resident and president of the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey.
•In September, Har Zion, a Conservative/Jewish Renewal congregation in Mount Holly, opened a satellite religious school in the Hartford School on Hartford Road. Already, class sizes have about doubled and Har Zion's own congregation has risen from 130 to 145 families, Har Zion Rabbi Richard Simon said.
"We're definitely meeting a need in the community. It's important to have services available right where you live," said Rena Essrog, who leads a staff of five at the Jewish Family & Children's Service's Burlington County center.
Adath Emanu-El administrator Ileen Wright said the synagogue and its Web site attracts calls from many out-of- the-area Jews who are moving.
Inside Adath Emanu-El recently, a court jester, a queen, an old woman using a walker and a king wearing a long purple robe were among masquerading fifth-grade students led by a teacher wearing butterfly wings and carrying a magic wand. It wasn't Halloween, but a precursor to Purim. The Jewish holiday, which fell on Feb. 26 this year, celebrates the story of Esther with a variety of festivities, including dressing in costume.
Lynn Gordon, who attended the fifth-grade program with her 10-year-old daughter, Brooke, moved to the township 10 years ago. She joined Adath Emanu-El when the congregation was still meeting in Willingboro.
"It's wonderful now. I was happy that it moved here. It's extremely convenient," Gordon said.
By the early 1990s, only a few Jewish families were still in Willingboro. Its Conservative synagogue had closed. It was feared that Adath Emanu-El, with membership stalled at 375 families, would be next.
Now, only a few of Adath Emanu-El's congregants still live in Willingboro.
"We have no students remaining from Willingboro, and no new families joining from Willingboro. That's just a reality,'' said Errol Schlessinger, the synagogue's religious school director.
With substantial growth in its seniors - many of whom live in Mount Laurel's 55-and-over communities - and young families with children, Adath Emanu-El now hopes to attract more families without children.
"We're hopeful of creating more outreach programs in the community," said Rabbi Richard Levine, the temple's spiritual leader.
Social worker Rena Essrog heads a five-member staff at the family and children's services agency. Two staffers work with seniors, another with children, the fourth is a family therapist and the fifth is an intern.
The agency offers senior services, one-on-one counseling and a number of support groups. It also makes available to Burlington County residents in need a food pantry with kosher-approved, nonperishable food and personal care items.
Judi Fisher, an 83-year-old widow, lives in the Birchfield development near the center and benefits from its senior programs.
"The services they provide are excellent. My social worker calls me many times to see if I'm all right, to see if I have enough food, and to give me comforting words,'' Fisher said.
Today and Tomorrow stories:- Watch video of a Purim carnival at Adath Emanu-El in Mount Laurel - RealVideo | QuickTime
- Blockbuster growth slows
A second wave of development rolled through western Burlington County in the 1990s, as it did a decade earlier, bringing office parks and sprawling residential developments to land where farms once stood. - A renaissance surrounds Jews in Mount Laurel
Ten years ago, the sole synagogue in the township was an empty shell on Hartford Road, the remnant of a small Jewish community that had largely died out by 1970. - What do you think will be different in Mount Laurel in 2010?
Balkus, Mount Laurel, service company manager:think it's going to be much more populated. I think they stopped building a lot of new homes now.'' - Build out ahead: No room for home boom
Defined by growth for more than 30 years, Mount Laurel will see an end to its residential construction boom by 2010 if not sooner, township planners said. - Minorities drawn to township
Senegal native William Diouf, 26, prays with white people and minority priests at St. John Neumann Church in Mount Laurel. - Mt. Laurel preparing for annual Vol' Fair
The township is preparing to host Volunteer Fair 2002, an annual event here. - Revamped in '91, Mt. Laurel's library is refining its services
If you're not a frequent patron of the Mount Laurel Public Library, you'd be surprised at what you're missing. - Growth surrounds Family Y
Can you say, Hot? John Worley can. - Huge increases in students, classrooms beginning to wane
The search is on for a new superintendent to shepherd the Mount Laurel school district into the future. - Renters attracted to twp.
Lee Gerhart likes living at the Mount Laurel Crossing Apartments. The luxury complex on Larchmont Boulevard suits the lifestyle of the 29-year-old account manager for a Princeton medical company. - Active seniors keep pace
They're in the express lane at Super G, holding a daily newspaper and a loaf of bread. They crowd into St. John Neumann Roman Catholic Church on Ash Wednesday morning, filling the pews. They're on the links at Ramblewood; doing aerobics at the gym; baby-sitting grandkids, or whacking a tennis ball down the baseline. - Profile: Mount Laurel