When Bea and Jack Slater moved to Springfield in 1952, Bea recalled, as far as Jewish community was concerned, "there was nothing."

But that didn't last long. First, there was socializing among the few Jewish families in town at the local American Legion Hall. After a while, the group wanted more. They wanted a synagogue.

Some wanted a Conservative synagogue; others, along with the Slaters, wanted a Reform congregation.

"I spent my whole life in Reform congregations," said Jack. "When they started talking about going Conservative, I did not want any part of it. Other people felt the same way."

The Reform contingent got together, and within a matter of months, 14 founding families breathed life into the Suburban Reform Temple, now known as Temple Sha'arey Shalom.

That was 1957. This year, the congregation celebrates its 50th anniversary. There have been speakers and events, and during the weekend of June 1-3, the congregation will celebrate with an array of events, including a gala on Saturday evening. The weekend concludes the yearlong celebration.

In the beginning, the congregation met for weekly services at the Parish House of the First Presbyterian Church of Springfield on Morris Avenue. A brief history of the congregation written at the dedication of its building in 1962 refers to the "gracious bounty" of the members of the church who shared their facility with the fledgling synagogue.

Within a year, they had grown into a full-fledged congregation community with over 100 families and all the earmarks of Jewish life: They had formed a religious school, a choir, and a sisterhood and brotherhood. By 1958, their part-time rabbi, Malcolm Mendolson, was succeeded by their first full-time rabbi, Israel (Sy) Dresner.

In 1959 they purchased the land where the synagogue is now located, and by 1962 they had completed the building. According to Jack Slater, the building rose in large part through the sweat of its members in addition to their dollars.

Succeeding Dresner was Rabbi Harold Shapiro, who had earned a Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam and had a decidedly different approach to congregational life. Shapiro turned the social action momentum of the still growing congregation toward the struggle for Soviet Jews. He also experimented with the worship service, offering a more creative liturgy.

Some described Shapiro as a "calming" force after the divisive leadership of Dresner. "We were a much more cohesive synagogue when we boarded buses with him for the March on Washington for Soviet Jewry," recalled Kiesel.

But his tenure ended abruptly in 1982, when he accepted an offer from a congregation in Florida. The opening brought a new young rabbi to the congregation, Joshua Goldstein.

Although on paper he appeared to follow the Dresner model, having protested the Vietnam War, congregants instinctively knew this was the rabbi of a new generation. His ideas startled older congregants like Kiesel. For Goldstein, intermarriage was something the congregation had to tolerate because it was happening, and conversion should not be considered necessary for membership.

"He was a little bit of a shock to us," said Kiesel. "His attitudes were different from what we had been used to in terms of things like intermarriage and conversion. Up until that point, we did not recognize non-Jews as members. But he brought us the theory that if people married to Jews wanted to attend services and be active, they ought to be members. It was distant from our views, particularly having grown up Orthodox. We were also very much opposed to intermarriage. He came with the view that you had to be tolerant — it's happening and you have to go with it."

Ultimately, Goldstein won them over.

This year, he celebrated his own anniversary: 25 years with the congregation. The yearlong celebration fetes his accomplishments along with the synagogue's. (See related story.)

Many people have commented on Goldstein's ability to bring people together, a quality they hadn't yet had in a rabbi.

"Rabbi Dresner was kind of overpowering," said Slater. "You don't feel that way with Rabbi Goldstein. He's a sweet man."

And they praise his accomplishments with regard to education. Current congregation copresident Hank Rottenberg pointed out that this year 18 teenagers will participate in confirmation, while 17 students are finishing third grade in religious school. "The retention level is phenomenal," he said.

Today, those who started the synagogue so they would have a home for their young families spend most of their synagogue time with the Renaissance Club, which offers programs for seniors. But many enjoy knowing that the synagogue they built is a place that attracts second and third generations of families and continues to draw members who grew up across the spectrum of Jewish life.

"This is a synagogue that brings people together," said Rottenberg.