[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF CONGREGATION AHAVATH ACHIM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SAM GEJDENSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 1, 1998

  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
extraordinary community in my district. This year the Congregation 
Ahavath Achim celebrates its Centennial Anniversary.
  As a motto for the Centennial celebration, the Congregation chose the 
phrase ``Rooted in the past, reaching for the future.'' Nothing could 
better capture the spirit of what this anniversary is about more than 
that. An anniversary ceremony is not only about remembering the past, 
but about taking the lessons of the past and looking toward the future.
  In a century that has been marred by Eastern European pogroms, two 
world wars, the occupation of the land of Israel, intolerance and a 
continuous struggle to exercise a basic human right--the freedom of 
worship--this community has endured and grown stronger. Congregation 
Ahavath Achim has provided Jews in eastern Connecticut with a home and 
a center to celebrate their cultural and historic traditions.
  The Congregation and its Synagogue have a storied history. The first 
meetings in 1898 were held in the home of Mr. Hirsch Cohen with High 
Holiday Services taking place in Colchester's Grange Hall. Four years 
later, in 1902, the Congregation bought a house on Windham Avenue and 
converted it into its first Synagogue. A new Synagogue was built on 
Lebanon Avenue in 1913. The Ahavath Achim Synagogue was rebuilt in 
1960, just next to the 1913 site.
  As I stated in a recent letter to the Congregation, much has changed 
over the past 100 years. The Synagogue has been rebuilt. The community 
is much larger and men and women now sit together during services. The 
state of Israel has gone from being a dream to a reality. However, much 
has stayed the same, as bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings and holidays 
still bring the community together. People continue to join together in 
faith to celebrate the great milestones of life.
  And so, Mr. Speaker, I offer my most sincere congratulations to 
Congregation Ahavath Achim. One hundred years together as a community 
is an important milestone. I join the community in looking forward to 
the next 100 years.

                          ____________________