The Congregation
Our congregation began in the early 1970s. It was a chavurah-type (group of friends) association. Started in Denton County by Jim and Judy Feldman, we met in Denton for study and major holiday celebrations with the families of Harry and Sharon Caplan, Ed and Nancy Glick, Bruce and Terry Abel, and Joanne and Paul Fromm. The Feldmans often hosted get-togethers in their home in Denton, preparing the service and handing out the parts for Chanukah, Sukkot, and Passover from 1972-1974.
In 1974, the now dozen families [including Dr. Jules (Sandy) and Barbara Brown, Ed and Benita Johnson, Howard and Dolly Watt, Bernie and June Schlessinger] began monthly Shabbat services at the University Ministry Center at the edge of the University of North Texas campus. In the fall of 1978, this small group started its own Religious School to help its children not only to learn, but to experience, the privilege of a Jewish peer group, and to foster the growth of their Jewish identity.
The major growth of our small congregation and formalizing of our structure occurred in 1978. The Religious School, headed by Judy Feldman and Fran Feigert, began with seven students, including Marla and Heidi Greenberg, Ben and Dan Feigert, Stuart and Andrew Feldman, and Elliot Johnson. Students the next year also included Heidi and Carrie Brown, and Jordan Caplan. Two children began their Bar Mitzvah training (Elliot Johnson and Stuart Feldman) working with Ed Johnson as trainer. Several firsts occurred in the next two years: the first girl born in the congregation was Jennifer Fromm. She was named at a Friday evening service that was conducted by Ed Glick in 1979. The first Pidyon Ha Ben (redemption of the firstborn) ceremony was held in April 1981 for Aaron Framer. The first bris was for Donald Fromm in 1982. He was also the first child in the congregation to go from Bris to Bar Mitzvah. The first B'Nai Mitzvah in the summer of 1980 were Eliot Johnson, Stuart Feldman, and Marla Greenberg. Joann Fromm was the first adult Bat Mitzvah when the congregation was still in Denton.
A constitution was adopted in 1978 and we recognize this as our official beginning. The congregation grew between 1978 and 1984 from a dozen families to about 30 families. We began our affiliation with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in May 1986. In 1989, the official name of the congregation became The Jewish Congregation of Denton.
In 1995, the congregation purchased and moved to our present home in Flower Mound. The name of the congregation was changed to Congregation Kol Ami (CKA).
Our Rabbis
Before we had a student rabbi, several congregants conducted all services. They were Jim Feldman, Frank Feigert, Paul Fromm, Howie Watt, Bernie Schlessinger (who attended rabbinical school but was not ordained), Ed Glick, Barnett Greenberg, Helena Shapp-Dossey, and Pam Feldman. For special rabbinical needs, Rabbi Lawrence (Jake) Jackofsky from Dallas helped.
Student rabbis flew in from the rabbinical school in Cincinnati, Ohio, for several years in Denton and in Flower Mound. Our first student rabbi was Bruce Pfeffer. A few years later, student Rabbi Todd Thalblum arrived. In 1998 Rabbi Margaret Meyer was contracted to come to us from UAHC headquarters in Cincinnati every other weekend for one year. Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis arrived in the spring of 1999 and was installed July 1, 1999 as the first full-time clergyman of Congregation Kol Ami. We are fast approaching our first decade with Rabbi Dennis. In 2009 Rabbi Dennis will be celebrating 10 years with Kol Ami
