build a synagogue. Other organizations came together, offering opportunities to the burgeoning Jewish community, including the Naomi Club, the Happy Twenty, a local chapter of the Workman's Circle, the YMHA and the YWHA and the Bath Hebrew Ladies Society. End of WWI to end of WWII (1920 – 1945) Before the construction of the synagogue was completed, services were held in various halls in town. Upon its completion in 1922, the president of the synagogue led a parade through town to celebrate the opening of Congregation Beth Israel, with founding members carrying the Torah and the American flag. Other organizations continued to come into being during this time including Bath’s chapter of B’nai B’rith in 1921. In 1939 Bath was one of 2,000 communities around the US to participate in an annual Brotherhood Week. The Catholic, Protestant and Jewish communities were invited to come together and consider “a new study of the Bill of Rights and its implications for a free America”. This event was followed with another coming together of Bath’s religious community in 1943 when an interfaith council was formed between the Catholic and Jewish communities to “Coordinate the religious forces of the city”. As was true in other Maine towns during this time, Bath’s Main Street became home to several Jewish-owned businesses. In 1940, those businesses were the target of an act of anti-Semitic vandalism. While the synagogue was successful in paying off its mortgage in 1932, WWII took a toll on their ability to continue paying for a rabbi. Instead, a lay leader stepped forward and served the community for the next 40 years. Post WWII to the end of the sixties (1946– 1969) By the 1950s, an exodus from Bath began as the Jewish population sought greater economic and professional opportunities elsewhere. End of the sixties to the end of the 20th century (1970 – 1999) During the 1960s, Beth Israel Congregation continued, thanks to strong leadership and celebrated their 40th anniversary in 1962. By the 1980s, the need for a local Hebrew school became clear, as families only had out-of-town options to choose from. Once again, a lay leader came forward and volunteered to teach children in Bath, bringing a wave of young Jewish families to the area. In 1996, the synagogue hired their first rabbi in over 45 years], and the very next year they celebrated their 75th anniversary. Beginning of the 21st