The Metropolitan Community Synagogue of New Haven
Congregation Vayehi Or
For years we've dreamt about it...
We prayed and hoped for it...
Welcome Home.
Welcome to Congregation Vayehi Or! - the first GLBT synagogue in the New Haven/Fairfield CT area.
Vayehi Or is Hebrew for "Let their be light!" - reminding us of the beginning of creation in the Torah. We at Congregation Vayehi Or will be a source of light to the community; a sanctuary for people from all backgrounds to come together and celebrate our diverse Jewish traditions in an uplifting, joyful and loving atmosphere.
We invite all of our families and friends to join us as pioneers as we embark on this exciting journey. We also welcome people of other faiths who would like to experience the richness of Jewish thought, philosophy and joyful connectiion to God.
Congregation Vayehi Or will be devoted to the spirit of the Torah, and will hold a liberal, humanitarian view to life. Therefore we open our arms to all people. Wherever you may come from, however you connect to God or express your own individual spirituality, you have a home here.
The Metropolitan Community Synagogue will be a “progressive” place of worship and a home for GLBT Jews, our families and friends, interfaith couples - and anyone from any faith who’d like to experience Jewish tradition in a contemporary context. Our Shabbat service will be designed in such a way that it will move, touch and inspire folks from ALL backgrounds. Since GLBT Jews come from a wide range of religious backgrounds, we will embrace the full spectrum of Jewish life, combining the best ideas from all our traditions. And while we may not be able to be all things to all people, we will see to it that the essence of the new synagogue will leave people feeling included, cared for, honored and LOVED. In addition, music will play an important part in our services. There will be meditative prayers, traditional and contemporary music, an awesome choir, fabulous speakers and eventually a Rabbi – maybe sooner than later... who knows? Those of you who are familiar with the success of CBST in New York know that anything is possible!
Looking into the future - our vision is strong. Let us stand together - bonded by our shared history and exhilirated by what's possible as one loving community.
Together, we will be a light to the community and the world.
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Building a new Synagogue
Building our new synagogue will be a profound experience we will remember for the rest of our lives. It will take love, devotion, courage, and perseverance to see it through to completion. It will take all of us pitching in, volunteering our time, and our many gifts. We will also be reaching out to the world around us, asking for contributions, both financial and spiritual. For example, we will need new Torahs, Prayer Books, Holiday Machzors, tallits, yarmulkas, and many more items that we will post on this website.
If you would like to donate money to The Metropolitan Community Synagogue (MCS) - Vayehi Or, please CLICK HERE:
If you would like to donate any physical items, for example a Torah, or any other sacred item we will need, please fill out our CONTACT FORM, and we will respond quickly.
The MCS Choir
We are looking for people who are interested in joining our choir.
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THERE WILL BE A SPECIAL SHABBAT DINNER
TO MEET AND GREET EACH OTHER
on December 7th, at 6:30pm
at the home of BETH STYLES
If you would like to attend, please R.S.V.P by filling out the
This dinner is limited to 25 people - so please send in your requests.
THANK YOU! :)