Congregation Kol Ami is a Reform congregation, accepted into the UAHC (now the URJ) in June of 1999. Located in Woodinville, Kol Ami provides a small synagogue choice for those from Seattle's Eastside and Northeast. Our congregation is inclusive and warmly welcomes people from diverse backgrounds and interfaith families. Founded in 1984, Congregation Kol Ami was formerly a Reconstructionist synagogue known as the Northshore Jewish Community.

For almost a decade, a core group of individuals kept the Jewish spirit alive on the Eastside, meeting in family homes. By the late 1990’s, the tiny community took the next step and rented meeting space. In 2000, as new residents in our current Bear Creek home, Kol Ami hired Drorah Setel, the community’s first very part-time rabbi. Consisting of about 35 families, the group laid claim to a range of Jewish experiences: from the observant, to those less so, to many whose diverse family backgrounds held little to prepare them for a Jewish lifestyle.

Our congregation has grown three-fold since the new millennium. Our school has flourished and we have nourished our young students; during the last several years the congregation has witnessed the coming of age of many bright and beautiful b’nai mitzvah students—they honor and inspire us all. We were fortunate to learn and grow with Rabbi Laurie Rice for several years, ending in 2006; we are equally blessed to further stretch our wings with with Mark Glickman, our current rabbi.

While our community continues to change and grow, one of the most significant constants in our collective lives is the value we place on relationships with each other.