Oregon Public Broadcasting

Southwest Washington will soon have its first synagogue.

The Kol Ami congregation is holding an official groundbreaking ceremony Monday.

The Kol Ami congregation was founded in 1989 as the "Jewish Community Association of Southwest Washington."

They've been renting buildings for their services. But four years ago, an anonymous donor gave the congregation $6 million dollars for a synagogue. Since then, 125 families have raised another $3 million. Rabbi Elizabeth Dunsker says they'll be pleased to move.

"Right now we are in a little facility in Salmon Creek. We have a rental space. It's an industrial office park. The other half of our building is a manufacturing facility for ball bearings. So we have a little bit of space but we often rent space from one of the local churches that lets us use their sanctuary for the high holidays and their Bar and Bat Mitzvas ," she said.

Work is expected to take about year. When finished, the building should have impressive views of Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood.