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Golden anniversaries are nothing compared to Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple's year-long celebration of turning 150 years old.

Originally started by five families on Oct. 11, 1859, it was the first synagogue in Middlesex County and the fifth in New Jersey. It moved twice since building the original building at the current site on Livingston Avenue in 1930. The most recent addition was completed in 2005.

The Great Depression slowed the congregation down a bit -- the sanctuary wasn't completed until 1933, said Rabbi Bennett Miller, the congregation's current spiritual leader.

History and longevity help Miller to be philosophical about the country's current economic hardships that have left several temple members without jobs.

"We'll get through," Miller said. "As I think about it, 150 years for a synagogue in the community is a real milestone. It represents a place for Jews in that community. The story of the synagogue is a story of Jews in communities that surround it."

New Brunswick's Mayor Jim Cahill will formally open the celebration on Oct. 11 as the street near the temple is renamed Anshe Emeth Avenue and Cahill declares Oct. 11 to be Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple Day, followed by a congregational photo on the steps of the temple.

The same day, the synagogue will be presented with a permanent historical marker by the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission and the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders honoring Anshe Emeth for being the oldest synagogue in the county. There are only three older congregations in the state.

"We're very excited to be celebrating a milestone like this," said Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple President Deborah Cohn, of Highland Park. "We're very vibrant and growing. We recently completed a renovation and rebirth.... We continue to change. We don't take anything for granted. We're always pushing ahead."

Though the Jewish population in New Brunswick has dwindled, that hasn't stopped the synagogue or its congregants from being an active part in the local community -- volunteering at local institutions, starting and housing an organization that provides goods, services, and financial assistance to local needy persons and even housing the homeless during some cold winter nights.

"We want our members to be leaders in the institutions that make the community special," Miller said. "I think that's what makes Anshe Emeth special. People need community now more than ever. That's what sustains people in good times and in bad times."

In the congregation's early years, services and holiday celebrations were often led by congregants and itinerant rabbis. Then Rabbi Nathaniel Keller was hired in the 1930s, Cohn said.

"In the last 80 years, there have been only four rabbis," she said. "We also are celebrating Rabbi Miller's double-chai anniversary this year."

Miller began his relationship with Anshe Emeth as an assistant rabbi to Rabbi Harvey Fields, she said.

Other anniversary activities include Shabbat visits from six current Reform rabbis who grew up as part of the congregation, a concert by Israeli singer Noa, a temple youth group alumni weekend, special dinners before Friday night services, a family picnic, an art exhibit of work by temple members, a visit by Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Eric Yoffie, and the burial of a time capsule on May 22.

The current eldest temple member, at 98 years old, is Norman Reitman. He met his wife at a dance there in 1938. The then Syril Strauss and her family had been members at the synagogue since the early 1900s, he said.

He laughed and shared a fond memory about the synagogue: "My wife was a beautiful woman. She would get dressed up to go to temple every Friday night like for a party. The younger people would bet on what dress she'd wear."

He already reserved the synagogue's social hall (named Reitman Hall) for his 100th birthday party.

"I'm an optimist," he said.