Old Wethersfield – Rabbi Seth Riemer will be honored for his decade of service to Temple Beth Torah in Old Wethersfield at a kosher brunch to be held on Sunday Oct. 14, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the synagogue.

Riemer began his rabbinical career as a pulpit rabbi in Ohio. He relocated to Connecticut to become spiritual leader of Congregation Adath Israel in Middletown, where he served for 10 years.

His tenure at Temple Beth Torah began in 2008.

Riemer sees his rabbinic role as that of a guide enhancing community spiritual growth. One of his most cherished tasks, he says, is working with TBT’s Torah study group. “Learning together leads to incredibly fun forays into culture, current events, science and even science fiction,” he notes.

He  has also taught in the congregation’s religious school and often helps prepare TBT’s bar/bat mitzvah students.

Among congregants, he is credited with enriching Temple Beth Torah through his strong ties to the interfaith community, bringing the congregation together with the Ahmadiyya Muslim community from the “House of Peace” in Meriden, and with the Wethersfield Methodist Church community, which previously owned the TBT building.

Riemer earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Cornell University and an AB in History and Literature from Harvard University.

Recently he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC), where he received his rabbinic ordination, as well as an MA in Hebrew Letters.

“I went there because I found in Reconstructionism the right Jewish religious value system for me. The Reconstructionist connection between humanism and spirituality appealed greatly to me,” Riemer says.

A published author, Riemer has extensive experience in theater. He founded a Jewish theater company that was active for several years in the Hartford area, and has written, directed, produced and acted in several plays. A musician, he incorporates his guitar music into Friday evening Shabbat services.

In addition to his role as spiritual leader of Beth Torah, he teaches at the Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy upper school (formerly, the Jewish High School of Connecticut) in Stamford.

“I like the interplay of ideas, perspectives, creative visions,” says Riemer, who has taught subjects ranging from history to Jewish studies and theater. Currently, he is a teacher in the school’s English Department.

The deadline for reservations to the brunch honoring Rabbi Seth Riemer is Oct. 7. For information, call (860) 828-3377 or email batsps53@gmail.com. Temple Beth Torah is located at 130 Main St. in Old Wethersfield.