The transition to full Reform practices came ins stages. As the years passed, services were shortened, women and men sat together, and an organ was installed--music was vital to Rodef Shalom even then, as the choir, directed by Bertha (Mrs. Jacob) Benswanger, was reputed to be "one of the best in the country."

The transition to the English language took time. When Louis Naumburg became minister in 1865, he spoke in German. Lippman Mayer, who succeeded him in 1870, spoke English but was more comfortable