It’s official. Members of Congregation B’nai Amoona decided unanimously at their annual board meeting Monday night to confirm Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham as the synagogue’s next senior rabbi.

“The unanimous vote was a tremendous affirmation of all the hard work we have worked on to bring the B’nai Amoona community together,” said Abraham.  “My wife, Lauren, my three children and I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of the B’nai Amoona community as well as the St. Louis Jewish community. This is the type of community we only could have dreamt of becoming a part of. We are looking forward to many many years of prosperity and growth together.”

Abraham noted on social media Tuesday that he is the sixth person to be named senior rabbi in the 139-year-old history of B’nai Amoona.

In March, B’nai Amoona Board President Jeff Singer said the synagogue’s personnel committee had recommended Abraham for the role, after longtime Senior Rabbi Carnie Rose stepped down in October to become the CEO of the Jewish Community Center in Cleveland. At that time, after the board unanimously agreed to move forward with a vote at the congregation’s annual meeting in May, Singer felt confident that the congregation would give their approval.

“Many congregants spoke about the positive relationships they’ve developed with the entire Abraham family, and what an asset they are not only to B’nai Amoona, but to the entire St. Louis Jewish community,” said Singer. “The special bond that Cantor Sharon Nathanson and Rabbi Abraham have developed, along with our amazing professional staff, will continue to strengthen B’nai Amoona’s presence as a warm and welcoming congregation.”

Singer added: “One lay leader remarked, ‘The theme of b’yachad (together in Hebrew) was inspirational and so uplifting. I have not seen our congregants so happy as a group and so individually optimistic as they were last night.’”

Abraham, who grew up in Albuquerque, N.M., attended the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and has been in the rabbinate for 12 years. Lauren Abraham is the director of Student to Student, a school-based teen peer program run by the Jewish Community Relations Council that teaches non-Jewish high school students about Judaism. The couple’s three sons are Benny, 12, Henry, 10, and Joey, 5.