Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County turned its parking lot into an open-air sanctuary on Aug. 14, with dogs lounging in chairs beside their owners for the synagogue's third annual Pups in the Parking Lot Shabbat.

Rabbi Deborah Megdal led the Friday evening service at 8215 Old Georgetown Road and paused mid-service to introduce each dog in attendance, Washington Jewish Week reported. Water bowls branded with Beth El stickers ringed the makeshift outdoor worship space.

Casual attire was encouraged.

Katie Friedman, Beth El's program coordinator and a lifelong member who organized the event, said the gathering lets her see a side of congregants she normally misses.

"I love seeing people's dogs. I don't usually get to see them, so it's fun to see whose dog belongs to who," Friedman told Washington Jewish Week.

Laura Black and Charles Klein, who recently relocated from Baltimore, brought their 10-year-old spaniel-bichon frise mix, Einstein. Black said she moved to the area after 50 years in Baltimore and saw the dog-friendly service as a way to find people who share her love of dogs at her new congregation.

In a prior year, one congregant showed up with a dog wearing a tie and kippah.

The scene on Aug. 14 included Zoey, a golden retriever who sat calmly on a chair between her owners as they opened their prayer books, and Wally, a small tan dog who settled in with his family. The service ran from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Beth El, a Conservative synagogue founded in 1951, now serves roughly 1,100 families. The congregation's event listing categorized the gathering under Elul, the Hebrew month of reflection preceding the High Holidays.

The trend extends beyond Bethesda. Washington Hebrew Congregation held its fourth annual HavDOGlah, a dog-friendly Havdalah service, in May at its Bindeman Center in Potomac. Attendees braided old T-shirts into dog toys to donate to the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center in Derwood.

Stacy Miller, a community organizer who runs Stacy's Social Circles, hosts separate "bark mitzvah yappy hours" for dog-loving Jewish singles in the area. She told Washington Jewish Week that dog-friendly events remove a barrier for community members who might otherwise skip evening gatherings because they need to get home to a pet, and offer a new way for young Jewish people to connect with each other.

No 2027 date has been announced, but the event has returned each August since its debut. Residents can check Beth El's events page at bethelmc.org for future programming and other upcoming gatherings.