During that decade, Beth El was formally established and the congregation met on the third floor of the Odd Fellows Building.

A dedication ceremony was attended by dignitaries including Representative Burr Harrison and Senator Harry F. Byrd.

The local non-Jewish community played a major role in raising funds for the new synagogue, with over $12,000 in donations given to the congregation.

After the synagogue was built, there was a rotating number of rabbis leading services, but one cantor, Lloyd Robb, would remain for 40 years.

Other charitable activities Beth El participates in include hosting an annual Migrant's Lunch, volunteering at the local hospital on Christmas so that non-Jews may have the day off, and providing assistance to the Winchester Area Temporary Transitional Shelter.

Prominent past and current members include Winchester Mayor Charles Zuckerman and Ron Kaplan, former CEO of Trex Company, Inc.

[1] Some of the earlier families were the Hables, who arrived in 1872, the Hellers and Fineburgs in 1887, Rosenmyers in 1897, Novicks, Klompuses, and Finkelsteins in 1908–1909, and the Kramers in the 1910s.

[2] By 1908, the community had grown large enough that Jewish services were held and the town's first High Holy Days was observed, thanks to a visit from Rabbi M. Paul and cantor Simon Lipstein.

[1] Many of the earliest families, who had grown up in the Orthodox tradition and were mostly of Ashkenazi descent, had children who started successful merchant businesses in Winchester.

The congregation met on the third floor of the Odd Fellows Hall on East Boscawen Street and Tessie Novick began holding Sunday School services in her home.

[1] Services were not held every week, but minyans took place when needed and boys were sent out of town to study for their bar mitzvahs.

[1] Congregants asked the Hebrew Union College (HUC) to send a Reformed rabbi since the only members that still observed dietary laws were a few older people.

When the congregation was trying to raise funds for the new synagogue, Jerry Novick and the fundraising committee received over $12,000 (equivalent to $140,900 in 2023) from non-Jews in the area.

The congregation's first ordained rabbi to conduct services was Saul Besser, who split his time between Beth El and being director of the Mid-Atlantic Council.

[3] By the mid-2000s, the synagogue was in need of updates and a renovation, including addressing ADA concerns like older members having to climb stairs to reach the restrooms.

[5] In 2010, Rabbi Scott Sperling was hired and his love of music played a large role in his time at Beth El.

In an interview, Sperling noted Beth El was adherent to Progressive Judaism and committed "to being an inclusive congregation.

"[9] Renovation began in 2013, after city officials approved a design whereby a 30-foot (9.1 m) addition to the rear the synagogue would be built, where the elevators and a new entrance would be placed.

[14] An event held by Grumbacher included the story of his father, who was arrested during Kristallnacht and imprisoned at the Dachau concentration camp.

[18] As a way to reach out to the community, each year Sperling would open the synagogue to non-Jews to explain "key elements of Judaism and [answer] questions about the religion's beliefs and practices.

The organization hosted events and brought speakers to the congregation, along with letting Beth El use its Sunday School curriculum.

[11] That same year the final phase of the renovations took place when the social hall was updated and security measures, including more lighting and shatter-resistant windows, were added due to rising antisemitism in the United States.

[20] During the COVID-19 pandemic, congregation leaders canceled Thursday nights' Passover Seder and began holding services via Zoom in March 2020.

[23][24] Some of the activities held at Beth El, which is the only synagogue within 50 miles (80 km) of Winchester and includes around 95 families, include gathering for a Hanukkah dinner each year, teaching children about Purim by baking hamantashen, holding fundraisers at the local Alamo Drafthouse Cinema with showings of Fiddler on the Roof, hosting an annual Migrant's Lunch, assisting with events at the Winchester Area Temporary Transitional Shelter, and volunteering at Winchester Medical Center on Christmas in an event called Operation Snowflake, whereby non-Jews can have the day off.