HISTORY OF HAVURAH SHALOM

Havurah Shalom was founded in 1996 when the first Jewish residents of Sun City felt the need to gather together to share their religious and cultural heritage.

The Havurah met for Shabbat services in private homes until the increasing numbers made it necessary to seek larger spaces. The Sun City Community Association graciously provided us with space for our gatherings as we expanded our Shabbat services to twice monthly, added worship on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and celebrated Passover and Hanukkah.

In addition to our religious services, we have enjoyed attending theatre and sports events and have frequently traveled and dined together.

Havurah Shalom became a legal organization in 2001 as we defined our Articles of Organization and established officers and a Board of Directors. Those original articles have been transformed into a Constitution and Bylaws. We are now Congregation Havurah Shalom of Sun City Texas, also known as CHS. Our Board meets monthly and we elect our officers and Board at an annual meeting, usually in December.

Our worship services currently are held in the Atrium of the Activity Center and are led by lay members of Havurah Shalom. Following our services we have an Oneg Shabbat hosted by alternating members of CHS. We do not have a professional Rabbi or Cantor, and we do not support a religious school or cemetery.

If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact Mary Ann Lish at 512-864-2425.  Also, you may obtain a printable membership application by clicking here:

www.hssctx.org/business/CHSMembershipApplication.pdf

Just fill out the application and mail it to the address shown on the application.

OVERSEEN BY A BOARD OF DIRECTORS HERE ARE THE HAVURAH SHALOM COMMITTEES

BUDGET AND FINANCE

Throughout the year this committee works with the Treasurer to advise on all CHS funds.  They identify and recommend appropriate investment opportunities to maximize the return on CHS funds.  When necessary, they analyze unusual expenditures and make their recommendation to the Treasurer for presentation to the Board of Directors.  At the appropriate time each year, the committee works with the Treasurer to both reconcile the current budget and prepare a working budget for the following year to be presented for approval by the members.

FUND RAISING

This committee identifies various opportunities to raise monies for Congregation Havurah Shalom and charitable endeavors and to cover expenses incurred by CHS.

After approval of the Board, they plan, organize, carry out, and evaluate various programs and activities to accomplish the above.

COMMUNICATIONS

The Communications Committee is responsible for all communications with the membership, the media, the general public, and general Williamson County area. They do this through creating and disseminating a newsletter, a web site, press releases, and direct e-mail to the membership, among other means.

MEMBERSHIP

The Membership Committee encourages new people to become active members and ensures that all members are made to feel a welcome part of our community. To this end, they phone and visit new people, greet them at services, and plan get-togethers for new members to meet one another.

Havurah Shalom is a family.  Our members are here for one another and it is everyone’s wish to lend a hand to a fellow member in a time of need.  All Mi Sheberach notifications should be directed to Ann Kessler at 863-7426 or annkessler@gmail.com so that the information can be quickly communicated to the Havurah Shalom membership.

SOCIAL

The Social Committee provides programs, activities and events to bring the membership closer together in a social setting. They schedule diverse events, such as theatre outings and sporting events.

They are always looking for members to assist them in developing and planning fun social events. New members bring new ideas – think about joining this group.

JEWISH CULTURE

The Jewish Culture Committee serves as the primary conduit for deciding the what, when, where and how of bringing various kinds of programs, activities and events of Jewish cultural and educational interest to CHS. The committee makes recommendations to the Board of Directors on subject matter, prices and format.  The committee will run, oversee and evaluate those approved programs and make recommendations based on their experience.

OUTREACH

The primary focus of the Outreach Committee is to create an active relationship between CHS and others in the broader general community.

The activities it is concerned with include:

establishing and maintaining a positive posture with other religious, service and civil betterment groups;

offering its members the opportunities to engage in mitzvah as a volunteer under the banner of CHS, recognizing that many of our members do volunteer work as individual citizens;

working together with other Jewish community organizations, such as other congregations and UT Hillel, in mutually beneficial activities;

working with the membership and communication committees to expand our presence, so all Jews who reside in or around Sun City will be aware that a Jewish organization is available to them;

engaging in a variety of advocacy activities that includes community education and awareness.

Although the above are primary focuses, the committee will be sensitive to “targets of opportunity” within its overall mission.

RELIGIOUS

The Religious Committee also has several sub committees. One is the Ritual Committee, which has the responsibility of deciding on how our services will be conducted and programs that may be a part of them, as well as the lay staffing of them.

The Oneg Shabbat sub-committee is responsible to see that every service has members to provide snacks and drinks following the services, and to oversee the provisioning of necessary supplies.

OTHER

There are several other ad hoc committees that are created from time to time for specific functions and then are disbanded. These include an annual Nominating Committee, a Constitution and Bylaws committee, and a Long Range Planning committee. 

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