The Adult Ed Committee’s Mission is to organize
learning experiences for adults. Each year, the committee produces a catalog
of courses and events open to ' members and non-members of Mishkan Shalom.
The courses are designed to enhance Jewish learning.
The mission of the Communications Committee is to develop and maintain open
and effective channels of communications within Mishkan Shalom, its leaders,
committees and members and between Mishkan and the wider community. This
will be guided by the Statement of Principles with the conviction that transparent,
open operations assist in the development of a well-informed, healthy and
growing community.
To achieve the Mission the committee will:
• Ensure that Mishkan image is communicated in ways that reflect and reinforce
the Statement of Principles.
• Provide the necessary support to the Board and Committees to ensure a consistent
approach to communications that reflect the application of the Statement
of Principles by being clear, respectful, accessible and reciprocal in nature.
Ensure effective internal communications that deliver transparency to all
Mishkan operations and enable members to participate fully in the life and
working of the congregation.
Community Committee
Our mission is to make better connections among Mishkan
members. The committee works to find creative ways to build a sense of community.
A number of projects have spun off from the committee such as Hineni — a
voluntary Mishkan member support network that offers short-term, concrete
caring in the form of meals, visits, transportation and errands for members
and their families experiencing difficulties in times of illness.
Israel
Committee
Informed by the Statement of Principles, Mishkan Shalom’s Israel
Committee will work to educate our congregation on all aspects of Israeli
civilization including land, language, history, the arts, society
and politics, create opportunities for experiential connections to Israel,
and create a culture and environment where a range of voices can be heard
and individuals can discover opportunities for further involvement and
advocacy.
The committee will help Congregation Mishkan Shalom lessen its impact on the local and global environment. In keeping with Mishkan Shalom's Statement of Principles, each congregation committee will consider the environment in its activities. This committee will serve as an informational resource for the congregation. .Some aspects of synagogue function which the committee will address are:
In each of these areas, the committee will research
and recommend the most environmentally-friendly alternatives, with information
about their costs and benefits. A secondary goal is to save the congregation money through
conservation.. The Committee will research available environment-related
grants, for example related to alternative energy and energy conservation. When
appropriate, and with Board approval and participation, the Committee will
prepare grant applications. Committee members will also serve as resources
for Environmental Education in the religious school, adult education, and
the congregation at large.
Leadership
Development
Committee
To assist the congregation to employ the diverse skills of the membership
to their fullest by identifying, developing, recommending and sustaining leaders
of the Mishkan Shalom community. These activities will be undertaken
in light of the Statement of Principles and with an awareness of the community’s
current and future leadership needs [thus ensuring the sustainability of the
platform for the Pillars].
Library
Committee
The Library Committee’s goal is to help to meet the Judaic
educational and informational needs of our congregation's adult and young adult
members. In addition to acquiring, processing, cataloging and circulating books,
the committee plans cultural programs. It also runs the annual "One
Book Mishkan" project.
Membership Committee
The Membership Committee’s role is attracting,
cultivating and enrolling prospective members in Mishkan Shalom. In
addition, the committee is responsible for creating and organizing gatherings
and connections for new members through their first year of membership.
Through an annual Mishkan Shalom retreat, we aim to help create community
and multigenerational friendships, help participants in building their Jewish
identity, and encourage the exploration of new spiritual paths. The
retreat offers a profound Shabbat experience and relationship-building activities,
and encourages members of all ages to associate their Jewish heritage with
excitement, fun, intellectual growth, and friendship. Additionally,
we seek to provide an entrée into the Mishkan Shalom community for
new members.
The Site Stewardship Committee’s mission is to guide the planning,
implementation and management of Mishkan Shalom's outdoor environment in
keeping with the congregation’s founding principles. Just as the building
incorporates, reflects and enables prayer, study, acts of caring and repair
of the world, so the site – as an extension
of the building – is infused with these same core values.
Both the ultimate form that the site takes and the process of developing
it are understood as embodying these founding ideals.
The Site Stewardship Committee’s role is long-term and will change
over time. To date we have been very hands on: collaborating with various
committees on specific tasks, generating budgets, gathering plants, coordinating
community-wide workdays, digging, hauling, weeding and watering---all the components
of building true commitment and stewardship of the land where our community resides.
In order to fulfill our mission and to remain an ongoing and integral part of
the Mishkan community, we need to shift our emphasis from the role of gardener
to that of planner, advocate and educator.
As such, we will continue to shepherd the site’s design in a direction
that creates flexible spaces for congregation, study, prayer, celebration,
education, exploration and play; advocate and educate for ecologically sound
design and construction of the site through smart storm water management,
plantings that create habitat and are sensitive to hydrology; engage and educate
the larger Mishkan community through dialogue and participation in the
care of the site; continue to bridge relationships with our immediate neighbors
by engaging in environmental work in the surrounding streets and community;
educate the community about our collective role as environmental stewards.
The purpose of the Spiritual Life Committee is to attend to and nourish
the spirit and practices of the Mishkan Shalom community.
Our tasks include:
• Create and nurture a rich spiritual environment that incorporates prayer
music, art, food, ritual, dance, silence and meditation.
•
Envision and articulate ideas and possibilities for members of Mishkan
Shalom to further their spiritual growth, both individually and collectively.
• Serve as a liaison between the Community and the rabbis.
• Discuss with the rabbis spiritual questions/issues that cpncern the community.
• Discuss and offer guidance to members about standards of cornmunity observance.
• Be an educational resource to the congregation.
• Assist the rabbis in planning and coordinating Shabbat, holiday, and summer
services.
• Provide ongoing care for and maintenance of ritual objects.
• Use study and discussion to nourish the spiritual growth of the committee
and its members.
The Tikkun Olam committee works on various projects addressing
social justice concerns. It also organizes special events
such as the congregation's Seder and the Martin Luther King Jr. birthday service
and celebration weekend.
Committees
Adult Education
Communications
Community
Development
Finance
Green
Israel
Leadership Development
Library
Membership
Personnel
Retreat
Site Stewardship
Spiritual Life
Strategic Planning
Tikkun Olam
Youth Education