Committees

There are so many ways to be involved with Mishkan Shalom! We are a busy, committed, active, engaging and thoughtful community. We mindfully care for ourselves and each other and the world in which we live. Members partner with Board representatives, rabbi and staff to create stimulating programs and activities. Here's a list of our committees and contact information. 

If you would like information about any of our committees or would like to join them, please contact Daniel at daniel@mishkan.org.

Acts of Caring. The Acts of Caring Committee serves to bring Mishkan members together virtually and spiritually — and sometimes physically — to share in members' life cycle events.

Adult Education. Our kavanah is to explore and enrich our Jewish Peoplehood through various reflective learning opportunities while in spiritual community.  Please see our Education page on Adult Education.

Building and Aesthetics. The Building and Aesthetics Committee addresses aesthetics issues that go beyond specific care and maintenance of our building and site. We maintain the original architectural vision for the building and grounds, including its character and integrity as a multifunctional facility of sacred and nonsacred uses and its relationship to our Statement of Principles. We work to ensure that the building and site may respond to the ever-changing demands, and various interests, of the community with coherence and dignity.  

Education. The education program serves youth from preschool through high school and aims to develop a growing knowledge of the breadth and depth of Jewish religion, civilization and culture. It does so through a dynamic and interactive curriculum featuring the study of Hebrew, Torah, rituals, holidays, history and ethics. We pay particular attention to textual and liturgical traditions as tools for living with Jewish social, spiritual and political consciousness.

Fundraising. The fundraising committee identifies and creates opportunities to financially support our synagogue while maintaining a culture of giving without our Mishkan community.

Immigration/Refugee Working Group. Mishkan Shalom has an ongoing Immigration Working Group led by members, who organize and educate within the congregation, help sponsor refugee families, work on projects with www.hias.org and is a proud member of the New Sanctuary Movement, an interfaith, multicultural immigrant justice organization that organizes for justice, dignity and hospitality for all, regardless of immigration status.

Israel/Palestine Committee. Our congregation has a range of opinions regarding Israel and Palestine, but we are united in standing against inhumane actions. We are also guided by the core message of Passover: liberation, freedom, ending oppression and connection to the cycles of the Earth. We are taught, “Do not stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds.” We live in a global world, with many “neighbors” in many places. As we do here against decisions of our own government that undermine our democracy and challenge human rights, we challenge the decisions of the Israeli government when they contravene these principles.

Library. 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 maintaining, enriching and circulating the collection, the committee plans the annual One Book Mishkan program series. The library is open to the public, and all are welcome to check out books and other materials. The library is open whenever the building is open. 

Marketing and Communications. Our communications committee meets quarterly to discuss marketing, communications, website and technological usage in the building.

Membership. 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. 

POWER. Mishkan Shalom is a founding and active member of POWER, a multi-faith movement that focuses on statewide and local issues of racial and economic justice in Pennsylvania. POWER is composed of more than 50 faith communities across southeast and central Pennsylvania, bringing together thousands of people across lines of race, class, neighborhood, faith tradition and other differences which have kept us divided. POWER’s racial and economic justice work is organized through its five campaigns: Live Free for Criminal Justice Reform, Economic Dignity, Climate Justice and Jobs, Education Justice, and Civic Engagement.

Site Stewards. 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. 

Spiritual Life Council. The Spiritual Life Council creates and nurtures a rich, inclusive and expansive Jewish spiritual environment that incorporates prayer, music, art, food, ritual, movement, silence, meditation and other sacred practices for the growth of our individual and communal souls.

Tikkun Olam Council. Our Statement of Principles commits us to Avodah (Prayer), Torah (Study) and G'milut Hasadim/ Tikkun Olam (Acts of Caring and Repair of the World): "Through acts of caring and repair we seek to transform our world so that it reflects the divine values of justice and compassion." The work of Tikkun Olam is central to our existence as a community.

Weekend in the Woods. Our annual retreat weekend at Camp JRF in the Poconos is an amazing getaway for Mishkaners of all ages and stages. We celebrate Shabbat in the open air, enjoy a wide range of activities, from singing 'round the campfire — with s'mores, of course! — sports, crafts, swimming and boating on the lake to Happy Hour, "No Talent" Show, hike to the waterfall...and more. Or, nothing at all...you get to choose the right balance of activity and relaxation for you! Read what your fellow Mishkaners have to say about it, and find all the details, including Registration, on our webpage. 

20s and 30s Group. This group gathers members and prospective members in their 20s and 30s to build community at Mishkan through social and spiritual events. We hope you will join us!