Temple Committees
Ways and Means
The Ways and Means Committee is committed to raising funds for necessary Congregational purposes that do not include membership dues, building fund fees or other assessments. Here at Temple Shalom we believe that we can best achieve this goal by sponsoring events, activities and community programs that are relevant to our temple members and community neighbors.
Our committee reaches out to volunteer members of our congregation who have a passion for a particular area (like music events, comedy nights, or movies) or who have expertise in event planning or nonprofit fundraising and asks them to “help us make this fundraiser a real success”.
Worship
Education
The Education Committee supports Rabbi Malinger in enhancing our vibrant Religious and Hebrew education for our children. From the special Family Education programs to coordinating class parents to helping with administrative work and so much more, the Education Committee helps ensure a strong Jewish identity for our youth.
We encourage parents to be involved in this very important committee.
Social Action
The Social Action Committee leads Temple Shalom’s commitment to “pursuing justice and working together to create a better world” as it is central to who we are as individuals and as a community (Union for Reform Judaism.)
This includes feeding the hungry, helping the disadvantaged, and raising our communal voices against social or economic injustice wherever they occur: in our community, state, nation, or world. Our outreach efforts provide invaluable physical, emotional, intellectual, and ethical sustenance for all involved.
Many of our temple’s activities have made a significant difference in the lives of families in our community. Our recent projects have included:
- Backpack Buddies weekend food for school children
- High Holiday Food Drive helping to restock 3 local food pantries
- Gan Tikvah, our Garden of Hope, maintained together with Temple Beth Ahm, providing fresh vegetables to the Matawan United Methodist Church’s food pantry
- Mitzvah Day
- Martin Luther King Joint weekend services with the choirs from Temple Shalom and The New Light Baptist Church
- Environment justice programs, with food and water works
- Candidate Night
Furthermore, as we look to the next decade, we have signed a Brit Olam with the Union for Reform Judaism—a covenant for justice for congregations to step into deeper, more systemic social justice work. We plan to actively address inequalities among one or more issue cohorts: racial justice, immigrant rights, women’s reproductive rights, environmental justice, and gun reform.
Your participation is always welcome. We encourage all temple members to reach out and share your ideas and passions with us. You are invited to attend any or all of the programs to make the world a better place for everyone.