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March 30, 2001/Nisan 6, 5761, Vol. 53, No.26
Gan Elohim files for UAHC status
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
West Valley congregation on March 15 applied for affiliation with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC).
Temple Gan Elohim, founded by members of the Northwest Valley Jewish Family Alliance, has 26 individual and family members, said Leslie Hafalia, recently nominated for president of the new synagogue.
The synagogue will hold elections April 17.
UAHC is the congregational arm of the Reform Movement in North America.
Gan Elohim shares the same goal as the alliance, "to bring unity to the Jewish community in the Northwest Valley," Hafalia said.
Gan Elohim's initial focus will be religious services and religious school, and it later will add youth groups, a sisterhood, a brotherhood and other programs, she said.
The synagogue plans to hold its first Shabbat service Friday, June 1, at a church in Peoria, but the location has not yet been confirmed. A search for a rabbi is underway, Hafalia said.
Annual membership fees range from approximately $300-$900. First-year membership includes free religious school for children from kindergarten through bar and bat mitzvah age.
Membership packets are available. Call 623-210-7435 or write Temple Gan Elohim, P.O. Box 38131, Phoenix, AZ 85069-8131.
Although members of the alliance formed the synagogue, it is a separate entity.
"The groups will work side-by-side, but the alliance will work not only with Gan Elohim, but with all synagogues on the West Side," said Cheri Butkowski, a founder of the alliance.
The alliance's kickoff event was a Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration in May 2000 that drew about 200 people. Since then, the group has held semi-monthly Shabbat services. It will hold its last Shabbat service May 25 and then focus more on adult education, general programming and a task force working with the public school system, Butkowski said.
The alliance will hold its second Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration 1-4 p.m. Sunday, April 29, at Canyon Elementary School, 5410 W. Paradise Lane, Glendale. The event will include an Israeli singer, food, speakers, a carnival and an opportunity for West Side synagogues to set up informational booths.
Call 602-547-1535.
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