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October 26, 2001/Cheshvan 9, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 7
Gan Elohim starts religious school
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
It's been a year of firsts for Temple Gan Elohim.
The West Valley congregation held its first Shabbat service on June 1 and its first High Holiday services last month. On Sept. 9, the fled-gling congregation held its first religious school classes.
A consecration ceremony for the religious school was held Oct. 12 with Rabbi Lester Frazin and Cantorial Soloist Laura Eisenhart officiating.
Marla Yablon is director of the religious school.
The synagogue's school has 60 children, kindergarten through b'nai mitzvah age, said Lesley Hafalia, synagogue president.
The religious school is held Sunday afternoons at Dove of the Desert Methodist Church in Glendale, where its Shabbat services are also held. Children in fourth-grade and older also attend Hebrew classes one Wednesday evening a month.
The congregation, which serves the Jewish community in the West Valley, also holds a Torah Tots program for preschoolers once a month, which has 20 children ages 2-4, Hafalia said.
During Sunday afternoon religious school classes, the congregation offers adult education classes for parents that are also open to church members. Past classes include challah baking and the history of Arizona Jews.
Temple Gan Elohim applied for affiliation with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations; it expects to receive confirmation in December. The UAHC is the congregational arm of the Reform Movement in North America.
Temple Gan Elohim has 85 membership units, Hafalia notes. For this first year, the religious school is free to members, except for a $75 material and supply fee.
Call 623-210-7435.
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