Newsletter

"Voice of
the Heart"

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Congregation Kol Halev Newsletter,
May 16, 2006 / 18 Iyar 5766

Congregational Meeting

Thursday, May 18th, 6:30 pm, Murchison Middle School

We will hold our annual meeting on Thursday, May 18th, from 6:30 to 8:30 at Murchison Middle School. Please help us plan the coming year. Child care will be provided, and there will be pizza for the kids. A copy of the agenda, budget, and proposed bylaw changes were sent to all members by US Mail. If you did not receive the documents or have misplaced them, you can download copies (password is the same as the address book) at:

http://www.kolhalev.org/ckhweb1/Agenda_Congregational_Meeting_5_18_06_2_.pdf
http://www.kolhalev.org/ckhweb1/CKH_Budget_FY_07.pdf
http://www.kolhalev.org/ckhweb1/Notes_on_proposed_FY2007_budget.pdf
http://www.kolhalev.org/ckhweb1/Proposed_revisions_to_articles_5_and_6_1_.pdf

There are several extremely important pieces of business that we need to address (emailed). Rabbi Baker’s contract is expiring at the end of June, 2006. He has expressed a desire to renew his contract for another 3-year term, and the Board supports this request, but the decision belongs to the entire Congregation. We must also approve a budget (emailed) for the coming year, elect a new Board of Directors, and consider several amendments (emailed) to our bylaws.

But most of all, we need to talk about our future. A LOT has happened since our two meetings in February, most of it good. Our membership has increased, our finances have improved, and we are no longer living hand-to-mouth. We have an administrator and a bookkeeper. We now have the resources to address the long-term needs of the congregation. At our February meetings we began a strategic planning process, and many of your ideas have already been incorporated in the proposed FY2007 budget. Furthermore, we have drafted a comprehensive business plan that will be presented at the May 18 meeting.

Your guiding the congregation, however, is not a one-time event. You need to understand the changes that have already been made. We need your decision on changes for the coming year. And we need your input on plans for the long term.

The Voice of the Heart is your voice. Come to the meeting and be heard!

Jordan Statman Bat Mitzvah, Friday May 19, 7:30 pm & Saturday, May 20th, 10:00 am.
Rona and Laurence Statman invite the Kol Halev Congregation, B'nai Mitzvah Chavurah, and the Sunday School Coop to join them as their daughter, Jordan “Gingi” ILysa, becomes a Bat Mitzvah. Services will be held on Friday May 19 at 7:30 pm in the JCAA ECP Multi-purpose room, Oneg Shabbat immediately following services and Saturday, May 20th at 10:00 am. in the JCAA Community Hall, Kiddush Luncheon Immediately following services.

Sisterhood Brainstorming Meeting, Sunday, May 21st, 10:30 am, in the lobby of the JCAA by the classrooms.
Marcia Hoffman has stepped up to re-activate the CKH Sisterhood. Please join her in this discussion. She would like to hear from members that may be interested in helping with this effort. Additionally, you can call her at 310-7762 or email her at Sungoddess47@hotmail.com with your interest.

Adult B'nai Mitzvah: "Modern Jewish Thought", Monday, May 22nd, 7 - 8:30 pm, Rabbi's office, 3415 Greystone, Suite 307.

Torah Study, Tuesday, May 23rd, Noon, Rabbi's office, 3415 Greystone, Suite 307.

Memorial Day Shabbat Cook-out, Friday, May 26th.
Come kick off Memorial Day weekend with a CKH Shabbat cook-out! We'll gather for dinner at 5:30 pm at the JCC Pavilion. Around 6:30 pm, we'll move to the CKH sanctuary (JCAA ECP Multi-purpose room).

Tikkun Leyl Shavuot
Thursday, June 1st

Gather at Congregation Agudas Achim for study, sustenance, and camaraderie as we celebrate Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks, and receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai. This year, Congregations Agudas Achim, Beth Shalom, Beth Israel, and Kol Halev and Hillel will learn together to make this a community event.

6:00 - 6:30 pm	Mincha service
6:30 - 7:30 pm	Potluck Dairy
7:30 - 8:30 pm	Round Table Discussion with Clergy -- "The Future of Judaism in the 21st Century ... Texas and Beyond"
8:30 - 8:50 pm	Twilight service
9:00 - Midnight	Study sessions with Rabbis Freedman, Baker, Sternman, and Komerofsky and Hazzan Blumofe.

CKH Office for Sub-lease

Do you need an office? Do you know someone who does? CKH is offering space within our suite for sub-lease. The lease is $350.00 per month; 1 year contract; A/C separate from the remaining space. Please contact Cindy Tarsi (512) 419-0945 or <ckhadmin@gmail.com> to view the space.

Chesed Committee

The Caring Committee is being reborn as the Chesed (Loving kindness) Committee. And you are all drafted!

The Chesed Committee exists to ensure that every Kol Halev family is supported in times of need. Meals, babysitting, transportation, shopping assistance, feeding pets, and mowing lawns are a few of the services the Committee arranges. We are instituting a Mi Shebeirach list to be sent to Rabbi Baker before services each week. We are also gearing up to acknowledge various milestones in congregants’ lives, such as the birth of a child, graduation, and marriage.

Your job is to let the committee chair know of opportunities to lend a hand or make a call. Illness, death, a request to mention a name for the Mi Shebeirach prayer, as well as milestone events should be communicated. And when the request for help appears in your e-mail in box, please consider volunteering some time to help out. It’s a small thing that can make a huge impact.

In order to accomplish these goals, a few volunteers are needed for administrative tasks, such as maintaining the Mi Shebeirach list, sending out cards, calling congregants who may need our help, and arranging for that help to be delivered. These volunteers will form the core of the committee.

Please contact Diane Graves if you are interested in any of these tasks, or would like more information about the committee. And please tell us of illnesses, losses, or milestone events. Kol Halev is your extended family.

Diane Graves
Chesed Committee Chair
795-9150 / 796-8315
dsgraves@austin.rr.com

Mazel Tov

Happy Birthday:
Paul Gold	Wednesday, May 17th	4th birthday
Jon Weizenbaum	Wednesday, May 17th
Seth Davis	Thursday, May 18th	11th birthday
Jordan Statman	Thursday, May 18th	13th birthday
Happy Anniversary :
Charna Linder & Paul Pawluk	Sunday, May 21st	18th anniversary

In Remembrance of

Louis Brody	Wednesday, May 17th / Iyar 19, 5766	Grandfather of Brent Ladd
David Baron	Thursday, May 18th / Iyar 20, 5766	Grandfather of Liz Nowicki
Solomon Shertok	Friday, May 19th / Iyar 21, 5766	Uncle of Susan Pintchovski

Thank You!
For your generous donations

In Memory of David Baron
Liz & Jack Nowicki

In Memory of Charlotte Blatt
Liz & Jack Nowicki

In Memory of Shoshana Weintraub
Alice B. & Paul F. Andrews
Corrine MacIaggan & Oliver Bernstein
Sylvia & Jacques Bulhon
Ramon & Adeline Burstyn
Nancy Crichlow & Mark Ball
Stanley and Geraldine Johanson
Debby Kalk
Howard & Julia Levy
Michael & Bonnie Martin
Liz & Jack Nowicki
Fabio & Susan Pintchovski
Susan & Michael Sharlot
Leslie Stevens
Michelle & Alan Van Dyke
Julie & Jozef Van Keer
The Van Leeuwen Family

We cannot print what we do not know about, e.g., if your child (or grandchild, etc.) is graduating this spring. Please send submissions for inclusion into the Congregation newsletter to newsletter@kolhalev.org by 10:00pm Monday (next deadline is May 22, 2006). My goal is to send the newsletter every Tuesday.

Congregation Kol Halev is located at:
3415 Greystone Drive, Suite 307,
Austin, Texas 78731

(512) 419-0945

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