Temple Shalom, Winnipeg’s only Reform synagogue, is thrilled to announce that its Reaching Out Reaching Up Capital Campaign launched on November 5, 2017 is well underway:

"We are very excited that our Reaching Out Reaching Up Capital Campaign has already raised $240,000. We are grateful for the very generous support extended to our Campaign by our congregation, by the community at large, and by The Asper Foundation and The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba," says Linda Freed, President of Temple Shalom.

"We are also very pleased to announce that we recently established our organizational endowment fund at the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, and already the fund has $ 86,000 in it," Freed adds.

The initial phase of the Reaching Out Reaching Up Campaign includes significant upgrades to repair and update the Temple’s building. This will enable the synagogue to expand programs and services that benefit the wider Jewish Community. The congregation’s goal is to raise $1M from the Temple’s members and the general community, to fund essential improvements. The monies will be used for much-needed infrastructure upgrades and for future programs. 

The Reaching Out Reaching Up Campaign is the most most ambitious capital campaign Temple Shalom has undertaken since first opening the doors of its current home in south Winnipeg thirty years ago.

Temple Shalom first began in 1953 in a few families’ homes, with determined friends moving the Torahs from house to house each week. Eventually, the families were able to rent Council House at Pritchard and Salter, and then spent many years at the Viscount Gort Hotel, and later at a renovated house on McMillan Avenue. After years of hard work, the congregation established a permanent home at the corner of Grant Avenue and Wilton in 1987. “A place we can call our own, where people can come and say, this is ours”, Rabbi Eric Silver said at the time.

Temple members are very proud of the diversity of programs that they offer to ever-increasing numbers of the general community. They are active partners within the organized Jewish Community, in one instance helping to integrate Yazidi families that have been sponsored to come to Winnipeg. The Temple board has made their building available free of charge to the Yazidis for organized dinners and for weekly English as an Additional Language (EAL) classes. With additional resources from its endowment fund, the Temple will be able to do even more for the congregation and for the community.

Temple Shalom believes that the long-term health of the Winnipeg Jewish community depends in part on choice – on providing all members of the community with ways to connect that are meaningful to them. This is especially so with new immigration, growing numbers of Jews choosing non-Jewish spouses, and a Jewish population that is spread across the city. The Temple is – for many members and attendees – their most important formal connection to the Jewish community.

As a Reform synagogue, Temple Shalom has always been an innovator. In September 1984, the Temple’s Rabbi Tracy Klirs was the first woman spiritual leader of Judaism in Canada. Temple Shalom was also the first congregation in Winnipeg to perform same-sex and interfaith marriages. This led the synagogue to realize its need to establish a chevra kadisha, to ensure these same couples were able to receive pre-burial rituals; at that time, the Temple also committed to its own cemetery space, as other Jewish cemeteries would not allow these couples to be buried together. Temple Shalom is looking forward to new frontiers, and  to strive to continue its leadership role in the community, supporting Jewish families from all backgrounds and walks of life.

Beyond the building-related needs, the leadership of Temple Shalom is developing a five-year strategic plan which includes expanding membership in order to serve more people in the community. Presently, the Temple members are served by Rabbi Bill Tepper from Toronto, who joins the congregation on a monthly basis. As the Temple continues to grow and offers more services to more members, the congregation will be able to hire clergy and staff for more hours.

Campaign Co-chairs Robert and Miral Gabor are especially pleased that the Reaching Up Reaching Out Capital Campaign has gotten off to such a great start and look forward to many more positive developments  in the future as the Campaign progresses.

For more information on this exciting campaign or to donate call Temple Shalom at 204-453-1625 or email [email protected].