The Council of Congregations is an advisory body to the Board of Directors, devoted to promoting and increasing connections between EECM and local congregations. 

Click here for information about Council committees and how to get involved!

Click here for a list of participating congregations.

Questions?  Please contact Maureen Collins, President of the Council of Congregations, at 412.362.5144 or mcollins202@comcast.net.

Council News:

Upcoming Meetings

(Council meetings are held regularly on the third Thursday of every month at 7pm)

August 20

Location TBD

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Off to College Supply Drive

Click here for a detailed overview of the program.

Click here for the list of needed items.

Please let David Dix (412.361.5549 or davidd@eecm.org) know as soon as possible how many students your congregation can commit to supporting.  Off to College Kits should be assembled by June 30th. 

Congregation Spotlight:

Temple Sinai

Check back periodically as we profile the dedicated congregations that make up EECM's Council of Congregations.

Temple Sinai, founded in 1946, is a Reform Congregation and member of the Union for Reform Judaism. It is committed to the idea that Judaism has been, and must continue to be, an evolving and dynamic faith. Temple Sinai recognizes that people enter congregational life through many doors, reflecting their varied and personal experiences and perspectives.

The congregation's variety of Shabbat and weekday services, its all-encompassing approach to Jewish learning and its willingness to engage congregants and community, reflect Temple Sinai’s mission to provide a welcoming and caring spiritual community where Reform Jews who aspire to live the critical values of their faith can gather, study and worship.

Temple Sinai is located on Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill. The Temple complex includes the former Worthington Mansion (which has been designated a Historic Landmark by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation) that houses a beautiful chapel, reception rooms and offices. An addition adjacent to the Worthington Mansion houses the religious school, an auditorium and the Temple’s main sanctuary.

Rabbi James A. Gibson has served as the spiritual leader of Temple Sinai since 1988.  Temple Sinai’s leadership also includes Rabbi Ezra N. Ende, Assistant Rabbi, and Rabbi Ronald B. B. Symons, Director of Lifelong Learning.

Temple Sinai has been a member of EECM for the past 21 years.  The congregation's participation in the work of EECM is coordinated through their Tikkun Olam Center for Social Justice.  (Tikkun olam is a Hebrew phrase that means "repairing the world.")  The Center’s mission is: ”to provide the means for all our members to engage in social activism consistent with our highest vision and values as Reform Jews.”  It actively seeks out opportunities to make a difference in the community and the world by translating the congregation's religious values into social action.

Temple Sinai’s Tikkun Olam Center coordinates the congregation’s prolific participation in the work of EECM.  Temple Sinai members are active EECM volunteers, including serving dinner at the Men’s Shelter eight times each year and packing bags at the Food Pantry each week.  Volunteers also fill in at the Soup Kitchen when needed.  And Temple Sinai's annual Mitvzah Day service project in the spring wouldn't be complete without a project at EECM.

The congregation’s annual High Holiday Food Drive collects more than 700 pounds of food -- this is in addition to the hundreds of pounds of food gathered in their on-going collection bins.

Each year, Temple Sinai organizes an Alternative Marketplace to benefit EECM’s programs.  The Marketplace promotes the sale of Chanukah gift cards supporting various EECM activities and programs, in lieu of tangible holiday gifts.  The children in the religious school create personalized gift cards that are given to contributors for them to distribute.  Rabbi Gibson also personally encourages the members of the congregation to make a financial donation to EECM.

The congregation also enthusiastically participates in other annual EECM events, from the Coat Drive to the Food Pantry Baby Shower, to the Off to College Supply Drive.

Thanks to Harry Back, Rabbi Gibson, and Louise Mayo

for putting together this profile!

Responsibilities of Council Members:

• Attend meetings and participate fully in Council of Congregations’ meetings.

• Advocate for and be the voice of EECM in representative congregation.  See that information is put into congregational publications in a timely manner through, but not limited to newsletters, bulletins, electronic mailings, bulletin boards, etc.

• Support EECM through attending events and volunteering to assist where needed.

• Encourage participation at events of congregation members and community.

• Recruit volunteers or identify recruitment opportunities within the congregation.

• Include EECM in your stewardship.

• Keep EECM clients and staff in your prayers.

Council of Congregations Committees:

A Flavor of the East End

Join in the preparations for EECM's major annual fundraising event.

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Off to College Supply Drive

Summer/Fall

Send EECM's college-bound students off with all the necessities they'll need to thrive at college.

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Houses of Worship Architectural Tour

Help to plan and organize the annual HOWAT, a chance to celebrate the beauty of our local congregations.

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Thanksgiving Pie Project

What Thanksgiving meal would be complete without the pie?  Help rally your congregation and friends to provide pies for EECM's annual Thanksgiving meal at the Soup Kitchen.

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Martin Luther King Celebration Service

Make this annual interfaith celebration service a success.