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AAIM Partner Spotlight:
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| 7300
Hart Lane, Austin, Texas 78731 |
(512) 735-8400 |
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About Congregation Agudas
Achim
Congregation
Agudas Achim (Hebrew for “community of brethren”)
is the center for Conservative Judaism in Austin, Texas. We embrace
both Jews and those in the community at large who wish to explore and
enhance their connection with our God and with Jewish spirituality,
learning and culture.
Congregation Agudas Achim (CAA) traces its origins to 1914 when a group
of Austin Jews began holding services in their homes. Since then, CAA
has been proud to call several buildings home, including the first
Austin synagogue which was located downtown.
In 1963, after completing a new building, CAA joined the rest of the
nation in mourning the loss of President Kennedy. Vice President
Johnson, a friend of many congregants, kept his promise to attend the
dedication ceremony of the new building. With his keynote address at
the rescheduled dedication banquet, CAA became the second U.S.
synagogue dedicated by a President.
CAA now makes its home at the Dell Jewish Community Campus in Northwest
Austin, which was created in 2001.
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Life at Congregation
Agudas
Achim
Congregation Agudas Achim is home to over 500 families and individuals.
Congregants take advantage of the beautiful facilities and abundance of
programs almost every day of the year. Events include daily services,
adult, youth, and family education, scholars in residence, youth
groups, cultural arts programming, interfaith dialogue, sisterhood
gatherings, community service, and of course, fun! Some favorites are
the annual Kosher Chili Cookoff and Many Lands, Many Faiths concert.
CAA
& AAIM
Partnership
Congregation
Agudas Achim is a place of everyday heros and heroines. A
congregation of movers, shakers, and heart-warming human beings of all
ages. They
have done
so much for AAIM, so much for the interfaith community of Austin, so
much for Austin, period -- it's hard to know where to begin!
For the past seven years, Congregation Agudas
Achim has helped organize and orchestrate
Hands On Housing's Jewish-Muslim Interfaith
Repair Day. This incredible event began in
the spring of 2002 to strengthen and renew
solidarity in the faith community
post-9/11. Each year members of the Jewish and Muslim faiths (as
well as others) join forces to paint and renovate a home or church in
East Austin.
Meanwhile, with the guidance and energy of volunteer
extraordinaire, Cindy Zieve, the Sisterhood
at Agudas Achim has assisted refugees in
AAIM's ESL Program by providing a monthly
lunch social, helping in the classrooms, and
organizing clothing drives throughout the
year. They are currently collecting and organizing materials
for AAIM's Refugee Summer Youth Project.
And the list goes on. Last
year Congregation Agudas Achim hosted
AAIM's "Celebrating Divine Sisterhood" interfaith worship service, in
addition to their own interfaith programming and initiatives in the
community.
Congregation Agudas Achim's contributions to AAIM and their
impact on the Austin community are
truly immeasurable. For all that you do for us, and for all the joy you
bring to the community through additional interfaith and musical
programming, we are all incredibly thankful and blessed.
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Many
Lands, Many Faiths Concert
Developed
by Hazzan Blumofe in response to the events of September 11th, this
annual concert is a diverse program of sacred music and dance from
different cultures across this country and throughout the world. This
popular concert regularly marks the start of the season for AgudasARTS,
the only ongoing cultural arts program at a Jewish congregation in
Austin.
Many Lands, Many Faiths is truly a sensory experience, including
singers, dancers, and musicians. The lineup of culturally diverse local
Austin talent changes each year. Performers in recent years have
included Susanna Sharpe & Friends, Tapestry Dance Company, St.
Stephen's Madrigal Singers, Austin Taiko Japanese drummers, McCallum
High School drumline and steel drum band, University of Texas Middle
East Ensemble, Hawaiian Kona Isle dancers, and Yiddish tunes by Mark
Rubin, Ben Saffer, and friends.
The next Many Lands, Many Faiths concert, which is open to the
community, will be December 4, 2008.
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