There comes a point in our lives when most of us begin to think about what value we have added to the world. With any luck, as we journey from childhood to maturity, we find ways to touch the lives of others and make a difference in the world. These enduring gifts remain long after we have departed this earth and hopefully define how we are remembered for generations to come.
Congregations, like individuals, are concerned with the preservation and perpetuation of enduring values. Like individual legacies, a congregational legacy longs for ways to make a difference in the world.
Next year, our congregation will be celebrating its 60th anniversary. As we look back on sixty years, we can take great pride in the fact that we have served the Jewish community well. Central to our mission is an effort to embrace all who enter our doors, and for over half a century, we have remained steadfastly committed to this core value. In all that we do and in every program we plan, we strive to be intimate, inviting and inspirational.
Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism is a place to call your spiritual home. We are a family of families with relationships rooted in shared experiences. We are dedicated to the ongoing cultivation of new and dynamic ways of engagement through worship, study, social programming and acts of loving kindness. From infants to seniors, we seek to engage individuals with opportunities to explore the values and customs of our heritage and faith while building life-long relationships with each other, the synagogue and God. Like a family, we seek to support each other in times of need and celebrate our blessings in times of joy.
This congregational family is central to nurturing our God-given capacity to have a positive impact on each other and the world. This is our legacy. It is rooted in the past, anchored in our membership today and is something worth preserving for the future.
L’Dor VaDor is the Hebrew phrase which alludes to the legacies we leave. It means “From Generation to Generation.” Over the course of the past year, HCRJ joined Jewish institutions throughout the city of Houston in launching a major legacy gift giving program. Our program is called the L’Dor VaDor Legacy League.
Please consider leaving a financial gift in your will to HCRJ. These gifts will help build an endowment that will support sacred programming for generations to come. In the coming months, you will be receiving information on ways to leave a legacy gift for the future.
As we prepare to look back and celebrate sixty years, we have a wonderful opportunity to plan for the future as well. Like those who stood here before us, it is now our turn to consider ways to ensure that our children and grandchildren will have the same firm commitment to Judaism and its ethical values as our ancestors did before us.