nhc's blog

 The NHC mourns the passing of Christine Oliger, our managing director from 2003 to 2008. Christine passed away on July 23. She spent most of her career working in the non-profit sector doing event planning and development.  During her time at the NHC, Christine made many friendships with members of the NHC community . She was inquisitive, friendly, caring, and took each person's interests to heart.

How do I get to Franklin Pierce University for the Institute?

 BY CAR

Your Jewish community could have its name featured alongside dozens of other havurot, minyanim, shuls, synagogues, and grassroots Jewish communities on the back of the 2010 National Havurah Committee Summer Institute t-shirt! This is a great way both to spread the word about your own community and support the NHC at the same time!

The National Havurah Committee Summer Institute 2010 is currently accepting applications for the Everett Fellows Program. Fellows participate in the full Summer Institute programming and in  our workshops designed specifically for them. Everett Fellows receive a scholarship for tuition, room, and board, and are expected to pay just $120 for registration and dues.

If you want to know about the birth, feeding, and care of independent havurot or DIY minyanim there's no place better than http://resources.havurah.org, the resouroces website of the National Havurah Committee (NHC).

By Russ Agdern and Marisa Harford, Institute Co-chairs

Where in the world can you thresh wheat, learn about where electricity comes from and how to conserve it, sing the divine, practice mussar (Jewish ethical study), trade ideas about how to build a better Jewish community, discuss the Israel-Palestine conflict, and dance your tuches off, all in one week? The Summer Institute, of course!

By Erica Raphael

The NHC is working on a resource site where people will be able to find tips and tools to better their minyans and havurahs, or learn about starting new ones. And we could use your help.

Does your havurah or minyan have a website? Do you have a page of tips you give to new leyners or service leaders? Do you have favorite or unusual nigguns recorded on your computer? Do you have articles,essays, about the havurah movement? If you have any of these things,or anything else that would fit into the following categories, please consider sharing them.

A Report from the Religion Newswriters Association of America Conference

By Mark Frydenberg

Like havurot, house churches are independent, self-organized religious communities that do not rely upon a church building in which to meet, but rather, gather in someone’s home. Members eat together, study and worship together, and enjoy the fellowship of others.

I was struck by the similarities between havurot and house churches as I listened to the presentation of Barry Steinman,who has been active in the house church movement since 1993, at the Religious Newswriters of America conference in Minneapolis on September, 11, 2009.  

The NHC is now on Great Nonprofits. Help promote us by posting a badge on your blog or web site, or write a review of the NHC. At the end of October, organizations with the most positive reviews will be featured on the list of top-rated nonprofits.