Temple Circles – Small Groups

Last Call to Sign Up for this year’s
Temple Circles!

CLICK HERE to view your Current Temple Circles

Why Join a Temple Circle?

In addition to making new friends:

  1. Build Community
  2. Enjoy Shared Activities
  3. Connect to Judaism and Temple Emanu-El

The reason why you lead and join Temple Circles is three-fold. You will be helping to create a space where members of our community (1) get to know one another more, (2) are able to participate in a meaningful and/or fun activity together, and (3) can connect to their Judaism and/or Temple Emanu-El.

Temple Emanu-El wants to create opportunities for connection between our congregants outside of our Temple. Temple Circles is an opportunity for small groups of people to gather together and share the activities they love, all the while doing something Jewish together. In Circles, we will explore the local area through dinners out, wine tastings, hiking, adventure sports, and walking, and explore friendships through food, games, hobbies, books, movies, volunteerism, and interpersonal topics. You pick the topic! There are two general types of Temple Circles – Shared Experience and Shared Conversations.

Shared Experience Circles gather together to do something active or mentally engaging where there is limited time to talk as a full group but friendships are still fostered.  Examples of past Shared Experience Circles are:

•  The Biking B’Ham Circle

•  The Hiking Circle

•  The Adventure Circle

Shared Conversation Circles are more conversation-focused. Members of these groups gather together within an atmosphere that allows for more enriching discussions. Examples of Shared Conversation Circles are:

•  Havdalah Under the Stars

•  Stories, Music, and Laughter

•  Wine Not!

Some of the Circles were a hybrid of the two but all of them had one thing in common – they have allowed for members of our community to come together and get to know one another more deeply.

To learn more about the 2024-2025 Circles, view this video:

Make new friends by participating in a Temple Circle.

Temple Circles has been a great way for people within our Temple and the greater Jewish Community to get to know one another on a deeper level. Whether you are looking to expand your friend group or welcome newer members of our community into the folds of Temple Emanu-El, participating in Temple Circles is a great way to do both!

Temple Circle General Information:

The 2024-2025 Session of Temple Circles runs from September 2024 through May 2025.

Registration for the 2024-2025 session will be open from August 23rd to September 6th.

Please register for a maximum of two Temple Circles per session. Registration does not guarantee membership into a particular Temple Circle. Membership for each Temple Circle will be finalized approximately two weeks after registration closes.

If you are joining a family-oriented circle, please register all participants individually (including children).

Questions? Contact Julie Stein
Head of the Temple Circles Recruitment Team
at juliedstein@gmail.com or call (205) 821-3015.

While Temple Circles is a free program for those who participate, we invite you to support our initiative through a tax-deductible donation.

 

Temple Circles Mission
The Temple Emanu-El Temple Circles initiative empowers our temple family through small groups to develop, engage, and transform caring and supportive relationships among themselves, with Temple Emanu-El, the greater Birmingham Jewish community, and with Judaism.

“There is no community without you and I!”

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