The Sandhills Jewish Congregation had its beginning in 1981as The Sandhills Jewish Cultural Group. Most members came to the Southern Pines-Pinehurst area of North Carolina to retire. After gradually getting acquainted, they organized in order to promote Jewish social and cultural opportunities. They primarily met in member's homes for holiday observances and other events.

As more people moved into the area, The Sandhills Jewish Cultural Group evolved into simply The Sandhills Jewish Group. This group quickly outgrew their member's homes and began using various local facilities for gatherings. Religious holidays and other observances began to take precedence over social needs. Eventually, a governing set of By Laws was drafted and a Board of Directors elected.

In 1998 the group became The Sandhills Jewish Organization and began holding regular Shabbat services and other holiday observances in local churches. A children's education program was developed and classes were begun for grades K through 2 and grades 3 through 6 at a local community center.

Over the years, many of the younger and older members drifted apart as priorities shifted. In 1999 the two groups were reunited as The Sandhills Jewish Congregation. The existing By Laws were revised formalizing the Congregation's Reform affiliation and its membership in the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union of Reform Judaism). At the same time, legal documents were filed resulting in the Congregation being recognized with federal tax-exempt {501(c)(3)} status.

That year the first High Holiday services were conducted in the Sandhills area. These services were presided over by Congregation lay leaders. The following year a student Rabbi was hired to conduct these services. In 2001-2002, a retired Rabbi was hired to preside over High Holiday services. In 2003, retired Rabbi Emeritus Floyd Herman was hired to conduct all holiday observances including monthly Shabbat services and High Holiday services as well as Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. Rabbi Herman has quickly become a central part of the Jewish community in the Sandhills. He leads the congregation in Sabbath worship the third Friday of each month.

In July of 2001, the Congregation purchased three acres of land in the Foxfire Village area of Pinehurst for the building of a synagogue. Construction was completed in time for the High Holiday services of 2002. Over the ensuing years Temple Beth Shalom has become the center for Jewish life in the Sandhills. Many observances and celebrations have taken place there. The Temple welcomes worshippers and visitors for Sabbath services on the third Friday of each month. Please consult the calendar regarding additional events.

Social Action

The Sandhills Jewish Congregation is strongly committed to improving the lives of others within the community. One of the ways in which the congregation accomplishes this goal is through our active participation in Family Promise. Family Promise of Moore County provides shelter, meals and hospitality to homeless families with children through a cooperative network of local congregations. Family Promise of Moore County offers to those families and other disadvantaged persons comprehensive assistance in the areas of transportation, compassionate supportive services and advocacy to assist them in achieving their potential of independent living.

Family Promise Upcoming Events

What is Family Promise?
The Family Promise program is a cooperative effort of various houses of worship in our
community to help house and feed homeless families and assist them in getting on their feet. Our congregation works with the members of the Southern Pines United Methodist Church for one week, quarterly during the year to provide meals for the families. Several Beth Shalom members have volunteered and will continue to serve, but more could join. When future training sessions are announced, Sara Sutton will notify the congregation. We want to thank our volunteers who helped with dinners during the week of August 2-8.

SJC Family Promise Assistance Schedule
The next scheduled time to help with dinners will be the week of October 18-24, we will need people for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights that week. Please consider becoming involved with this program. It takes so little time and does so much, contact Sara Sutton at 295-9757, sarasutton@nc.rr.com.

New Training Sessions
Keep checking this area. We will be posting the new training sessions for early in 2010 shortly as well as sending an email to the membership with dates and times.

For further information to learn how you can participate in this rewarding program, click here to visit the website for Family Promise of Moore County or contact Sara Sutton.

In the News

Holocaust Remembered With Prayer
The Fayetteville Observer, April 16, 2007

Article written by Andrew Barksdale about
the Yom Hashoah observance service and
presentation held at the temple on Sunday,
April 15, 2007. Click on the title to read the
full article.