Our History

Jewish communal life in Park City formally began in 1981 when a small group of women organized a Passover Seder. In the following years,  Shabbat services were lay-led in homes. In March 1995 over 100 Jews responded to an announcement in Park Record, a local paper. They united to create an environment for all those seeking to connect with their Jewish identity and to create a Jewish community in Park City. By July 1995, Park City Jewish Center was formed.

In the late 1990s the community was supported by part-time rabbis. Offices were housed in Prospector Square and religious school classes were held at Miner’s Hospital and Park City Library. By 2002, the community, now known as Temple Har Shalom, hired its first full-time rabbi. When membership grew to about 200 families in 2004-2005, the rented spaces were no longer sufficient for the congregation’s needs and discussions began on securing a permanent home.

With the help and guidance of several congregants, land was purchased, plans were made and construction of our new home began.

In February 2008, the Jewish community, beaming with pride, trekked three miles from the rented space to the newly built synagogue. Along the way, the Torah scrolls were passed from member to member to “our mountain of peace”.

Since its founding, Temple Har Shalom has been a place for religious, community and member events. For a number of years, our Temple became the Temple Theatre for the annual Sundance Film Festival. In 2020, Temple Har Shalom celebrated its 25th anniversary.  Due to Covid, our anniversary gala celebration had to be postponed until 2022.  Better late than never!

Our most recent and perhaps most significant accomplishment as an organization occurred last year (2023) when we made our final mortgage payment.  Never wanting to miss an opportunity for a celebration, we came together for a special Shabbat service where we burned the mortgage.