| 1 | 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 646 |
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| 2 | 2 | | WHEREAS, Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis of Congregation Kol Ami |
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| 3 | 3 | | in Flower Mound served as Chaplain of the Day for the Texas Senate |
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| 4 | 4 | | on April 3, 2017; and |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, Rabbi Dennis earned undergraduate degrees in |
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| 6 | 6 | | education and nursing and worked as a registered nurse before |
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| 7 | 7 | | entering the rabbinate; he was ordained at Hebrew Union |
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| 8 | 8 | | College--Jewish Institute of Religion and subsequently served as |
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| 9 | 9 | | assistant rabbi at the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation; since |
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| 10 | 10 | | becoming rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami, he has overseen the |
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| 11 | 11 | | implementation of innovative synagogue programming, which has |
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| 12 | 12 | | included incentive-based Jewish learning initiatives for adults |
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| 13 | 13 | | and children and an alternative Shabbat meditation service that |
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| 14 | 14 | | incorporates a labyrinth; and |
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| 15 | 15 | | WHEREAS, An adjunct professor of rabbinic literature in |
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| 16 | 16 | | the Jewish studies program at the University of North Texas, |
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| 17 | 17 | | Rabbi Dennis teaches courses on the Bible, Kabbalah, and modern |
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| 18 | 18 | | Israel; he has published articles and newspaper columns on a wide |
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| 19 | 19 | | range of theological topics, and his book The Encyclopedia of |
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| 20 | 20 | | Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism was a finalist for both the |
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| 21 | 21 | | National Jewish Book Award and the Association of Jewish |
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| 22 | 22 | | Libraries Book Award in 2007; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | WHEREAS, Exceptionally active in his community of faith, |
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| 24 | 24 | | Rabbi Dennis has given generously of his time and talents to the |
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| 25 | 25 | | University of North Texas Jewish and Israel Studies Program |
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| 26 | 26 | | Steering Committee, North Texas Hillel, the Texas Health |
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| 27 | 27 | | Attending Clergy Association, and the Flower Mound/Lewisville |
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| 28 | 28 | | Ministerial Alliance; moreover, he has volunteered as a police |
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| 29 | 29 | | chaplain for the City of Flower Mound; in all his endeavors, he |
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| 30 | 30 | | enjoys the love and support of his wife, Robin, and he takes great |
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| 31 | 31 | | pride in his two sons, Avi and Micah; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | WHEREAS, Through the years, Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis has |
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| 33 | 33 | | inspired countless individuals with his message of faith and |
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| 34 | 34 | | goodwill, and it is a pleasure to have welcomed him to the Texas |
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| 35 | 35 | | Senate; now, therefore, be it |
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| 36 | 36 | | RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 85th |
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| 37 | 37 | | Legislature, hereby honor Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis for his service |
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| 38 | 38 | | as Chaplain of the Day and extend to him sincere best wishes for |
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| 39 | 39 | | continued success with his important work; and, be it further |
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| 40 | 40 | | RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for |
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| 41 | 41 | | Rabbi Dennis as an expression of high regard from the Texas Senate. |
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| 42 | 42 | | Taylor of Collin |
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| 43 | 43 | | ________________________________ |
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| 44 | 44 | | President of the Senate |
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| 45 | 45 | | I hereby certify that the |
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| 46 | 46 | | above Resolution was adopted by |
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| 47 | 47 | | the Senate on April 20, 2017. |
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| 48 | 48 | | ________________________________ |
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| 49 | 49 | | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 50 | 50 | | ________________________________ |
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| 51 | 51 | | Member, Texas Senate |
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