February 2018

Happy New Year! 2018. When I first saw those digits, one of the things I realized was that my 2016-2018 term will soon be coming to an end. It reminded me of a story Rabbi Harold Kushner relayed in When All You’ve Wanted Isn’t Enough. He analogized life to a canister of coffee grounds. In the beginning, one takes big generous scoops not being careful if a few grounds are spilt, then, as in life, when the grounds are almost finished, you take ever more care not to spill any and cherish what’s left. So as in my presidential term; as it comes to completion I want to be careful to keep an eye on what I’d like to accomplish before June.

The biggest concern I believe, is our declining membership. I know our Temple is not the only Kehillah affected by the drop-off in members. At the January Board of Trustees meeting I was glad to hear that hundreds of USYers prayed and learned together at the recent International USY convention in Chicago.  The Conservative movement lives on! To that end, the Membership Committee will be planning another Open House in the spring. Hopefully, the 2^nd revision of our Temple marketing pamphlet will be complete by then.

I’m also happy to announce that our Strength-to-Strength campaign met the $115,000 goal set by the budget committee! It’s reassuring that our financial strength is as strong as it was when I began my term.

Lastly, looking towards our future, I hope that our collaboration agreement with the Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly (JCHE) and MWJDS can move forward. The last status I received was that interested parties have been identified and meetings with them are taking place.

Best,
Dave