Welcome to
our 47th Annual Meeting. Throughout
these years we have had some very challenging times. I think of how difficult it must have been to
build our first building, hire our first full time Rabbi, expand our building,
and have our friends leave when they move away from Vermont. Whether times are easy or difficult, it is
being together as a congregation, that makes all of these experiences
better. No matter what we face, we face
it together. Thanks for coming this
morning to share your thoughts and to participate in leading our congregation.
We are off
to a good start, by having breakfast with the members of the College Street
Congregational Church. They are
worshiping in the Sanctuary until 11:00 this morning and will be with us until
their church is repaired from the fire damage. Thanks to Linda Retchin and her breakfast crew
for your hard work this morning. Thanks to Rabbi for your prayer and opening
remarks. After my remarks, we will elect
our leadership for the upcoming year, wrestle with the budget for the upcoming
year, & hear from some of our committee chairs.
In the past
year, your Board has engaged in some
very difficult conversations. I am
thankful that they have voiced "their opinions," that we had in depth
discussions, and when a decision was made each member stood behind the
decision, whether they agree with it or not.
We learned to speak with one voice and to face each challenge from a
fresh perspective. At the beginning of
the year, I asked our Board to do two things.
I asked them to help me to look at all aspects of Temple through a new
lens, to ask why we do it this way, and can we improve it by doing it
differently. I also asked our Board to consider the needs of not just one
member with each decision they make, but to keep the needs of all our members
in mind all the time.
We looked at
new uses for our building, including renting the kitchen to a caterer, renting
the building for a summer camp, renting classrooms for pre-school and after
school programs in order to provide new revenue. We have made our building available to other
non profits at nominal fees, including the church, AA meetings, and others. Please let us know if you think of an
organization that might rent our building.
For any
organization to be successful, even a synagogue, sometimes you have to face the
brutal truth. Decreasing enrollment in
our religious school and changing demographics among school age children caused
us to take a hard look at our education programs. The Board, working in concert with the
Personnel Committee and staff, crafted a new position description for our
Director of Congregational Education, that we feel better addresses the needs
of our congregation as it stands now..
We wrestled with our philosophical belief that education should be
available to all ages without any income barrier. So, we took the bold step of moving to
tuition free education at Temple Sinai.
As a side benefit to our congregation, three families became members as
a result of this policy.
We had some
wonderful opportunities for members to connect.
Wasn't the Isaac & Toby Pearlman concert and conversation
wonderful? How about Fun in the Sun or
the Progressive Dinner? People didn't
want to leave when Rock Shabbat was over.
Having Dr. Firestone Scholar-in-Residence Program bring together members
from other faiths in our building was inspiring. The list goes on and on. Please think about sharing this with
non-members and you will help grow our membership. Members made that happen.
Thanks for all who made these possible - from the idea to the implementation.
Not much of
this would be possible without our staff sometimes backing us up, and sometimes
leading the way. Heartfelt thank you to
Rabbi, Judy, Stacie, Mark, & Ibrahim.
We do appreciate all you do for our congregation.
As we look forward
to next year, we already have many exciting things planned, starting with Rock
Shabbat on Friday, January 24th. While
fun in the Sun is on hiatus, other events will be planned. Please share your ideas and get involved to
bring events or activities to Temple for our community. One person will make a difference.
One of our
biggest challenges is finding non-dues revenue to meet our expenses. We are very thankful for the four members who
joined the Chai Society by contributing an additional $5,000 and the others who
contributed above the standard dues level. This group went a long way to funding
our Tzedakah Program, which allows people to belong to Temple regardless of the
financial resources. I need your help
in this area next year. If you can
afford it, please consider committing to dues at a higher level; Support our
Education Funding Campaign; and give to our annual appeal at the end of the
year.
One last
pitch...The least painful way to raise another $10,000, $20,000, or $30,000 for
Temple is through the shopping programs established by Marjie Sheppard and Audrey
Chafetz. You won't need to spend one
dime extra... just keep spending what you are now, using Temple's programs
instead of cash. If every member
redirected $200 per month through these programs, Temple would receive $15,000
- $20,000. This would cover over half of
our dues increase this year. Isn't it
worth giving up some of your frequent flyer miles or gas discount dollars to
keep your dues down? All you need to do
is buy some of your groceries, your gas, your books, your clothing using Scrip,
Hannaford's, or Amazon through Temple's shopping programs. In addition to these if you shop at Price
Chopper, Morah Judy has set up a fundraising program for Religious School by
having you register and keeping turning in your receipts.
Sorry to go
on and on, but this is a great job and I look forward to next year. I don't do it alone, so let's turn it over to
Bob Issenberg for the budget presentation.
Know - Good things happening at TS and
Board has looked at every opportunity for growth and revenue
Feel - Proud of our present & excited
about the future
Do - Step up and get involved &
encourage others to join TS
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