President's Message July/August 2003
In assuming the President’s job this month, it has forced me to take
a hard look at myself, our temple and our congregation — what
makes us who we are, and why do people want to be members of our congregation.
What we offer is the chance to matter. In a congregation of this size,
each one of us is important. Each little thing that you can do for the
congregation is vital to its survival. We are a volunteer congregation.
Other than work on the building that we cannot do, we perform every
task of a larger congregation, just on a smaller scale. There are opportunities
for doing things here that you might not be able to do in a larger congregation.
Our members read the entire Torah portion on the High Holidays. What
an honor and a privilege this is. Could I do this in a larger temple?
I don’t know.
I have seen many people talk and write about how we need to get more
people to volunteer. I am here to tell you that I love being a lay Torah
reader. For others, it may be that you get to blow the Shofar on Rosh
Hashanah. Whatever it is that you would like to do in this temple is
possible. There is no huge bureaucracy stopping you, just a family that
cares about each other.
My goals for the upcoming two years of my presidency are simple. I would
like to see more community-oriented events. I will be proposing some
events of my own over the coming months. I would love to hear from you
about events that you would like to see in our community. The first
will be lay-led Shabbat services. There will be two this summer on July
25th and August 15th. These will be short services beginning at 6:30.
After services, we are planning on having a potluck dairy dinner.
I want us to continue be a friendly community that cares about each
other. I will be proposing a few ideas that I have for making us a more
caring community. I again ask you for your ideas. For the next two years,
I am at your service. Use me to make a difference for our congregation.
Howie
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