New look, new logo

If you opened your February Beth El Voice, you might have noticed our new Temple Beth El logo.

Last summer, we began the process of redesigning our logo by soliciting from the leadership reflections on the qualities, strengths and personality of our congregational community. Over the coming months, you will see our logo more and more as it is rolled out on the printed and digital materials of our congregation along with being placed on signage.

At an event last Thursday, Rabbi Schindler captured well the meaning behind our Beth El logo. Here are her words:

“There is no place like home. There is no place like our home. Our Beth El building exceeds the expectations of everyone who enters. It is clearly a place that none of us could have built alone. We needed one another to achieve this goal. We needed all of you.

This home of ours exemplifies the three homes a synagogue is meant to be. We are a Beit Knesset – a house of gathering as we have awe-filled and outstanding gathering spaces that have already been filled with celebrations. We are a Beit Midrash – a house of study. Already we have had an abundance of Bnei Mitzvah students and adult learners engaged in study in conversion classes, in Torah study, and in Intro to Judaism classes. Our Beth El University will begin next week. We are a Beit Tefillah – a house of prayer with spectacular sacred space. We have arks with stained glass that inspire and sacred spaces that in three weeks time have already been filled with passionate prayer, thoughtful preaching, and the music of choirs: adult choirs, youth choirs, and the choir of Johnson C. Smith University for MLK Shabbat. Our building connects us to our home of Israel as three shipments from Jerusalem brought over our magnificent stone.

With our new building comes new energy, new passion, new programs, new members, and our old time sense of community, warmth, and inclusion.

With our new building comes a new logo… we are in a time of development as a congregation. The logo reflects that development capturing who we are today as a congregation vs. who were years ago when our last logo and last building were created. We are changing our logo now before we set on signs and set on stone that image that reflects who we are and who we desire to be.

Our new logo is a modern, two toned and bright colored seven branched menorah. It reflects the seven branched menorah we created in the book of Exodus to stand in our ancient sanctuary.

Our ancient menorah brought light into the sanctuar and our ancient menorah brought light into the world. Our leadership selected this image because we, likewise at Beth El, bring light into our sanctuary and we bring light into our world.

The menorah branches at the base of our new logo are intertwined representing our inclusion, our embracing, our compassionate hands and our caring hearts.

Our menorah reflects the seven days of the week… the seventh of which brings us together to create all our homes… our Beit Knesset, our house of gather, our Beit Midrash, our house of study, our Beit Tefillah, our house of prayer… our Beit El… our house of God.

The words capturing who we are meant to be a Beit Knesset, a Beit Midrash, a Beit Tefillah and Beit El all have the word bayit in common, which means home.

May Beth El always be our bayit, our home to which we are drawn… in good times, in hard times, in all time.”

As always, Rabbi Schindler has captured the spirit and the reasons behind our new look and new logo. It represents the best of who and what we are at Temple Beth El. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Celebrate our Rededication

Thank you for all you have each given to make Temple Beth El such a successful, vibrant and warm congregation. The Rededication Weekend is a celebration of the end of our long journey through the rigors of construction and back to our newly renovated Temple home. There are many opportunities to celebrate our return to Temple Beth El in the inclusive spirit of the weekend…and of Temple Beth El as a whole.

Our intent was to create a weekend that embraces the entire community, speaks to different parts of our congregation, offers multiple opportunities for everyone to attend at least one major celebration that is absolutely free…and provides one major fundraising opportunity for the Temple. We hope everyone will join us Friday night as we celebrate on Shabbat with worship, song and a spectacular Oneg Shabbat. This is our chance to be together as one community and one congregation, to rejoice with the greater community as well. It is our central celebration.

While we would never want any Beth El member to feel excluded, we must have a fundraiser to remain good stewards of our Temple and we hope as many of you as possible will come. The party will be spectacular and the need for our Temple is great. So, here is the roundup of the weekend activities, and the thought behind each:

1. Friday is the primary celebration. It is Shabbat with a “Grand Oneg Shabbat” as a major party! It is open to all. It is free. Our service will include former clergy, current members, benefactors, clergy from our partner Christian and Islamic congregations in Charlotte and VIP’s from the community. This Shabbat evening will be the centerpiece of our Dedication Weekend.
2. Saturday morning will be the “L’dor V’dor Shabbat Morning Service – An Intergenerational Community Celebration” led by LIBERTY, our Senior Youth Group. That will also be an open and inclusive celebration of the community we are. Everyone is invited.
3. Sunday morning is a great celebration for families and our Religious School, although all are invited to come and watch the fun. The families will have a “scavenger hunt” to find the features of our new building and get to know our new congregational home in a celebratory way. This is also absolutely free and event you should really attend.

This leaves Saturday night. In order to meet this year’s budget, last year’s Board set an aggressive fundraising goal. Since we do not have a One For All Ball this year, Saturday night’s event will be our primary Temple fundraiser. In strategically planning this event, we determined that the Temple Rededication Weekend was the best time for drawing congregants and members of the broader community to a fundraiser.

The renovation project is coming in on-time (OK, a couple of weeks later than we wish) and on-budget. To be on-budget, we have “value engineered” and very responsibly cut some “wish we had’s”. We owe Jonathan Howard, Ben Benson, Sara and the entire Building Committee a huge debt of gratitude. They have been incredibly responsible and careful stewards to allow us to finish the project inside of our budget. However, we are still going to be missing some things you might expect to see…again, making an aggressive fundraiser all the more necessary. We will add those “wish we had’s” as we can.

There are many events we plan, such as the Purim Dance shortly and the April event to celebrate Susan Jacobs’ 10th Anniversary (with guest musician, Debbie Friedman) that are fun and open to all with very low ticket prices. Those events are NOT intended to raise money…they are intended to raise spirit.

Our Friday night, Saturday morning and Sunday morning events are also to raise spirit and community. We have a different mission with the Saturday event. It is our “One For All Ball” opportunity this year.

We know that the Dedication Weekend will be a positive and memorable event for all and appreciate all you’d done to make it happen. If you have any further concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact either Rabbi Schindler or me.

Welcome home!

Fellow members of Temple Beth El…imagine having an open house a few hours after you move into a new home. We did that on Friday night, January 7, in our new building. The Clergy and Staff did an incredible job of preparing the building…if you had seen it a few hours before the service, with ladders and boxes, you would have been stunned and incredibly impressed!

We needed a practice service before the MLK Shabbat. A surprising 550 people came to that service. Wow. Thank you for your willingness to be flexible as we figured out what worked and what didn’t! We punted with a temporary sound system, no stained glass in the ark…we punted, but it was our Temple home and our community. What a great spirit in the building; and how we have missed being there!!! We have been living in the building for a few weeks and have learned a few things.

Most comments have been so favorable…however, some comments made me realize I need to remind everyone what we did…and didn’t do…with the renovation.

We did not change the size of the sanctuary itself…but we did make it possible to expand the sanctuary size in increments. These changes will make our Temple home more flexible and will make it feel at times larger and at other times more intimate. These are the changes we made:

1. We made the sanctuary more flexible for different kinds of worship services we have…casual worship, Tot Shabbat, Teen Band and chorus and the more formal services including guest choirs and groups we will host including MLK Shabbat.
2. Added air walls to allow the sanctuary to be enlarged by stages, while keeping the social halls intact for parties or Onegs. You saw that Friday…although they can break down pretty quickly to accommodate bigger crowds.
3. Added a second social hall with a brand new kitchen for events and parties and to enlarge the sanctuary by opening the air walls and adding chairs.
4. We made the Bima accessible to all…the elderly and those who are infirm or in wheelchairs…now all can have honors.
5. We tremendously enlarged the community gathering space in the main foyer so we can gather as a community before and after services.
6. Added a second foyer near the education building for the same reason.
7. We added a new gift shop that will make great strides in funding our Religious School scholarships.
8. We built a new chapel.
9. We turned the old chapel into a Beit Midrash or a study hall for the B’Nei Mitzvah students and for Torah Study.
10. We built a wing for new offices for administrative staff.
11. We changed the offices and enlarged that wing for the clergy.
12. We added a wonderful room for families of the bereaved or for brides…either way…a family room.
13. We built outside spaces…gardens and great spaces in the front and back to create outside worship and event spaces.

We have a new sound system coming…the stained glass is in and is gorgeous. A LOT of things are being added every week. Every time you come, something new will be there. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Leadership and Giving

This is an adaptation of a talk I gave to a gathering of graduated from the Farber Leadership Classes through the years. I have adapted it and offer it as a pre-holiday message to all!

They say a pessimist sees a glass of water as being half empty;

They say an optimist sees the same glass as half full.

The rest of the saying goes: But a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty.

I would change that to say: A leader sees a glass of water and starts figuring out how to top it off, put a system in place to get that water to people who might be thirsty and develop a campaign to make sure everyone who’s thirsty has access to clean water when they need it.

THAT’S leadership!

We are blessed with five classes of leadership from the Farber Leadership Initiative. People who have, through the years, stood up and said, put me in coach, I am ready to put on the mantle of leadership and put my hand on the rudder of this ship we call Temple Beth El.

Temple Beth El is a special place, full of people with the ability, willingness and vision to lead.

But a Synagogue is an interesting entity. It’s a place where people come to be nurtured…for life cycle…for warmth and for help and hope. A synagogue like Temple Beth El is a place of caring that is as far from “business” as you can get.

BUT

On the other side of the coin…it IS a small business, with a mortgage, utility bills, personnel costs and issues and risk management…insurance, contracts and a budget. It’s a business with a renovation project, a capital campaign with contractors to be paid, projections to be met and expectations that money pledged will be wisely invested spent as outlined. Believe me, it’s a business.

It is an interesting hybrid. It’s a place for which people feel a sense of ownership. “This is MY Temple!” We value that sense of ownership and passion and count on it. It’s a place where we care about Social Action and Justice, Domestic Violence issues, Affordable Housing, Youth, Inclusiveness, education and more.

Temple Beth El is a place that needs cool heads and the wisdom of Solomon to operate. And we haven’t even BEGUN talking about the Reform movement…we’re just talking about our small corner of the world.

So in 2005, my dear friend Larry Farber, who is one of those cool heads, realized that we had plenty of people who had the ability and the interest in leadership…we just needed a process to give them the tools to understand this interesting hybrid called Temple Beth El. He began this Farber Leadership Initiative in memory of his dear sister Robyn…and with Rick Glaser, Cary Bernstein, Sara Schreibman and others, the first class was formed, a curriculum developed and we were off and running.

Friday, Sara and I pulled out the list of Farber graduates. The names are current and former Board members, committee leaders and community leaders. It is a system that works.

I came across a really interesting quote the other day…by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. He’s the author who wrote The Little Prince”.

He said “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

What he means is, it’s not enough to create a spreadsheet with the list of tasks needed to create a plan to make something happen. You can do that, and often, you need to do that. You can TELL people what to do.

But that’s not enough.

How much more satisfying is it, especially when we have a complicated place like Temple Beth El, to create a clear vision, articulate that vision clearly and ask others to joins us on the journey and make that vision their own?

That is leadership.

And as Farber Leadership has evolved, we have begun to weave in more “leadership” training…not just “how does the place run” which is essential. But we are now incorporating, “what is leadership?” “How can we spell out the vision and encourage others to come with us because we are on the same path?” We are teaching people to yearn for the immensity of the sea of knowledge, of Torah, Mitvzot and Tzedakah.

Believe it of not, Muhammad Ali also has one of my favorite quotes: “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”

I believe that sincerely. Everyone who volunteers for a Temple Beth El committee, who serves in leadership, who has donated to the capital campaign, who supports the work of Social Action and Justice or who has participated in Mitzvah Day or any project at the Temple that makes a difference in our world serves and continues to serve.

I leave you with a reminder from Lily Tomlin, of all people. She said “I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.”

We are ALL the “somebody’s” who must do something at Temple Beth El and in our community. This holiday season and beyond, please join us on this journey of servant leadership. I am grateful for each and every one of you.

And if you want to be one of those who raise your hand to lead, and join a Farber Leadership class, please contact Sara Schreibman at the Temple office at (704) 366-1948 or sschreibman@beth-el.com.

City Housing Bonds-Feedback Needed

On November 2, 2010 citizens of the City of Charlotte will vote on a $15 million bond issue to provide affordable and well-maintained housing for low and moderate income families.
As part of our observance of the holiday of Sukkot, when the Jewish people were homeless in the desert, we are encouraging congregants to educate themselves about this ballot initiative and to tell us what you think about the housing bond issue on the November 2 ballot.
If you would like, please contribute to the Temple dialogue on the bond issue here in the President’s blog.
To help with this complex issue, here is some pertinent information. Much of it is organized on our website. Click here for information sources on the proposed bond issue and why the Temple is involved. On this page, you will find our resolution in support of Affordable Housing…here is the first part of it:

On April 6, 2010, the Temple Beth El Board approved a resolution authorizing the Temple to advocate for issues of affordable housing in the Charlotte community, stating in part:
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Temple Beth El, its leaders and its members advocate achieving better results by addressing underlying causes of homelessness rather than only treating its symptoms.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Temple Beth El, its leadership and its members help the community by speaking out in public forums and supporting local housing policies that appropriately address the need for affordable housing throughout our community.

Click here for the full text of the TBE resolution.

Other information sources on the proposed bond issue include:
Charlotte Observer 8/27/2010 (www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/08/27/1646045/debt-worries-may-hurt-bond-votes.html)
Charlotte Business Journal 6/4/2010 (charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2010/06/07/story13.html)
Charlotte Post 5/27/2010 (www.thecharlottepost.com/index.php?src=news&srctype=detail&category=News&refno=2656)
Channel 14 5/27/2010 (charlotte.news14.com/content/local_news/charlotte/626356/homeless-advocates-push-for-more-money-for-housing)
Chamber of Commerce (www.voteyesforbonds.com)

To volunteer on the Temple’s affordable housing committee, please contact Judy Seldin-Cohen at judyseldin@yahoo.com.

Please comment on this issue to help us understand what you think. Social Action and Social Justice are foundational values at Temple Beth El. We want to hear from you as we continue to stay engaged in these important issues.

Rosh Hashanah Address

It is my honor and privilege to serve as President of Temple Beth El for the next two years.

I want to share the State of Temple Beth El. I’m pleased to tell you that it is sound.

Here’s a quick snapshot of Temple Beth El…by the numbers.
– We are currently a congregation of about 1,100 families.
– We welcomed 40 new families in the last 6 months …however, the explosive growth we experienced a few years ago has leveled out. We have held steady at close to 1,100 families for the last five years and expect to remain in that ballpark for the foreseeable future.
o Part of the reason for this strategic assumption of stability is the thriving Reform congregation in Lake Norman and a congregation that formed in the Rock Hill/Ft. Mill area.
– In the Religious School, we’re expecting about 470 students…so far, there are 36 new students…22 of those are in kindergarten…taught by 27 excellent teachers.
– The B’Nei Mitzvah program is robust – 61 children will become Bar or Bat Mitzvah this year.
– There are 145 Madrachim…student tutors.
– We have 134 in our youth groups from the youngest through Liberty.
– Now, it’s hard to count the number of young adults in our NextDor program for 20’s and 30’s, but we have 150 members on our Facebook page, so there you go. We are engaging these young Jews in creative and meaningful ways…and clearly getting the hang of Social Media as a way of communication with them.
– We have 350 Senior families or individuals in our membership…close to half belong to our Seniors group called “SPICE”. That’s Special Programs of Interest and Concern to Everyone, (so long as you’re over 50). In fact, 39 SPICE members are traveling with Rabbi Judy to Israel in February…that’s the largest group ever from Temple Beth El.
– Temple Beth El cares about our community.
o 465 congregants participated in Mitzvah Day last May.
o Our congregation leads the way in the Jewish community and in our City in the areas of Social Action and Social Justice.
o Our initiatives on Domestic Violence, Affordable Housing and the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness are models for congregations here and nationally.
– Inclusiveness is one of the foundations upon which Temple Beth El stands.
o We welcome LGBTQ participants and congregants.
o We have multiple programs for interfaith couples…providing the warmest welcome and the tools to create Jewish homes.
– And in 4 short months, we will cease our wandering…as the work of renovating our Temple home ends and we make our way to the “promised land” of our renovated Temple home!

We thank those who gave gifts of any size to the campaign. And every contribution of time, volunteer hours and patience during this transition was incredibly valuable. Thank you.

A few deserve special thanks: Jonathan Howard and Ben Benson, Larry Polsky, Fred Dumas (who had the dream in the beginning), Adam Bernstein, who led us during the tough years of wandering; and especially our Temple Beth El staff who have tirelessly, Shabbat after Shabbat, created sacred space where there is just an empty room. Please thank them.

If all goes according to plan, work will be complete in late November…and we’ll get the keys…champagne MAY be involved. We’re shooting for the first services in the building on January 7 (that may change-you’ll get communication on that, so stay tuned).

And our official celebration and rededication weekend will be February 11…mark your calendars. Rabbi Bennett (our former Senior Rabbi, now at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis) will deliver the sermon at that Shabbat. Let’s all start praying now for “no winter weather”!

The building will have spaces we need to accommodate the congregation we are today and will be for the foreseeable future…spaces to study and to gather as a community that we haven’t had before. If you haven’t taken a tour, you can get a sneak peek on the website with videos and photos!

We hope, hope, hope…that we can bring High Holy Day services back to the Temple without relying on the kindness of Forest Hill, Myers Park Baptist and St. Matthew Catholic Churches. Imagine staying “home for the holidays” next year…what a blessing that will be!!!

Now, one question I often get is, can our budget sustain this new facility? The answer is “yes”…in fact, the new building offers opportunities for revenue that we lost when we moved out.

Our budget for this fiscal year is incredibly lean. Just like every family in this room, we tightened our belts and cut.

To get a balanced budget, we scaled some things back…I think it’s OK. Onegs are simpler…you get a Voice one month and a smaller no-frills “Whisper” the next…more communication is electronic…no robes for the choir this year (I actually had to think about what to wear to services…bummer).

And, there are many bright spots regarding the budget. For example: thanks to an unexpected gift from the estate of Michael Miselman, we retired our retained debt. For the first time in years, Temple Beth El’s operating accounts are debt-free. That’s news worthy of celebrating.

But because our budget cutting knife was so sharp, each of you has an opportunity to step in…and step up… in very targeted ways. Here are some examples:

We know we will not have enough money to accommodate all requests for religious school financial assistance this year. That money comes from sales from the Gift Shop through the hard work of our Sisterhood. Without our building, the gift shop has lost the volume of walk-in traffic. The gift shop is still open in the lobby of the Blumenthal entrance to the JCC…and it’s always open on line. We engaged the professionals at Jewish Family Services to help us evaluate requests for financial assistance this year and make sure those MOST in need get the limited resources. We also held two Town Halls to solicit feedback on this process and got excellent ideas. But the bottom line is, that budget line is short. This year, you can be a hero and help send a child to Hebrew School or Hebrew High.

We also have a reduced budget line for financial assistance for Youth Camps. Brotherhood is pitching in here, but you can also contribute to help. It’s particularly rewarding to send ONE specific child to Camp.

And our Torahs…Torah expert Rabbi Druin visited Temple Beth El this summer to examine the Temple’s Torahs and to teach volunteers – called our “Holy Rollers” — how to care for them. All of our Torahs require repair, including our Holocaust Torah. The total bill is just under $30,000. Our Torahs are more valuable than we knew and need additional insurance.

The Board of Directors took immediate action. Part of the Meiselman gift will be used to make the most pressing repairs and the increased insurance is in place.

But more is needed. Because our Torahs are the center of our congregation…our trees of life, I hope many of you will be willing to step in to help supplement this very specific, unbudgeted need. If you can give, please contact Rabbi Judy or Sara.

Also, don’t forget to link your Harris Teeter VIC card to the Temple Beth El Religious School…number 3611.

My good friend and mentor, Jonathan Howard, reminded me to use this time to set my agenda for this year. My agenda is simple…get back into the building on time, on budget with few problems and as much joy as possible. I want our young adults as members and to provide engagement opportunities for them. And I want to create an open atmosphere of listening when all opinions are valued.

I want to look strategically at our future, and we’re doing that in multiple ways.
– We are beginning a strategic 3-5 year plan.
– My predecessor, Adam Bernstein, turned to our Past Presidents for help in evaluating and enhancing the Temple’s funding model.
– And we’ve begun to ask you to think about Planned Giving and include Temple Beth El as part of your estate planning. My husband Robert and I are including Temple in our estate planning as are Adam and his spouse Tammy and our next President, Rick Glaser and his wife, Ellen. Our Endowment Committee will reach out to each of us.

If we accomplish those goals, we’re golden.

Finally, having said all of this, I want to remind all of you that we are a covenant community. As a Jewish people, we know covenants. A covenant is a promise…with responsibilities…a vow. The Temple vows to ALWAYS be there for you and your family…to be the circle of community when you need it…especially now, when the world around us seems awash in conflict.

But a covenant carries responsibility in return. Temple Beth El needs you. Please know that each of you is valued for the special gifts you bring. We value your commitment, at YOUR level. We promise your experience will be more enriching if you have a commitment.

I promise that I…and the rest of your lay leadership team…are committed to you, available for discussion, compliments or complaints as warranted. Call or email me. My contact information is available on the website or through the Temple office, or just grab any of us when you see us.

It’s going to be a GREAT year!!! Join us for the journey and the celebrations.

L’Shana Tova

L’Shana Tova, my friends! This promises to be a sweet and exciting new year for all of us at Temple Beth El.

This is the year we move back into our newly expanded home…how sweet that will be! We have wandered throughout the halls of the JCC for the last 18 months or so. We count ourselves fortunate to be part of a giving community with resources like the JCC. We continue to share facilities and stay inside the Park for services and programs, while also utilizing our Education Building.

We are talking to each other in new ways through our website and social media…through newsletters and hand-written notes…through Town Halls and Shabbat services…through special programs and outings with our affinity groups. Temple Beth El is a place where you can find your place and your home.

We reach out into the community together. We advocate for social action and social justice. This year, the Temple committed to advocate for more affordable housing in our community based in part on the congregation’s overwhelming volunteerism for the homeless and the Reform Movement’s commitment to this issue. In two weeks, we will celebrate the holiday of Sukkot when we were all homeless in the desert. As part of our Sukkot observance, we will utilize our Temple website and blogs to educate congregants on the housing bond issue that will be on the city ballot this November and to solicit your feedback on how the Temple should be involved with the bond vote.

Finally, we are a covenant community. We vow to care for and share with each other. A covenant is a promise to be there, one for the other in good times and in bad. The Temple will be there fur us. We need to be there for the Temple.

I wish you all a sweet and happy New Year my friends. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year.

Town Halls

Fellow congregants…my first month as President of Temple Beth El has been an interesting one. I have spoken to a number of you about a wide variety of topics…from the temperature of Lerner Hall and how we can fix it…to schedules for Hebrew School and Hebrew High…to feedback over the decision by the Temple Board to work with Jewish Family Services (JFS) for some requests for religious school scholarships and/or dues abatement.

While the first two topics are ones over which I really have no control…we can talk about the third.

Some of you have deep concerns about the decision to work with JFS. Others believe it’s the caring, professional thing to do and the best way to equitably distribute the limited resources we have. Still others think “no change can be good change”; we need to continue to do as we have always done: let Sara Schreibman, the Executive Director, make the decision based what people tell her on the phone or in person…a lot of responsibility for Sara.

Either way, we want you to have a chance to talk about it to the Temple leadership and be assured that the Board, the Senior Staff, the Clergy and I are hearing you.

We are holding two Town Hall Meetings. The first hour will be devoted to the JFS decision…the last half hour is open to any topic. Sara and I will be there for both. Representatives from our Board, staff and Clergy will attend one or the other, so you will be assured of having the ears of the leadership for your opinions. Please join us for one or both.

Location: Room 207 on the third floor of the Bernstein Education
Building. Use Blumenthal Portico entrance.

Sunday, August 29
10:30 am – 12:00 pm

Wednesday, September 1
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Your opinions count. Thank you for taking time to share.
L’Shalom…Moira

Partnership with JFS-listening to you

I want talk to you in-depth about the change we’ve made in how we process requests for religious school scholarships and dues relief.

As you probably know, we are partnering with Jewish Family Services (JFS) to help evaluate some of these requests. Rather than placing this task in the hands of a congregational committee on Temple employees as we have in the past…we have sought the professionalism, sensitivity and wisdom that JFS brings to such a critical and delicate process. Temple Beth El — like everyone during these tough economic times — has limited resources. Since we are unable to provide full assistance to all who request it, it is essential that the help we CAN offer finds its way to those most in need. JFS already handles scholarship requests for the Charlotte Jewish Preschool and other Shalom Park agencies, and we can count on its counselors to approach members of our congregational family with compassion, dignity and confidentiality.

Not surprisingly, there have been some objections from congregants to the new approach. We’re listening to all feedback carefully and factoring it into our thinking.

With the new screening process, Temple Beth El has taken a bold step in addressing a challenge to our congregational wellbeing. To remain a vital community, we must find delicate balances: between compassion and fiscal responsibility; between the needs of individuals and those of the congregation as a whole; and even between reasonable requests for help and how limited scholarship dollars are distributed to those who need them most. There may be some rough edges to smooth out, but I am convinced that the overall effort is worthwhile and we should stay the course.

Please be patient and give the process a chance to succeed. And as always, let us know what you think.

Moira Quinn Klein
President

Letter for 2010/2011 Renewal

My friends…this is my first post under the TBE Prez blog as incoming Temple Beth El President. I want to begin with the letter you all received (I hope) with your membership renewal packages about a week ago.

If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to contact me, Sara Schreibman or Shari Hackman at TBE. We realize there are a few changes in this year’s letter. I want to hear from you and am willing to answer any questions you have.

This has been a remarkable year for the congregants, clergy and staff of Temple Beth El. We continue to extend the “warmest welcome” through services, programs, classes and life cycle events in temporary quarters in the Shalom Park complex while watching our Temple home being transformed. The renovation and expansion project is on track and on budget. We anticipate being back into our completed Temple home by January 2011. Mark your calendar for the weekend of February 11, 2011 for the official celebration during the Rededication Weekend!

Our staff, clergy and Temple leadership have worked very hard to be sure this year of transition has run smoothly and our congregation continues to be well served. In all that it does, Temple Beth El aspires to be a K’hilah K’doshah, or holy community. Integral to this process are congregants, each of whom has a covenantal relationship with Temple that comprises an ongoing, mutual commitment to every other member of our community as well as to the community as a whole. The Temple has a responsibility to support and care for the congregation; and the congregation also has a responsibility to support and care for the Temple.

As the next fiscal year begins, we face a number of difficult realities. Nearly half of Temple Beth El’s 1,100 congregant families annually pledge less than the designated amount for their membership category, resulting in more than $500,000 in lost revenue for the Temple last year. There are always those in the congregation who are under distress and cannot fully meet their financial obligations – a scenario that has been exacerbated in recent years by economic conditions. We understand and will always welcome all, regardless of ability to meet their financial commitment. However, in its role as financial steward, the board has the responsibility to address this ongoing shortfall that challenges our congregation’s long-term wellbeing. We are doing this in a number of ways:

1. Making sure the 2010 budget is as lean as possible. Temple staff, the board and finance committee have spent countless hours finding ways to trim.

2. Introducing a new graduated dues structure for those under age 32. Many young people who are beginning families and careers cannot afford full dues. This new rate structure will help remove this obstacle and encourage them become full members of the congregation.

3. Asking those who can to meet their full financial responsibilities. This commitment is incumbent in the covenantal relationship each of us has to help Temple’s meet its ongoing operational needs. We thank you for doing so.

4. Working closely with those in need. With the help of Jewish Family Services (JFS), we are instituting a new process for screening requests for abatements on annual membership pledges, religious school registration or bar/bat mitzvah fees. If you need financial relief of any kind, we will ask you to provide an explanation and may ask you to meet with a JFS counselor. The process will be discreet, professional and highly confidential.

Your leadership team at Temple Beth El is working hard to make sure this remains a warm and welcoming place. We believe that each person is created B’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God; to be treated with respect and understanding; and capable of making a unique contribution to the whole. The individual commits to supporting the ongoing vitality of the community; accepting there are times when the needs of the community take precedence over his or her needs, and vice versa. We need your engagement as a congregant and volunteer.

If you have any questions or comments about anything in this letter or otherwise, please contact me or our Executive Director, Sara Schreibman. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, thank you for your continued support and the privilege of serving your family’s spiritual and religious needs.

Moira Quinn Klein
Incoming President – TBE