Shomrei – Work in Progress

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work in progress

Editor’s Note: This talk was goven as a State of the Synagogue Speech on the first day of Rosh Hashanah 5777/2016.

Shana tovah. Happy, Healthy, and Peaceful New Year.

My name is Fern Heinig and I am president of the synagogue. I have been a member since I think 2000 but definitely know I had an adult bat mitzvah at Shomrei in 2002.

Tonight I want to talk about the state of the synagogue. I can sum it up in a few words – Shomrei is Work in Progress.

Let me tell you a story of when I first joined Shomrei. I was given the honor of tying the torah (gelilah). I had never done it before in my life and needed help. When we went into the Sukkah (it was Sukkot) for Kiddush lunch, an older member, who is no longer with us, yelled at me, how at my age (40+) did I not know how to tie the Torah. The fact that I ever came back is a miracle.

For those of you who have not been here over the last three weeks, you may take that as nothing has changed. For those that have been here, you have seen a totally different Shomrei. We have had over 100 people in the building for the last three Shabbats, including about 70 people staying for Kiddush lunch and hanging out past 1:00pm.

But Shomrei is Work in Progress.

Shomrei has changed. It has not been a revolution, but an evolution. It has not been one person or one initiative or even one point in time. It has been a convergence of everything that is now visible when you walk into the building.

We had the inaugural day of Shabbat School. We changed JLC from Sunday to Saturday. Why? This goes to a central theme that Shomrei’s 20/20 committee presented – that Shabbat should be the central day of week. However I heard about Shabbat school even before the 20/20 committee, and now after many years it is a reality. There is a whole new curriculum and teaching style. Is it perfect in the first couple of weeks? No, it is Work in Progress

This year’s first Hinei Ma Tov, our intergenerational family service, was last week. We now have a professional leader, Lily Lucey. This service was started four years ago by Rabbi Greenstein. It has progressed so that now we have over 70 people attend, of all ages. Was Hinei Ma Tov perfect last week? No, it is Work in Progress

@Nourish is a new program. @Nourish is a speaker’s program on Saturday mornings that provides an alternative for people who want to remain in the synagogue, but may not want to attend services. We had close to 50 people attend our first two @Nourish programs. The program ends at 11:30, and some people do go into services for the last half hour; others just hang out talking and joining us for Kiddush lunch. Is the coffee the high quality we want? Is the space what we envision? No, it is Work in Progress

So where are we?

Membership: In 2015 we had 190 family units. Last year, we had 187 family units with 13 new family units. This year, we have 7 new family units so far.

Pre School: The Pre School is an independent entity from the synagogue. It was losing money for many years and the board was debating closing the preschool. Under new leadership, the preschool is finally in the black. Last year, we had 43 students and an income of $346,00,. This is year, we have 47 kids in preschool and kindergarten and another 6 in toddler time with a projected income of $393,000.

JLC: We have 41 students this year, the same as last year. One student left JLC because of Shabbat School; however we also gained a new student and the family are now members, because they wanted Shabbat School.

Sustaining Share: As many of you know, I am a huge advocate of the Sustaining Share membership model. Judaism or belonging to a synagogue should not be a buying decision. Growing up my family could not afford to join a synagogue or send me to Hebrew School, which is why I did not know how to tie the Torah.

Total Revenue (excluding pre school and JLC): In 2015 before moving to Sustaining Share, we budgeted $630,774 for dues and Kol Nidre appeal. In 2016, pledges totaled $644,119. 84% of our revenue comes from Pledges – 17% of members pledge above the sustaining share level, 9% of members pledge at the sustaining share amount, and 74% pledge below the sustaining share amount. The sustaining share amount is $2,500 per adult member.

Our budget is built bottom up – our goal is to one day to eliminate all extra costs so that members would not be charged for any events. We also need to be able to expand our staff. Our wonderful custodial staff is at the maximum workload. We need another custodian. The same with the office. Right now we can not afford the extra staff.
Shomrei is Work in Progress. If things are not perfect, assume positive intent. Have patience. And please, Be part of the solution.

Shomrei is Work in Progress but, it has come a long way.

For those of you who did not know, Shomrei is now the progressive and groovy place to be.

Shana tovah.

Fern

 

image:  “Work in Progress“ © damon jah used with permission via Creative Commons License.

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One thought on “Shomrei – Work in Progress”

  1. I like your writing! To the point and funny … just like you. I like knowing the hard facts, and yes, our synagogue is very groovey!

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