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President’s Message
FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
As
we approach the Jewish New Year I ask that you join me in looking
to our future, the bright future of Congregation Kol Am.
Like most congregations we face many challenges - growing
our membership, maintaining fiscal responsibility, fund raising,
and ensuring quality educational opportunities for our children.
This year I’m asking you to please make a generous
donation to our High Holiday Campaign.
Last year we raised more than $3,000 from congregants and
visitors. This year I
would like to see us triple that amount. I am looking to each of
you to help us, to the best of your ability, to continue to be the
small congregation with a huge presence in We
are quickly approaching the High Holidays
the – “Days of Awe” – a time of year when Jews
engage in self-examination, spirituality and the pursuit of
holiness. We eat honey
and apples, hoping for sweetness in the coming year.
We apologize to those we have offended and ask their
forgiveness. The magic
of the High Holidays is within those special moments when we pause
and engage in introspection. The
rest of the year we over-schedule ourselves, hope for more sleep
and pray our “to-do” list miraculously gets shorter.
Have
you ever noticed how synagogue attendance always increases
dramatically during these special 10 days?
There are thousands of Jews looking for ways to connect
with their historical past. Going to the synagogue can be a
comforting reminder of their youth and their families. Even the
familiar sound of the prayers being chanted can be a reconnection
to the past. But why
connect in such a brief, fleeting way?
Today many people choose not to affiliate and miss the
opportunity to receive spiritual sustenance and to connect to a
strong and supportive synagogue community.
Synagogue
membership is more than ensuring the availability of
“a Rabbi to marry and bury.”
Membership in the “Jewish Community of Synagogue” –
in other words – your synagogue of choice – can fill up the
empty spaces within. The
social networking found in a congregation can supplement the lack
of extended family living nearby.
The weekly Shabbat service can strengthen and validate our
inner belief system. We
are reminded to adjust our moral compass and to incorporate the
messages of the Torah into the fabric of our lives.
This year, as you take
stock of where you have been and where you want to be in 12
months, consider all the advantages of synagogue membership.
There is everything to gain.
I urge you to give generously to our High Holiday Campaign
and invest in your future through affiliation. This year not only
“think differently” but try to “do differently.”
Invest in and commit to the future of your spiritual home,
Kol Am.
Shalom, Beth
Knight, President
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