Sunday, September 9, 2018

President's Message September 2018



L’Shana Tova to all, 

                Let’s begin this newsletter with all the information you might or might not need to know for these High Holy Days. I trust you have gotten your tickets but that’s not a for sure since I have had calls from many who still had not received them after making arrangements with the office. My apologies but those who haven’t gotten them will still be able to get in. Your tickets will be available at the front door. For those who do have tickets in their possession please, please bring them and show them at the entrance; otherwise it will cause delays for you and those behind you. The reason: the usher at the door may not know who you are and will have to confirm your purchase of a ticket. We love for you to bring friends and family but everyone must have a ticket to be admitted. Times of the services are found on your tickets. We cannot estimate the exact time of a certain part of the service like the Torah reading or Musaf or when the service will end. Come and participate for as much of the service as you are able. Preparing for the High Holy Days requires a lot of work, it doesn’t just happen. My extreme thanks to all those who participated in getting the synagogue ready.

We had a couple of events to tell you about that took place in the last month. First we had a Barbeque and Game night. I believe that all who attended had a wonderful time enjoying the food and playing the bingo and horse racing games. On top of all that the temple made a couple of hundred dollars. May not sound like much but all the small activities we have can have a large impact on raising monies for the temple. The second event was a Selichot night dinner. Again the turnout was okay but more importantly we had a nice crowd for the service that followed. Selichot signals the beginning of the High Holy Day period and Rabbi led a very beautiful service that was complemented by the singing of the choir. Think about attending next year.

Let me give you the latest update on the financial status of the synagogue. The response to the 2018-19 billings has continued to be excellent. We are current on our bills and continue to make payments on our remaining bill with DWP. As you know the High Holy Days is a time when we do appeals asking you to give over and above anything you have already been billed. We will have less people attending services based on the current seat sales but you will always get a great service thanks to Rabbi and his support staff. I hope you can make contributions for the good of the synagogue. I know it seems like we are always asking for money and that’s just a fact that we cannot deny. But it is the only way we can continue to be here for you.

 The Board, or at least those in attendance, passed a tentative budget. We hope to formalize it at the September meeting. More thought went into it this year and it is much more realistic. We still have a negative cash flow but with all the fund raisers planned we can actually have a balanced budget by the end of the fiscal year.

 Some events coming up: this month—dinner in the sukkah for Sukkot (NOTE: we need four able-bodied people to assist in setting up the sukkah on September 23rd; contact Ed Kasman). November—joint entertainment program with Panorama Presbyterian Church; annual Interfaith Service at St. Genevieve Catholic. November/December—the original Chanukah musical comedy. Next year—casino trip, Mahjong tournament (May) and many other special things being planned. Plan to join us.          Ron

No comments:

Post a Comment