2007 - United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

made to over forty individuals about a week before the 3rd Friday of each month letting them know that the program is
coming up and that they are invited.
The keys are these: It’s free. There’s no RSVP required. All are welcome. Beyond that, it’s casual, low-key,
and designed for those with busy schedules. Has it resulted in people “hanging out,” going to dinner, dating, and
relationships forming? Absolutely. It has even resulted in a weekly “Gray’s Anatomy” viewing party at one member’s
house.
Some have asked if we’ll start a lst Fridays for people in their 40’s and 50’s and that’s a potential option that
we’re putting on the programming table for 5768/2007-2008! Having a successful 3rd Fridays CBS program 17 out of
18 months is a great start!
PERFORMING ARTS
GOLD
B’NAI TORAH CONGREGATION
Over 900
Boca Raton, FL
Submitted by Carol Wolfe-Wallach 561-392-8566
B’nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton, Florida, has been hosting world- renowned cantors and choirs at their annual
concert series since 1993. These annual series consist of three major concerts each year attended by congregants as well
as non-members of the synagogue. These concerts have been attended by more than 1,000 concert goers at each event.
In 2005 B’nai Torah Congregation added an additional format “Recitals in the Round” which placed the
performers in a more intimate setting and created connections between the performers and the audience. For the 2006
Cultural Arts Season concert goers enjoyed meeting and listening to some of the most renowned cantors in this
congenial atmosphere. This year we had the privilege of having the Makhelat Hashachar Choir from Japan perform in a
fourth concert.
New this season “The Author Series” was added to the Cultural Series. The Inaugural Season of Authors was
well received with meeting and greeting with the authors and book signings.
GOLD
TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM
Under 100
Stratford, CT
Submitted by Mark Lambeck 203-378-6175
Performing Arts
As a synagogue of just under 100 families, we are a very small minority in the little town of Stratford, Connecticut
where we actively participate in a variety of community activities. Beyond the traditional community events, such as
interfaith services, blood drives, tag sales, and membership on the Stratford Clergy Association (a group of 15 churches
and one temple -- us), we have a very active community theater program called The Temple Players which helps boost
our profile locally and reminds the citizens of our quaint hamlet that there is a Jewish community in their midst.
And while The Temple Players is geared to attract a general audience outside of Temple Beth Sholom, we also
have a program within the Temple that uses theater to attract the Jewish Community from the Greater Bridgeport area
(Fairfield, Trumbull, Milford, Easton) to celebrate the holidays of Purim and Chanukkah. Therefore, the two-fold
program we will outline in this proposal are:
The Temple Players -- Connecticut’s ONLY group dedicated to theater with Jewish content
Performing Arts through the Temple’s Education Committee — dedicated to bringing music and theater to the Jewish
community using our own members and their children as the performers
The Temple Players
When Temple Beth Sholom in Stratford shut down its Bingo operation in the spring of 1998, the synagogue
lost its most consistent means of fund-raising. In the wake of that loss of ongoing revenue, The Temple Players emerged