September/October/November 2012 - Congregation Mishkan Tefila

CONTINUED FROM FRONT COVER
REFLECTIONS FROM YOUR NEW PRESIDENT
Steve Kurzman
I have no illusions about the amount of time and effort
which I will happily and proudly contribute. I will
be available to our members and know with absolute
certainty that they will call upon me. I shall listen to
them with respect and interest and I shall try to the best
of my ability to address their concerns. For some that
alone might solve the problem for others it will not, but
I will acknowledge you and I will endeavor to create an
outcome which is satisfactory.
I honestly believe that this moment in time is the most
opportune that our Congregation has had to continue
its march into the 21st century. This Congregation did
not survive its first 154 years without changing. Last
year I attended a conference on the management at
which one of the speakers said: “You do not have to
change – failure is always an option.” It is not an option
for our temple and it is not an option for me! We must
be a Congregation which is inclusive not exclusive; a
Congregation which is warm and welcoming, not cold
and stand offish. A Congregation which acknowledges
the realities of the world in which we live; that not
all families are mom, dad and the kids; that not all
families are comprised of two Jewish spouses; that for
some there is only one parent; that not all Conservative
Jewish families practice their Judaism in the same way
– but they all want to be part of a temple which accepts
them and accepts them ungrudgingly. We know what
worked 50 or 60 years ago and we know that much of
that does not work today; so our success will depend
entirely on our ability to retain that which still works
and add to it that which people want in order to create
21st century Conservative Judaism and that will only
happen if we make our goal to be as much as we can be
to as many as we can. We cannot succeed if we try to
be everything to everybody, but we can be more than
we are to more than we have. That is my challenge and
with the guidance and vision of Rabbi Gordon, the
support of our membership and the hard work and
efforts of all of us I believe that it can be accomplished.”
So, now, what has been accomplished since I delivered
those remarks?
First, and of this I am extremely proud, we have made
a total commitment to education. By engaging Erin
Gubert as our Religious School Director and Wendy
Handler as Director of Youth and Family Programs, we
have added to our staff two women with outstanding
credentials, abilities and a history of success as educators
at CMT. In addition, Rabbi Marcia Plumb will be
devoting her extensive experience in religious education
to our school programing. Rabbi Gordon will be
directly supervising our Religious School staff. When
our Hebrew School starts on September 9, our students
will be welcomed and should be ready for an exciting
and enriching year.
Adding this talent and commitment to our already
successful Nursery School under the direction of
Lisa Kideckel, as well as the continuing adult course
offerings of Dr. Davin Wolok and Rabbi Gordon, will
ensure that we offer superior religious education for
those from age 1 year and 9 months to 100 years.
Second, it is my pleasure to announce that, through the
largess of the Robert Boyer Scholarship Fund, we will
be offering both new and continuing families a 50%
reduction in Hebrew School tuition.
Third, as I hope many of you have noticed, we have
created unique approaches for publicizing our changes.
Not only do we have vibrant people in place but we are
using vibrant colors in our advertisements. Our ads also
offer links to our website and online payment options
and for the first time we will be using both online
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CONGREGATION
MISHKAN TEFILA
CONGREGATION MISHKAN TEFILA September - November 2012