Happy New Year, Everyone! It is hard to believe that another year has gone by and that we are welcoming in the secular year 2015. At this time of the year many of us take inventory of the past year and evaluate how we have done.
As your president, I’ve talked about my vision for how we are a family, a community that comes together “In This House” of God. In August, 2013, your leadership, the members of the Board of Trustees, set broad goals for the congregation and for themselves. We wanted our House of God to be a place of learning and worship. We wanted to foster the sense that together we are one community and family. And of course, we wanted to achieve a more secure financial future.
Let’s see how we’ve done in our effort to promote Kehillah, to foster the sense that together we are one community and family within TEE and within the greater Jewish community.
In the community, some of what we’ve done:
- Our Israel Engagement Task Group brought us several interesting speakers .
- We hosted the Hebrew Free Loan’s 110th Birthday celebration.
- We attended Cleveland’s Annual AIPAC meeting at the Convention Center and others of us will attend the AIPAC meeting in Washington DC in March.
- Our TKO committee volunteered at the Menorah Park Campus on Christmas Day. We were about 25 strong. And in the CJN, Menorah Park wrote about the day saying that they were partnering with Temple Emanu El.
- TEE members donated and showed their support for Israel this summer by supporting the Federation’s campaign to help Israel during this summer’s war with Hamas.
- On Mitzvah Day at the end of the religious school year, we packaged gifts for children and adults in the hospital and at food pantrys.
In Our House, some of what we’ve done:
- Our Chesed committee has welcomed new members, brought meals to those who needed some assistance, reached out to those in mourning and organized a Bikkur Holim task group to visit our members to bring them some warmth of community and the joy of friendship to those who cannot get around.
- Recently, our First Friday Chavurah dinner was attended by some 50. Come join us for the next one in February.
- Brotherhood events always bring togetherWhether it is Sports Night, a speaker, the blood drive or the recent family Chinese Dinner on December 24th, our members come together for fun and friends.
- The Streaming of services that we now provide is being used by many of our members andbringing them into our community in ways we couldn’t do before. If you haven’t watched one of the services, go to our website and click on the streaming. You will be impressed.
- The name tags at Shabbat services invite us to better know eachHow nice it is to call someone by name. How nice it is to do this every week.
- Our Bagel Boys offer a welcome each Sunday morning with a bagel and smear.
- WOTEE opens the way for more learning and more fun with their Midrash and Margaritas.
It is only a partial list. I know there are many things I’ve failed to include. There are so many people who have volunteered their time and their talents to help our community. There is a new look to the bulletin and we are on Facebook and Twitter.
We are a community! Come join us in the coming year for fun, to help, to learn, to make TEE the place you want it to be! Come join me!
Friends, See you soon!
Judy Uram, President