Vice Presidents - May 2022

As we come into May we are preparing for the

Congregational meeting. May 2022 is the first elections

since the Congregation was formed as a result of COVID

19. This virus has destroyed many lives and businesses.

That said, we have to THANK G-D and the officers of this

Congregation who have guided us through this pandemic.

This is a crucial time for this Congregation as our membership

is declining faster than it has ever been. Some of

that is a result of our foremembers who gave till it hurt to

keep our Congregation alive. Many of our members are

not aware of the time, effort and money that has been

raised by the members of the Executive Board. As you

think about who you would like to lead this Congregation

you should be certain they are prepared to reach into their

own pockets to help the Congregation.

We have witnessed this before. Century Pines at one

time had 800+ members and Village Reform Congregation

had just under 550 members. We now have approximately

165 members and the Congregation is a geriatric

Congregation. We have witnessed this before and I will tell

you that this is going to be an uphill battle.

Make no mistake, it is in the hands of the membership.

You need to make sure that you understand all aspects of

our Congregation. Our leaders need to have the ability to

take care of the religious aspects of the Congregation’s

needs and to lead the executive team that understands not

just the religious, but also the business aspects of running

a business that is in major crisis.

I cannot tell you how much time I have personally spent

getting to where we are and I am not even the person who

puts in the most time. Running a synagogue is different

than running a business. Our job is to represent our members’

best interests. To do that you need to lead by committee.

I will tell you that it is a difficult way to operate. You just

can’t make decisions, you need in many cases to get the

permission of the board, and in some cases you need the

permission of the Congregation.

It is very important that our members come out to the

Candidates’ afternoon on May15th at noon to ask questions

and find out their plans to keep us running and alive.

This event is being sponsored and a light lunch will be

served after the event.

Jesse, Carol and Mary