Dear Congregation Agudas Achim members:
Most of you know me, but to any who might not, my name is Molly Jacobs and I have been serving on CAA’s board this past year as the Managing Director of Education. Starting July 1, I will be serving as the President of the Board of Directors.
The last couple of years have been challenging for all of us; however, as a congregation, we have held it together and are looking forward to coming out stronger on the other side. (Here Comes the Sun from the Beatles comes to mind with their lyrics: “Little darling It’s been a long cold lonely winter, Little darling, It feels like years since it’s been here…The smiles returning to the faces.”) I am extremely pleased to say that we have started to gather in person and will continue to do so! There are guidelines, and of course, we’ll watch the numbers, but the goal is to both see each other face to face AND to sing next to one another! This is not to say that we’ll give up Zoom altogether. We’ve learned that there are some lovely ways to connect electronically. We want to leverage those benefits. However, our priority is moving forward together AND in person.
By the time you receive this, Rabbi Alex will have left, and Rabbi Talya Weisbard Shalem will be “onboarding” as our new congregational rabbi. A huge thank you goes out to the Rabbi Search Committee and all the members of the congregation who attended services, Torah studies, meet and greets, and weighed in with their opinions. I am also pleased to announce that AJ Solomon, who has served as a teacher in our Hebrew School for the last 2 years, will be taking over as our new Education Director. We are still looking for 2 Hebrew School teachers: a Judaics teacher for Upper School (ages 9-11, Sundays from 9-12) and a Pre-K/ Gan teacher (ages 3-5, one Sunday/ month). So if you know anyone, please speak up!
We will also be experimenting with a new board structure that includes a president and 8 board members, each of whom have a portfolio of duties for which they are responsible. These board members will work closely with committee chairs to ensure that the chairs and the committees get the support and resources they need to do their work. The board members for 2022-2023 are: Deb Mandell (Treasurer), Ken Freeman (Secretary), Tristan Davies, Michael Gow, Linda Hernandez, Barbara Shays, Sam Troilo, and Alan Wartenberg.
We’re looking forward to getting started and have already talked about our preliminary goals:
This is a community that thrives and works best when we participate. Whether that means coming to services, serving on a committee, volunteering as a mensch, or just being present. After the Annual Meeting, a few people reached out to volunteer to be on a committee. I would wholeheartedly urge folks to really think about how they want to participate in synagogue life as we come out of this pandemic. I ask you to please contact me if you’re looking for a place to get plugged in. I love connecting people to support our congregation in a way that feels meaningful and exciting.
I am very excited to start this work both with the board and the congregation. There is a lot of great forward-moving energy among both and I look forward to co-creating with all of you!
-Molly
