ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2011

4:30 P.M. Congregational Picnic

Annual Meeting

Approval of Minutes

Treasurer’s Report

Rabbi’s Remarks

Recognition of Bill Marfink

Nominating Committee Report

Installation of Trustees

President’s Remarks

Adjourn

TEMPLE EMANUEL OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES 2010 – 2011

Officers:

President:                                                     David Fishman

First Vice President                                       Mitchell Kahn

Second Vice President                                      Larry Selig

Third Vice President                              Leonard Robinson

Secretary                                               Machelle Hammond

Treasurer                                                         James Siegel

Past President                                          Jonathan Golden

Rabbi                                                    Michael A. Schadick

Rabbi Emeritus                                    Dr. Albert M. Lewis

 

Trustees:

Gary Adelman                                             Rhonda Pappas

Mark Finkelstein                                      Christopher Potter

Dan Fogel                                                        Sandee Reno

Janice Fonger                                                    Dan Rosen

Helena Goldfarb                                           Douglas Singer

June Horowitz                                                  Bart Steindler

Samantha Hurwitz                                             Craig Wolff

Syma Hutchings                                       Shari Wooldridge

Cherri Johns                                                       Linda Zizos

Beverly Knopp                                  Jammie ZurSchmiede

Hal Ostrow

Past Presidents:

Glenn Barkan                                             Jonathan Golden

Marcia Beutner                                             Norman Kravitz

Roger Beutner                                                Marilyn Leven

William Boorstein                                              Bruce Matza

Irving Borenzweig                                 Joseph N. Schwartz

Morton Finkelstein                                   Rana M. Schwartz

Jeffrey Frank                                               Richard Stevens

Thomas Heitmann                                          Wayne Titche

ANNUAL MEETING
June 12, 2010

Jonathan Golden called the meeting to order at 6:05.  He thanked everyone for coming.  There are approximately 60 congregants present.  He confirmed that everyone had received the annual report.  Shel Kopperl moved that we approve the minutes from last year’s meeting as submitted.  Jim Siegel seconded.  Motion carried.

Jonathan called upon Bill Boorstein for the Treasurer’s Report.

Bill reported that we have about 277 member-units (households), which is fewer than a few years ago, but we have taken in new members.  He also reported that while we have had some financial difficulty due to the effect of the general economic down-turn on our dues collection; we have other ways of creating income to pay our bills and salaries and the congregation is solvent; the Board of Trustees has been very careful in trimming excess spending and the Finance Committee is being diligent.   We have, to date, collected about 80% of our 2009 – 2010 dues.  43% of our membership is paying “bench-mark” or above.  Any dues that come in after the close of this fiscal year will go toward next fiscal year.

Jonathan thanked Bill for his report and explained that, although we had a freeze on our dues level last year, we will be having a 3% increase in annual dues in the coming 2010 – 2011 fiscal year.

Jonathan thanked the congregation for their help and support during his term as president and encouraged everyone to consider stepping up to leadership as a board member or committee member to enrich their Temple experience.  He then thanked Norm Kravitz, our out-going Immediate Past President for all the assistance he gave during Jonathan’s term.   He also thanked Past-President Bill Boorstein for taking on the role of Treasurer for the past two years.  He also thanked Lynn Hoenke for her time and commitment to the congregation.  He gave each of these people a small token of his appreciation.  Jonathan then thanked Rabbi Schadick and Mary Schwartz for their tireless work and long hours in the building and thanked those board members whose terms are ending tonight for their commitment.

Jonathan then spoke about our Congregant of the Year.  Shel Kopperl has been a great educator, leader, and inspiration for our congregation.  He leads Torah discussions on Shabbat, sends email about the upcoming Torah portions, substitutes as leader for our worship services, and works with our Confirmation class students.  He also inspires others to look into Judaism and learn why we believe what we believe.

Jonathan introduced Immediate Past President, Norm Kravitz, as chairman of the Nominating Committee.  Norm introduced those Board members who are going off the board.  Norm presented the Nominating Committee: Bruce Cohen, Wayne Titche, Allyn Lebster, and Cindy Kogelschatz.  Then Norm moved that we approve the slate of incoming Board of Trustees: Len Robinson for 3^rd Vice President, Larry Selig for 2^nd Vice President, David Gillette, Helayna Goldfarb, David Alfonso, Gary Adelman, Linda Zizos, Hal Ostrow, Syma Hutchings, Jammie ZurSchmiede, Shari Wooldridge, Beverly Knopp, Sandee Reno, and Cherri Johns as members at large.  Donna Boorstein seconded.  The motion carried.  These Board members will join with continuing Board members: Dan Fogel, Rhonda Pappas, Dan Rosen, Chris Potter, Jan Fonger, Doug Singer, and Bart Steindler. Rabbi Schadick asked God’s blessings on this board and its members.

Rabbi spoke to the membership about all the good things he has been able to enjoy over the past ten years with our congregation.  He also discussed the fact that, while people know Temple is here and has things going on, they don’t think of Temple first as a place they want to come for fun events as much as for spiritual fulfillment.  He encouraged us to work to change this and make Temple Emanuel a place people want to come for social and spiritual fulfillment.  He concluded that far more than the challenges that we face, are the blessings that we enjoy.  He prayed that we continue to go from strength to strength.

Jonathan presented incoming President, Dave Fishman, to the congregation.  Dave spoke about his hopes and anticipation for his upcoming term.  He thanked those with whom he has worked in the past and those with whom he will be working, including Mary and Rabbi, Norm and Jonathan.  He then spoke about Jonathan and some of the things he has learned from him and presented him with a gift from the congregation.

Dave Fishman adjourned the meeting at 6:50.

Respectfully submitted,
Lynn Hoenke, Secretary
Temple Emanuel Board of Trustees

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

As outlined in Article XIX of the Temple Emanuel Constitution, the nominating committee, as appointed by the Temple president, has met and has nominated the following to serve as trustees of the Congregation for 2011 – 2013:

Members who have accepted nomination for an initial term on the Board:

Rebecca Joyner                                            Allyn Lebster

Judy Sernick                                                  Joel Young

We wish to thank the following, who will not be returning to the Board of Trustees, for their work as members of the Board:

Dan Fogel                                              Christopher Potter

We look forward to the election of these nominees and your support for a very capable and able group of Officers and Trustees.

Respectfully submitted,
Jonathan Golden, Chairperson
Mark Finkelstein
Rhonda Pappas

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

At the beginning of my presidency I set out to start two things: first to try to make our temple a bigger part of more of our congregant’s lives. Second was to start to address our biggest budget issue, gross revenue. I believe that we have had success in both of these areas but not without challenges.

Making the Temple and Judaism a bigger part of people’s lives is not an easy thing to conquer. It’s kind of like changing people’s buying habits. Once a person does things a certain way it is very difficult to change the way that person does that particular thing. A good example of this is our Scrip Program. I would like to thank Machelle Hammond for all the work that she has put into this program. Although there has been some success, the program in large part has not been adopted by our community. Some of this is due to the nature in which Scrip purchases must be made and delivered but I believe the larger reason is that Scrip does not present itself as an opportunity in a way that people want to take advantage of it. This analogy can also correlate to the services and events that take place at our Temple.

We have tried to make our Temple as accessible and inviting to our congregation as possible. This has been accomplished in several ways. First, we have redeveloped our website so that information regarding events at Temple and beyond our walls is up to date. Second, our Rabbi sends out weekly e-mail newsletters letting everyone know about the upcoming events of the week, life events and local events that are of concern to our community. Third, our volunteer coordinator, Sherri Faler, has been working with a few ad hoc committees to schedule targeted events for certain segments of our population. Fourth, we have made a concerted effort to not only welcome new members into our community but also to engage them in areas of interest to them. Fifth, we have asked board members to play a higher profile role in community events doing simple things like wearing name tags, seating a board member with newer members to the community to create bonds and asking board members to introduce themselves to others at community events: all this done with the intent to make more people feel welcomed to not only our religious services but community events as well. Sixth, we have promoted engagement at the committee level. We have encouraged committee chairs to recruit members of the community outside their “normal circles” of that committee. Thus we are trying to engage more people in areas where they have a true interest. Seventh, we have made great efforts to have a wide variety of programming including spiritual, intellectual and musical events that have not only been aimed at our congregation but the entire Jewish and non-Jewish community as well. Eighth, we have encouraged, not only at a board level but community wide, suggestions as to how the Temple can better serve its congregation. Ninth, with the leadership of Helena Goldfarb, we have created a new Inclusion Committee dedicated toward making changes within our congregation to meet the needs of special needs families. Lastly, we have encouraged youth participation. We have two members of our community that serve as youth leaders to our board, Samantha Hurwitz and Adam Kogelschatz. They have the responsibility of not only serving on the board but planning and encouraging youth involvement at the Temple and other community events.

The accomplishments we have made in becoming a bigger part in our congregant’s lives as well as becoming a more welcoming community are numerous. Each success has been a baby step but all together I believe they add up to marked improvement. Our congregation can only be what we make it. By making it what we want it to be it will play a larger part in our lives and be overall more fulfilling for all of us. I encourage you to become active in an area of our community. Whether it is Adult Education run by one of our many local scholars, Greg Gronbacher or our Caring Committee, I encourage you to take part. Whether it is coming to more Shabbat services or reaching out to the community through our Social Action Committee, I encourage you to take part. Whether it be working in the kitchen for special events or helping maintain our facility with the Building and Grounds committee, I encourage you to participate. Whether it be creating an event for your peer members or working on annual fundraising events, I encourage you to participate. The point being, our Temple can best serve you and your family when we know both what interest you and how would you like to be involved.

As you can see a preponderance of effort has been put toward making our congregation a better place for all over the last year. We now need to not only continue to build on these accomplishments but also ensure that they are able to be continued over the long term. This means that we need to also address the financial stability of our year to year operations. We have three areas that I have started to address and will continue to put effort towards in the upcoming year.

First, it is recognized that the biggest problem facing our budget is a function of income, not expenses. We will address this issue in several ways: arrearage collection, working with congregants to increase their dues to the “fair share” benchmark, examining our dues structure as a whole giving respect to different demographics within our congregation, weaning our budget off of fundraising as a means of balancing the budget.

Second, we face what I believe to be an impending crisis that goes by the name of Deferred Maintenance. Several big capital improvements done over the last few years have for the most part tapped our Building Maintenance Reserve Fund. We have a big old building and it is not hard to go around the building a point out projects both inside and out that will require large capital expenditures. We must make efforts to replenish this reserve so that when the time comes that we can no longer put off fixing something, the money is there. Further, we need to create a steady stream of funds flowing into this reserve. Along those lines we are looking at changing our building pledges for both new and current members. The Finance Committee is considering several options and this will be conveyed to the congregation soon.

Lastly, over the long term our congregation will become more financially stable with a significant portion of our operating budget endowed. We currently have endowments which do provide us with funds that can be used toward operations. It is my belief that these endowments must be grown to allow us to create a greater degree of financial independence. We have numerous endowments that are purpose specific but only a couple endowments that can provide a significant income stream for our annual budget. We must start a long term campaign to significantly increase these endowment funds for our future.

I know that these are lofty goals but with effort I know that they can be accomplished. I look forward to our next year together.

Respectfully,
David L. Fishman

RABBI’S REPORT

As I look out my window and the see the Padnos Garden filled with new life and beautiful color, I am delighted to report that in the 154^th year of our congregation we have continued to fulfill our mission of bringing Reform Jewish life to our community.  Our Temple has been filled with activity this year, a testament to the devotion of many of our members who work hard to insure that our institution is a vibrant place.

Our Officers and Board of Trustees and volunteers devote great amounts of energy to our Temple.  We give thanks for all they have done for Temple over the past year.  Special thanks to Dave Fishman who is completing his first year as our President and to Mitch Kahn our First Vice President.  These men are worthy of our accolades.

It has been a busy year at Temple.  Many of the special events of our year were centered around music.  These included the Afro-Semitic Experience, a night of celebration with African American and Jewish American performers, our Jazz Shabbat, and the soulful musical experience of Soul Aviv. Those who did not have the opportunity to partake in these events certainly missed out on something very special.

We are indebted to the Tom and Mickie Fox Family Fund and the Leah Dennen Enrichment Fund for underwriting the costs of these events.  Their generosity benefits so many members of our Temple and the greater community.

We look forward to hosting Soul Aviv again next winter here at Temple as part of the Grand Rapids “Year of Interfaith Understanding”.  I am honored to be part of the planning of this project which we hope will see some 200 events take place throughout our community, in churches, mosques, and synagogues.

Sunday continues to be the busiest day of our week at Temple.  Our building was abuzz from September to May with the sounds of our children here at school.  The United Jewish School just completed its fifth year and we can be proud of the accomplishments we achieved by bringing the students from Temple and Ahavas Israel together to study.  We have the chance to learn from each other in ways that previous generations of Jews simply did not have.

Our challenge on Sunday mornings is to create engaging avenues of learning for the parents of our students, and to convince our parents that study is worth their time and their attention.  Jewish study and continuing education are supposed to be centerpiece of our lives as Jews, and yet far too many of our members have limited knowledge of Judaism.

I think there are ways that we can reinvent Jewish education for adults, on-line, through affinity groups, in individual homes, and even over lunch.  This is an area in which we must all pool our ideas.  The old models simply don’t work the way they once did for our lives are far too busy and our commitments far too great.

The numbers of non-Jews who want to come to Temple to learn about Judaism or to speak with someone Jewish about Jewish life continue to rise.  Record numbers of guests came to our services this year or came to our building to better understand Judaism.  I traveled extensively throughout our community speaking at schools, churches, and civic organizations.

We were blessed with many simchas over the past year.  From Britot Milah and Namings, to Consecration, B’nai Mitzvah and Confirmation, we shared in the joys of these milestones with our members.  But we also mourned the loss of some of our most devoted members, including Past Presidents Jim Albert and Abe Krissoff, Donna Boorstein, Joe Cohen, Dave Gillette, and Al Winniman. Their passing leaves an emptiness in our congregation that is irreplaceable.  We hope that their dedication to Temple will inspire others to do as they did.

Our prayers are with our good friend and longtime employee, Rudy Sotelo. Rudy has been battling health issues for much of the spring and has been unable to work.  We hope that he will soon feel better and recover from his illnesses.  His presence has been missed.  Caring for our congregation has been his concern for over 14 years.

I was delighted that we were able to raise several thousand dollars for the fight against breast cancer last fall and that we had a team in the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure on September 25.  Because of the generosity of our members and the Leonard Newman Tzedakah Fund our congregation was also able to make significant donations to the Heart of West Michigan United Way “Stuff the Bus” campaign and the “Stand Up For Rosa Parks” campaign for a statue in downtown Grand Rapids.

And we can proud of our Social Action Committee volunteering all year at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans and continuing to work with local families from Darfur.  One of our biggest efforts at Tikkun Olam continues to be at Temple once each month.  Our food bank serves over 60 families each month.  Barb Duchemin deserves much credit for her unwavering efforts to feed the hungry.  We thank all of our members to for their donations of food and money.

On May 8 our Confirmation Class did some spring clean-up in our Temple cemetery.  As we picked up sticks and raked leaves we had lots of chances to read the markers of past members.  “Did you know many of these people?” a student asked.  “Absolutely,” I said.  11 years after moving to Grand Rapids I have cried at my share of funerals and said good-bye to many friends.  But what an honor it has been to have known them and to have loved them.

Times goes by so quickly.  I have reserved a date for Shira’s Bat Mitzvah on the Temple calendar.  We will celebrate on Saturday, October 12, 2013, just after the High Holy Days, and before any real threats of snow.  I hope that everyone will come and share this simcha with Susan and me.

I cannot conclude my thoughts of the past year without thanking Mary Schwartz who continues to be the heart and soul of our building.  She has taken on additional tasks in Rudy’s absence.  We continue to be blessed by her commitment to her job and to her devotion to Temple.

Thanks to the members of Temple Emanuel for allowing me to serve as your rabbi.  I know how fortunate I am to be in this position.  I look forward to the year ahead with much anticipation.

On July 1, 2011 our congregation will begin its 155^th year.  May we continue to go from strength to strength.

Respectfully submitted,
Rabbi Michael A. Schadick

FINANCE COMMITTEE

I am pleased to submit the annual report from the Finance Committee as its Chairperson.

At the last Board meeting in May, 2011, the Finance Committee submitted, and the Board approved, the annual budget for 2011-2012.  The budget anticipates a slight increase in dues revenue as well as an increased collection of prior years dues which are overdue.  The net result, if all assumptions are met, is that the Temple should experience nearly break-even cash flow for 2011-2012.

There are several initiatives which the Finance Committee is focused on for the upcoming year.  First, a priority is going to be made on collecting outstanding dues to get more members current.  Second, the committee is planning on reaching out to all members at or below the benchmark level to begin a discussion about increasing their dues commitment for the upcoming year.  Third, the committee is also planning on reaching out to members who pay over the benchmark level to further increase their commitment.  The hope is that we will once again be able to increase the Temple reserves which has not happened over the last several years.

There has been some discussion about restructuring the ATID fund to ensure that the Temple building and grounds are properly maintained between the Finance Committee and the Executive Committee.  It is the hope of the Finance Committee, the Executive Committee, the Board and its membership that we ensure the future of Temple property through a growing ATID fund.

Respectfully submitted,
Craig Wolff

TEMPLE EMANUEL OPERATING FUND
July 1, 2010– May 31, 2011

Budget Progress report is available by request.  Please email the Temple office to request a copy.

FUNDRAISING

Temple Emanuel held a very successful fundraising event on Saturday May 7. The event was successful because, not only did it raise badly needed funds, but it was a great party. The Silent Auction capped months of work by many volunteers. A special thank you Chris Potter and Rhonda Pappas for the great job they did co-chairing the evening.  Carey Potter deserves a huge round of applause for her organizational skills, creativity and appreciation of the congregation for the massive amount of time and dedication she put in to making this evening a success. Thank you to Larry Broomberg and his band who donated their time to provide wonderful music for the evening. We appreciate Mike Greengard's commitment to spend the evening as our MC. To all who obtained donations and to the local businesses who were our benefactors, thank you very much.

The second part of the festivities was the drawing of the winners of our annual cash raffle. Thank you to all of the members who worked hard to sell tickets and to all of those people who supported our effort by purchasing raffle tickets. We were blessed, once again, by a group of people known as the matching group who donated matching funds to partner up and purchase the other half of tickets for those people who bought partial tickets. Congratulations to Lori Reineke and Larry Cieply our $10,000 winners, to Mary and Nelson Wilner our $2,500 winners, and to John Inhulsen, Eric Silverstein, Casey Wallace, Sharon and Ted Inman and Lori Jacobs, each of whom won $500.

Together, the Raffle, Auction and Party raised $28,000 for the Temple general fund and the cash bar made a significant contribution to the Temple Emanuel Food Bank.

Most importantly, thank you to Mary Schwartz for all she did to support both the raffle and auction. Without her help, the evening would not have been the success that it was.

Mitchell Kahn

TOURS

We have reached a new high in community outreach this year.  We get schools. We get universities. We get churches, religious schools and youth groups.   But I think this is the first time we have had a request for a tour-before-the tour before a Friday evening service.  They were looking for in depth insight into Kabbalah.  Good thing they approached Len Robinson as he is very versed in the mystical writings.  Our doors are always open to our community and sharing our histories.

Jean Silbar

VOLUNTEER/OUTREACH COORDINATOR

This past year was full of fun activities and ongoing events, many of which could not have been successful without volunteer participation.  I am very grateful to all who gave generously of their time to help us to continue to provide these offerings to our congregation.  In addition to the yearly holiday dinners, potlucks, and raffle, we were able to offer some additional events that all required your help and support. For example, we hosted the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service this year at Temple, and provided the Afro-Semitic Experience, and the Jazz Shabbat. Thank you to all of you that answered my pleas for help and stepped up to contribute to the success of these meaningful and enjoyable events.

We continue to try and provide ways to engage our members and meet their needs, and I am always eager and interested in your ideas and suggestions to help us accomplish this.

Towards that end, a new group called Connections has been formed, born of the idea that we would like to offer more opportunities for families and individuals to meet, play, and form relationships with each other. The members include Michelle Benjamin, Sandi Simms, Sharon Spungen, Amy Van Fossen, Michelle Wolff, and Sherri Faler.  We held our first event, game night in March after services. We had close to 30 people, at least 3 generations represented and interacting, and everyone seemed to have a really good time.  Some ideas we are currently working on are a picnic in a park or at the beach, and perhaps a trip to the Picnic Pops or the ballpark. We are also planning ongoing Connection nights at Temple with various games, movies, and jam sessions.

We are in the process of working on providing groups for anyone interested in attending, pertaining to topics such as divorce, aging, and grief. We are very fortunate to have some members who are qualified and willing to facilitate such groups for us.  We would also like to offer Affinity groups for people with like interests to meet and engage in conversation and activities together.

Continuing activities include involvement with the Social Action, Membership, Caring, Inclusion, and Connection Committees, ongoing communication with committee chairs regarding suggestions for new members and helping to find chairpersons to fill empty positions, networking with Jewish federation, URJ, and local community agencies, helping to welcome and connect new members, and recruiting and coordinating volunteers.

Thank you all for another year of sharing, learning, and celebrating together, and for the opportunity to work alongside and get to know you better.

Sherri Faler

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

Our Membership Committee duties are to recruit new members along with offering special events to help make a new member feel at home at Temple Emanuel.   Our team worked hard to assist the new families.

We are proud to share the vision and spirit of Temple Emanuel, “Center of Reform Jewish Life in West Michigan.”  It is a spirit felt throughout the West Michigan Jewish and non-Jewish community.

We have welcomed nine (9) new families to the congregation.  On February 4th the Membership Committee hosted a New Members Shabbat Service and Oneg.  We invited our newest member families along with past new members over a few year period.  We all enjoyed the Shabbat evening.  At the service, each new member was invited to the Bimah for a blessing.  It was a very warm and inviting service. A special thanks to Rabbi Schadick for his out reach to prospective members along with leadership for the Shabbat Service.

Our teams worked for calling, meal planning, and room arrangements. The membership team for this past year is Allyn Lebster, Cindy Kogelschatz, Ellen and David Fishman, Jim and Sheryl Siegel, Kathi and Glenn Barkan, Bart and Kathy Steindler, Sherri Faler, Jonathan Golden, Barbara Adelman, Judy and Larry Selig, Sherry Singer, and Deb Mankoff.  This is a great team!

Our goals for the upcoming year are to expand our New Recruit training and gear it up for the fall, our busiest time.

The committee welcomes information on anyone or families to become members of Temple. Feel free to contact me by phone or email at anytime.

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GRTY

It never ceases to amaze me why a “Sleep Over” never involves actually sleeping, but led by Adam Kogelschatz, with help from our college chaperones, John Wofford and Lindsay Baker, GRTY slept over.  I do understand “going out for lunch” and they go out for lunch well.  Next year I am hoping, no wait – dreaming - that they may want to meet other Jewish teens from around the state and sample a regional event.  If not – more not-sleeping-overs, going-out-for-lunches, and service projects are afoot.  

Jean Silbar

COLLEGE OUTREACH

This year we sent holiday packages to 24 young members of our congregation who are away at college.  Packages were sent with everything they would need to celebrate Shabbat, Chanukah, Purim and Pesach including food and Judaica.  There was always room in the box for some news to keep our young people informed.  The students always seem to enjoy the messages, and brief lessons and letters of encouragement from Rabbi Schadick.   We received many notes of thanks from the students.  We offered these packages again at no charge.

We feel it is important to let our young people know that their Temple Emanuel family is thinking of them, and wishes them the best.  We also want to continue to educate our college students about the holidays, Jewish life and current events.  We want to empower them to reach out to others less fortunate throughout the year, and to remember their responsibilities as Reform Jews.

Many of our college students have signed up for the Birthright program, a fully funded opportunity for 18-26 year olds to travel to Israel with peers for 8-10 days to learn and connect with Judaism.  It has been a wonderful experience for many and we encourage our college students to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

If you have a child away from home and would like them to receive a holiday package, please contact the Temple with his/her address.

Barb Duchemin
Chairperson

ADULT EDUCATION

The Adult Education committee did not have a chairperson until Gregory Gronbacher assumed the position in January. (His report follows)

Throughout the year Torah study was held on Shabbat mornings at 9:30 AM.  The class was led by Rabbi Schadick, Shel Kopperl, and occasionally by Rabbi Lewis.

We hosted the Annual Padnos Lecture on Sunday, October 21.  Professor Michael Miller, from the Central European University in Budapest spoke on the topic, “Beauty Queens and the Jewish Question in Interwar Hungary”.

We hosted the Grand Rapids Global Day of Jewish learning on Sunday, November 7 in coordination with Ahavas Israel, Chabad, and the Jewish Federation.  This program coincided with Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s new translation of the Talmud.  Rabbi Schadick, Rabbi Krishef, and Rabbi Weingarten all taught classes on the Talmud.

We showed two movies this fall as part of our “Sunday Night at the Movies” series.  These films were Four Seasons Lodge and Almost Peaceful.

We hosted a Winter Study Session on Sunday morning February 18 in coordination with Ahavas Israel, Chabad, and the Jewish Federation.  Rabbi Schadick, Rabbi Krishef, and Rabbi Weingarten all taught sessions.

As part of our Jewish Disability Awareness Shabbat we welcomed Melanie Morrison to Temple on Friday, February 18 to speak about “Inclusion”.

Rabbi Schadick taught a 4 session Shabbat morning class on the “History of Modern Israel” in February and in March.  This class was the same class he taught at Aquinas College this winter.

We welcomed Rabbi Naomi Levy to Temple on Friday, March 25 and on Sunday, March 27.  She was our community Scholar-In-Residence.  The theme of the weekend was,  “Hope Will Find You”.  Her topics at Temple were, “Life Under Construction: Repairing Ourselves, Repairing the World” and “Finding Stability When Life Seems to Be Spinning Out of Control: The Power of Prayer to Center Our Lives”.

Adult Education Report

Chair – Gregory Gronbacher
Members – John Wofford, Len Robinson, Rabbi Lewis

The group was formed in January 2011 with new members and leadership. A planning session was held on February 24, 2011 in Rabbi Schadick’s office where ideas for educational events were discussed.

The following ideas were approved for the first half of 2011:

Earth Day Shabbat Service, Friday, April 22, 2011

Service, with themed Oneg and group discussion focused on Sustainability, Ecology

Event held – 25 people in attendance for post-Oneg discussion.

Degenerate Art – May, 2011 (Yom HaShoah Theme)

Sara Albert (with assistance from Mike Custer) leading a slide presentation on Degenerate Art – work deemed degenerate by Nazis for having “Jewish” influence. POSTPONED due to Sara’s health.

Shavuot Service – Member Sharing on The Meaning of Judaism

June 7/8 Rabbi Schadick is working on a list of names of members who will share for 7-10 minutes on what Judaism means to them.

Rabbi Lewis is also planning a retreat and ongoing morning teaching series on Ideas about God.

Working with Mitch Kahn on proposal for satellite education programming – Y 92 Street.

The Group will meet again in May to discuss and plan ideas for Summer and Autumn programs.

EMANU-ELDERS

Despite a significant drop in attendance during the past year, due to the limited mobility of more and more of our members,  the Emanu-Elders continued to meet throughout the past year.

Our 2010-2011 Programs

Thursday, June 10              Kathi and Glenn Barkan shared stories about their  trip to Vietnam.

Thursday, August 26                         Pianist Todd Wilke performed a program of classic music.

Tuesday, September 28                  We viewed Shlomo Carlebach and Diane Wolkstein’s video, “Celebrating Our Mistakes: Stories and Songs from the Jewish Tradition”.

Thursday, October 21                     Glenn Barkan spoke about the upcoming elections.

Thursday, November 18                 John Ball Zoo came to Temple with their traveling Zoo exhibit.

Thursday, December 9                   Chanukah Lunch and a special Laughter Circle with Rabbi Lewis

Thursday, January 20                       Tu B’Shevat Seder

Thursday, February 17                    We watched the video,  “Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh”

Wednesday, March 17                     Italian Purim lunch and Jewish jokes from around the world

Thursday, April 14                             We discussed the life and legends of Elijah the Prophet

Thursday, May 12                              Book Review of Zev Chafetz’s work,  “A Match Made In Heaven”

WORSHIP SERVICES

Shabbat Services were held each Friday evening over the past year.  Most Friday evenings services began at 6:15 PM.

Pam Rush was the soloist at the majority of our services.  Amy Ostrow and Kathy Osborn shared the responsibilities when Pam was unavailable.

We held several special Shabbatot this year.  We celebrated Rabbi Schadick’s 10^th Anniversary with the Temple on Friday, September 24.  We welcomed singer/songwriter Todd Herzog to Temple on Friday, December 3 as part of our Chanukah Celebration.  We held a Jazz Shabbat on Friday, January 14 with Mark Bloom.  We welcomed Soul Aviv to Temple on Friday, February 25 for a Soul/Gospel Shabbat.

We honored our veterans at Shabbat Services on Friday, November 12. We welcomed our newest members to Temple at Shabbat Services on Friday, February 4. We held a special Shabbat Service for Jewish Disability Awareness Month on Friday, February 18.  Rabbi Naomi Levy was our guest speaker on Friday, March 25 as part of the community Scholar-In-Residence Weekend.  The Shir Shalom Choir joined us for services on Friday, April 15. We marked the occasion of Earth Day with a special Shabbat service on Friday, April 22.

Students in kindergarten through 6^th grade participated in Shabbat Services throughout the year.

Once each month we celebrated birthdays at Shabbat Services.

Shabbat morning services were held on special occasions such Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and holidays.

We incorporated the reading of the Torah into one Friday evening Shabbat service each month.

Throughout the summer we held Shabbat Services outdoors in the Esther and Seymour Padnos Courtyard.

David Ronis returned as our High Holy Day soloist for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  Many of our Temple musicians shared their talents.  Bob Gould sounded the shofar and he coordinated the Shofar choir.

We held Consecration on Simchat Torah and we held services for Sukkot in and around our outdoor sukkah.  We also had special services for Chanukah, a Tu B’Shevat, a Purim celebration, a second night Passover seder, yizkor services at the end of Simchat Torah, the seventh day of Passover, and on Shavuot.

We celebrated the Bat Mitzvah of Jordyn Fishman on July 17^th, the Bat Mitzvah of Celia Fonger on August 21,  the Bar Mitzvah of Zachary Brodkey on August 28, the Bar Mitzvah of Chase Lebster on October 2,  the Bar Mitzvah of Joshua Baxter on October 9,  the Bat Mitzvah of Emily Zheutlin on November 13,  the Bar Mitzvah of Jake Messersmith on April 16,  the Bar Mitzvah of Matthew Levitt on April 30,  and the Bar Mitzvah of Harris Spungen on May 14.

Jacob Belfer, Jordan Esterman, Andrew Hammond, Eric Katz, Jonathan J. Kaufman, Emily Levitt, Ben Kogelschatz, Carl Powsner, Abbey Rhodes, Kyle Rinzler, and Austin Zheutlin all celebrated their Confirmation on May 21.

We hosted the Grand Rapids Interfaith Thanksgiving Service on Monday, November 22.  Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, American Indians, and Bahais all took part.

We held a special service for Yom HaShoah on Sunday, May 1.

Throughout the year we held “Tour Nights” as we welcomed interested church groups to services.  We also welcomed area college students to services on many Friday evenings.

And we continued to seek out new and innovative music for our worship services.  This music helped make our services participatory and very spiritual.

HOLIDAY DINNERS

Over the past year we celebrated many of the Jewish holidays with food and festivity.  We thank Jim Siegel for coordinating and cooking the Chanukah Dinner and the Second Night Seder for Passover.

Saturday, September 4                    Sandmann’s BBQ for Selichot

Saturday, September 18                  Yom Kippur Break-the Fast

Friday, December 3                         Chanukah Dinner

Saturday, January 15                        Tu B’Shevat Seder and Dinner

Saturday, March 19                          British Dinner for Purim

Tuesday, April 19                              Second Night Seder and Dinner

Tuesday, June 7                                Potluck Dairy Dinner for Shavuot

MUSIC COMMITTEE

Music during Temple worship is beautiful and continues to enhance our services.  Pam Rush continues to lead the congregation in song at weekly Shabbat services.  This service includes more inspiring songs and music along with additional instrumentation.  David Ronis, our High Holiday soloist returned to enrich our services with his moving and spirited vocal talents.  Many of our local musicians participated in these services also, including Kathy Osborn, Amy Ostrow, Pam Rush, Jeff Frank, Michelle Benjamin, Christine Golden, Nathan Golden, Ron Arnon and Milt Sernick.  For Chanukah, we brought in Todd Herzog to share his beautiful voice and songs with our congregation.  In January we shared a new experience with Mark Bloom and his jazz Shabbat music.  In February we rocked the sanctuary on Shabbat with the Gospel soul sounds of Soul Aviv.  Each of these programs also featured our member musicians, Pam Rush, Michelle Benjamin, Milt Sernick and Ron Arnon.  We are lucky to have their high level of professional talent.   We have had amazing spiritual experiences throughout the year celebrating the joys of Judaism and we expect to have a couple more of these services throughout the next year.  As usual, most of our music would not be possible without our dedicated accompanist and choir director Bill Marfink to whom we owe our appreciation.  There are a couple of projects we are thinking of for the next year if our budget allows such as a CD of Healing Service and our own CD of High Holiday music.

Pam Rush

THE GRETA & HY BERKOWITZ CENTER OF JEWISH LEARNING

The Library Committee has worked very hard to bring the congregation the latest and best Jewish publications.  Our ever-growing collection has expanded to over 5000 items.

During Jewish Book Month, East Lansing storyteller Karrie Koroch visited UJS to tell  Jewish folktales to the students.  The ever wonderful Judy Subar visited the younger grades to tell Jewish stories as well.  Thank you Judy!

Thanks to everyone who donated to the Library Fund, and to those who donated books and DVDs to the library.  There are usually about 150 library items circulating at any one time.  Our library gets a lot of use!  Thank you, regular customers!  We’re always happy to see you!

A huge thank you to Sonia Ashendorf, who has been a loyal presence in the library on Sunday mornings.  She cheerfully labels and repairs books, and does whatever else is needed.

Kris Siegel
Chairperson

PEG & MORT FINKELSTEIN FAMILY ARCHIVES

The Peg & Mort Finkelstein Family Archives is as busy as ever.  One large project, the review and updating of the personal files of both living and deceased, is almost complete.  If you keep news print a long time it turns yellow and becomes fragile.  We have mounted each article to stabilize it before putting it in a plastic folder.

Megan Finkelstein Yost is working on cemetery records, putting them in order and being sure they are complete.  Come spring she plans to finish the job of photographing the headstones that Aaron Kahn and Camille Shotwell started quite a few years ago.

Sheryl Siegel began the job of culling Louis Loby’s newspaper from the dates 11-23-1945 through 9-25-1946 for the names of WW II service men and women, their ranks and where they served plus other points of interest.  All these names are on our computer at present.

A reminder:  If you have historical material that should be kept, pictures, weddings, births, bar and bat mitzvahs, Sunday School or newspaper articles, please give them to us.

A special thanks to Bernice Weiner and Mitzi Cohon who are our most reliable workers.

Barbara Robinson
Peg Finkelstein

TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

Out major project this year was the installation of a wireless network that extends seamlessly from the end of the religious school wing through to the archives and most of the Sanctuary and Auditorium. We also change Internet service and phone providers. This change reduced our phone and Internet costs while significantly adding to our available bandwidth. In conjunction with the Security Committee, and Building and Grounds Committee, the Technology Committee upgraded our alarm system and monitoring service while simultaneously reducing our monitoring costs.

Mitchell Kahn

WEB SITE COMMITTEE

The fall of 2010 brought the beginnings of significantly enhanced web communications. The first step was the unveiling of the new web site. Since that time the site has undergone some changes and some new design functionality and features are planned to be added on in the near future. The Web Site Committee was folded into the Communications Committee so that we are in a position for better coordinated efforts to disseminate news and information. Special thanks to Gregory Gronbacher for managing the weekly (sometimes daily) updates to the Web site. Hearty appreciation to John Jones who recently volunteered to maintain the Temple Web site Calendar.

Mitchell Kahn

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

This has been quite the year for our communications committee.  We successfully launched our new website platform which has taken our capabilities to the next millennium.  We now have the ability to receive rss feeds or syndication from the URJ and other Jewish news networks directly from our home page, www.templeemanuelgr.org .  Our calendar updates in real time now and we have future plans to upload our entire archives to share our history with the world.

Over the course of the next year we will be creating an on-line survey for the entire congregation to fill out, so that we may better understand the needs of the congregation.  We will be addressing everything from the bulletin, weekly emails to what ways congregants may wish to participate in Temple activities.   This information will help us to better understand how to relate to our Temple family, the best way to disseminate information and ultimately increase volunteerism and Temple unity.

In my three years as the Communications chair for Temple Emanuel I have never been prouder of the work we are doing and all of the hard work this fabulous committee has seen to fruition!  There is much more to accomplish so stay tuned!

Christopher Potter

SOCIAL ACTION

Membership on the Social Action Committee has included the following Temple Emanuel congregants over the past year: Helena Goldfarb, Brenda Behm, Sherri Faler, Dan Rosen, Nancy Rosen, Sylvia Herman, Lynn Hoenke, Jonathon Golden, Rabbi Schadick, and Dan Fogel.

Among the activities that the Social Action Committee has been engaged in include the following:

• Continued participation in the Schools of Hope tutoring program
• Financial support for (1) YMCA camp registrations for low-income children, (2) school supplies for the Grand Rapids Public School’s “Stuff the Bus” program, (3) playground equipment for the YWCA Domestic Crisis Shelter, (4) the Parent Project for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and (5) a community program that provides shoes for children in need
• Assistance to Helena Goldfarb in establishing the Inclusion Committee and in presenting a weekend of activities focused on making our Temple more inclusive for all congregants with special needs
• Coordinating a fall Mitzvah Day
• Sponsoring bi-monthly refreshments for the residents of the Michigan Home for Veterans (many now favor bagels over donuts!)
• Promoting the Temple’s transportation service (provided by Sunshine Transportation) for members who need assistance getting to Temple events
• Serving meals at Mel Trotter’s Christmas dinner for homeless Grand Rapids residents 
• English tutoring, assistance with job-support services, and financial assistance for two Darfur refugee families that have settled in Kentwood

We invite other interested members to join us in fulfilling our Temple’s commitment to Tikun Olam.

Dan Fogel,
Chairperson

FOOD BANK

The Temple Emanuel Food Bank is now serving 60 families (over 250 individuals) every month which is 15 more families than last year. We are designated as an emergency food pantry for the Grand Rapids area, and serve several families temporarily, as well as some on a monthly basis.  We serve both Jewish and non-Jewish families.

We have been very fortunate to have the continued financial support from the Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids, Ahavas Israel’s project Isaiah and Maot Chitim funds, as well as the very generous donations from our Temple members.  Your donations, in the form of food or money, help sustain our food bank.  We have been able to provide each family with non-perishables as well as frozen meat, fish and chicken.  Our recipients “shop” for the food they will use from our shelves which has proven to be less wasteful and creates greater satisfaction.

We purchase goods from the Feeding America –West Michigan (formerly known as Second Harvest Gleaners), a warehouse for food banks, but must also rely on grocery stores.  Several of our members have made direct donations to Feeding America-West Michigan into our account #1990, which is eligible for a 50% Michigan tax credit up to $400.  Of course any donation that you make to our Temple Food Bank is spent responsibly and is valued.

We are very appreciative to the Shibley family, Helena and Charlie Goldfarb and Rudy Sotelo for their continued hard work in the food bank.  Without our volunteers, this would not be possible. Together we can fulfill the mitzvah of Ma'Achil Re'evim – feeding the hungry.

Barbara Duchemin,
Food Bank Chairperson

CARING COMMITTEE

During this past year, the Caring Committee has continued to provide support to our members during times of sorrow and celebration. The committee is fortunate to have many members including:  Gloria Dennen, Helena Goldfarb, Diane Hammerman, Bluma Herman, Sylvia Herman, June Horowitz, Lori Jacobs, Sue Kopperl, Deb Mankoff, Sue Remes, Sherry Rosenthal, Judy Selig, Judy Sernick, Sherry Siegel, Shari Wooldridge, and Sherri Faler.

We have continued to reach out to our Temple community in various ways including sending cards, preparing and delivering meals, providing transportation, visiting and giving respite care, and helping to welcome new members. When someone experiences a significant life event or needs help after an accident or surgery, we try to be the welcome relief and support that is sometimes so necessary and so appreciated.  We are always happy to add more people to our committee and would welcome having some men join us, as well as someone to co-chair for the upcoming year. I am thankful to all the members new and old who continue to fulfill this important mitzvah.

Sherri Faler, 
Chairperson

FUNDS

Temple Emanuel has two types of funds.  The first category of funds is donor-designated funds.  Both principal and income from these funds may be spent.  The second category of funds is endowment funds.  In these funds only the income or a predetermined percentage of the market value of the fund may be spent.

TEMPLE EMANUEL DONOR-DESIGNATED FUNDS

Arts and Ceremonials Fund – is used to purchase art and ceremonial objects.

ATID C – is used for capital improvements for the building.

Camp Scholarship Fund – is used to offer subsidizes to member’s for their children to attend a Reform Jewish camp.

Food Bank Fund – is used to defer costs of purchasing items for our Food Bank.

Family Education Fund – is used to supplement current family educational offerings.

Flower Fund – is used to purchase flowers for special religious services.

House Beautiful Fund – is used to purchase items for the kitchen such as utensils, silverware, and dishes.

IFTY Fund- is used to provide financial assistance to children traveling to Israel.

ATID III Kitchen Fund – is being used to track donations to renovate our kitchen.  The money for this fund is commingled with the ATID C funds.

Landscape Fund – is used to enhance and beautify the grounds.  This fund is not used for maintenance.

Learning Center Fund – is used to purchase books, periodicals, and other items not provided for in the general operating budget.

Lois Plous Fund – is used to subsidize youth projects.

Music Fund – is used to purchase music for services and special events.  It is also used from time to time to underwrite the cost of special programs or other music related initiatives.

Prayerbook Fund – is used to purchase prayerbooks.

Rabbi’s Fund – is used at the discretion of the Rabbi.

Rabbi’s Emeritus Fund– is used at the discretion of the Rabbi Emeritus.

Religious School Fund – is used to purchase items for the Religious School not provided for in the general operating budget.

Senior Adult Programming Fund – is used to supplement programming for Senior Adults.

Social Action Fund- is used to supplement initiatives of the Social Action Committee.

Titche Family Volunteer Coordinator Fund – is used to fund a temporary position to see if a part-time staff person can enhance the relevancy of Temple for its members.

TEMPLE EMANUEL ENDOWMENT FUNDS

Anne Baum Fund – is used to purchase audio-visual materials and equipment for the Religious School.

ATID A Fund – is used to underwrite a portion of the cost of operating the Religious School.  It can also be used for camp scholarships to Reform Jewish camps.

AITD B Fund – is a fund established for gifts received from bequests and other forms of deferred gifts.   The proceeds can be used at the discretion of the Board of Trustees unless otherwise specified by the donor.

Berkowitz Learning Center Fund – is used to supplement the operation of the Greta and Hy Berkowitz Learning Center.

Berkowitz Technology Center Fund – is used to supplement the operation of the Greta and Hy Berkowitz Technology Center.

Community Endowment Temple Fund- is used to supplement the operating budget.

Esther and Seymour Padnos Courtyard- is used to help maintain the courtyard area.

Leah Dennen Enrichment Fund- is used for special programming upon agreement between the Rabbis, the Dennen family, and the Board of Trustees.

Education Endowment Fund – is used to provide funding for the continued development of educational and lay leadership programming in all phases of Temple life.

Eugene and Josephine Eppinger Youth Fund – is used to help underwrite the development of youth leaders in our Congregation.

Mort Finkelstein Family Archive Fund- is used to preserve the archives of our Congregation and to educate the community about our history.

Tom and Mickie Fox Family Endowment Fund - is used to provide programming at Temple to create programming that will make our Congregation a more relevant and important part of its members’ lives.  The goal of this fund is to experiment with new and creative ideas and that the type of programming offered will continually be modified to meet the changing needs of our congregation.

Sam and Jane Kravitz High Holiday Endowment Fund – is used to enrich the beauty and significance of the High Holy Days.

Norman and Marilyn Leven Community Enhancement Fund – is used to assure that the grounds of the Temple are maintained in the best possible condition.  As the fund grows the secondary purpose is to supplement educational programming offered to the Jewish Community in Western Michigan.

Leonard M. Newman Tzedakah Fund- is used to fund Tzedakah projects upon the approval of Eileen Newman, the Rabbi, and the Board of Trustees.

Selma M. Popkin Maintenance Fund - is used to provide supplemental funds to help maintain our building.

Religious School Enrichment Fund – is used to help underwrite trips for youth that are taken in conjunction with the Religious Schools curriculum.

Roseman Fund – is used to supplement educational programming beyond the general operating budget.

Hy Sweet Fund – is used at the discretion of the family to fund special projects at the Temple.

CEMETERY COMMITTEE

The Cemetery Committee did not meet in the past year, though I did spend several hours with one family making arrangements for the proper lettering and placement of a headstone.  Norm Kravitz is the new Cemetery Chairperson and I will be one of the Temple members assisting him.  I do urge you to speak with Norm about purchasing plots in the Temple’s cemetery.  At the time of death many decisions have to be made in a short amount of time.  Pre-purchasing a burial plot can help to lessen the stress faced by the immediacy of death.

Rabbi Albert M. Lewis

MEMORIAL

We recall the loved ones whom death has recently taken from us. The memories of all of them are with us; Our griefs and sympathies are mingled as we praise God. And pray for the coming of His kingdom.

J. Brock Albert

Donna Boorstein

Joseph Cohen

Abe Krissoff

David Gillette

Al Winniman