Welcome to the Temple Shir Shalom Annual Meeting. It gives me great pleasure to report to you that over the last year our Jewish life has been alive and well at Temple Shir Shalom. We have continued to have regular Friday night Shabbat services, Saturday morning Shabbat services and Torah study, and Tuesday Torah Study. We have had seven b’nai mitzvah, an adult study series based on the book Judaism’s Ten Best Ideas, and the joyful Rabbi’s Cat Fundraiser, which raised $7450 and gave me an opportunity to dance with my wife. We’ve bolstered our Religious School with a new curriculum which is working well, purchased the Rakefet software which will significantly improve our office efficiency, given the inside of our Temple much needed painting and refurbishment, joined with other members of our community to celebrate our Judeo-Christian values in a Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorative Shabbat service, got an electric signboard, purchased the latest edition high holiday prayerbooks, redesigned the Temple website, started monthly Temple get-together breakfasts, had a sold out community Seder, had a festive and fun Purim Carnival, and participated in activities such as JCNCF Mitzvah Day, collecting food for those who need it, and tutoring schoolchildren. We could not have accomplished all these things without the dedication and support of our members. Our Board has had to meet many challenges during the past year. I want to thank our Board Members for their dedicated, courteous, and intelligent approach to these challenges. They have been inspiring to me. I also want to thank our Sisterhood for all their hard work.
Over the past year, we have seen decrease in donations and a 4% increase in expenses, resulting in a significant deficit. Paying our dues is important, but dues cover only 50% of our expenses. We plan to meet this challenge with a new sustaining member program and with the careful examination of ways to reduce our expenses. To keep our Temple viable, we need to both pay our dues and make donations as we are able. Our treasurer Arnie Sair will address this in detail. Thank you for your attention.
Mark Werner