From the President - 2023
December
Dear Community,
Many thanks to those of you who attended the Annual Meeting on Sunday. We made two important decisions that will ensure the financial well-being and smooth functioning of our community for the years to come. Yasher Koach for the bravery and confidence to make such changes.
We also voted in a new slate of board members. Thank you to Jena Schwartz, Helena Donavan, Melanie Lewis, Theo Peierls and Ruby Schmerling for joining us in 2024. And a heartfelt thank you to the board members who are stepping down: Boris Wolfson, Jonathan Lewis, Marty Pepper-Aisenberg and Mari Schwartzer. We are grateful for your service.
I can’t quite believe the first year of my presidency is nearly over. It has been a demanding and fulfilling year. The board and I worked hard and accomplished much in 2023. I want to highlight a few things that I am especially proud of:
- Our membership has grown by 60+ households this year.
- We fully reopened this fall, with a full schedule of robust and diverse programming
- And we had an AMAZING response to our Annual Appeal, raising over $80,000, with 184 households participating. Yasher Koach to David Sharken and the fundraising team! We are grateful for your dedication, creativity and efforts!
Last year, we initiated the process of reviewing and amending our By-Laws. In the coming year, I hope to revise the policy manual and the rest of the material that is in our board book. This document has not been thoroughly examined or revised in more than 8 years. With the change in our organizational structure, an updated more cohesive cohesive document will help to guide our governance going forward. I also hope to strengthen the connections between our committees and the board. Madeleine Charney is the Vice-President who has taken on the role as committee liaison. She has been in more consistent communication with committee chairs and we will look for additional ways to support the work of our dynamic volunteers.
At the Annual Meeting, I heard the request for more transparent communication from the Board. We will discuss this at our January board meeting and begin to implement strategies to share the work we are doing. In the meantime, I would like to remind you that anyone from the community is welcome to join a board meeting. We meet on the first Thursday of each month. If you are interested, please let me know (president@jcamherst.org) and I will gladly send the zoom link.
In the meantime, I send wishes for a Happy Chanukah. May we all be blessed by the light of hope that leads to a vision of a better world.
B’shalom, Mara Hahn
November
Dear Community-
I am amazed by the passage of time. It has been just about a month since the brutal assault of Israel. I continue to be struck by the enormity of all I feel. In addition to the backdrop of the war in the Middle East, I received some difficult family news this month and also celebrated joyously at the wedding of my nephew at the end of October. The bitter and the sweet, strangely paired.
The board has been hard at work moving forward with the projects I shared about last month. Our primary focus has been our proposal to change our dues model. We held an initial forum on October 26th and will be holding an additional forum on Thursday 11/9 at 7 pm. Following that meeting, we will share the links for both forums. We will bring this proposal before the community at our Annual Meeting on Sunday December 10th.
We are moving forward with the negotiations with the Rabbi regarding his new contract. We continue to invite your input and comments. Please direct them to me at the following email address: president@jcamherst.org.
I am excited to share that the board retreat will take place on November 12th. Rabbi Micah Guerin-Weiss, our Reconstructing Judaism liaison, will be facilitating our process as we dig deep into our new governance structure and re-examine the role of the board and of the board relationship with our Rabbi and our Executive Director.
Rabbi Micah will be joining us for Shabbat this weekend. I invite you to join me for services and kiddush. Rabbi Micah will be teaching a lunch time class as well.
And the Nominating Committee has been hard at work. This is an exciting time to be in leadership as our community is re-examining and clarifying our vision for the future. Perhaps this is the moment for you to step into community leadership?!
And finally, I want to acknowledge that we have just completed our first year operating with a new structure. Keren Rhodes was appointed Acting Executive Director in the middle of October 2022. I am impressed with all that has been accomplished in this past year. We have worked hard and, I can unequivocally state that the JCA is in a strong and stable position. This has been a good and hard year. I ask for your continued patience and support as we continue to strengthen, clarify, and expand our vision.
Sending prayers for peace and hope for Israel and the world.
B’shalom,
Mara Hahn
JCA President
October
Dear Community-
It is with a heavy heart that I write this message. Since Saturday, I have been struck by the scope of my emotions. The need to hold the grief, sorrow, and pain I feel in relation to the attack on Israel with the joy and celebration I felt while attending the B’nai Mitzvah of TJ and Tova last Saturday morning. I took much comfort at the vigil on Monday evening and was impressed by the deep connections our community has to Israel. I send prayers to all of us who are holding loved ones in Israel in our hearts and minds.
And yet the “business“ of the synagogue continues. As Rabbi Weiner said to me on Saturday afternoon as we spoke of the Simchat Torah celebration we would hold that evening. . . “the show must go on.”
And so, I share with you some of the work the board (and community) will be undertaking this fall.
As many of you know, Rabbi Weiner’s contract will terminate at the end of June 2024. In September, the board voted to renew his contract. We will be entering into contract negotiations in the coming weeks. We invite your input and comments. Please direct them to me at the following email address: president@jcamherst.org.
With the guidance of the Finance Committee, the board is recommending we re-examine our current dues model and guidelines. It has been well over a decade since the community has undertaken such a project. Given the rate of inflation and many of the changes that have followed the Covid years, we feel this is a necessary next step.
The board has been researching current best practices on synagogue dues structures throughout the country and across denominations. With the help of the membership and fundraising committees, we are finalizing the language and details of our proposal which will be brought to the community for a vote at our Annual Meeting in December. In preparation for this, we will hold two community information sessions to facilitate communal engagement and dialogue.
We have reserved the evenings of Thursday 10/26/23 and Thursday 11/9/23 for the information sessions. We are working out the details, and ask you to save the dates. More information will follow as soon as it is available.
And finally, you may recall that the Community Engagement and Visioning Workgroup developed and implemented a community survey. On behalf of the board, the work group extends their gratitude to the 172 community members who responded. The board and staff have looked to the survey results to inform plans for this fall. The hiring of our rabbinic intern, the development of our new website, and changes to our email communication systems were all guided by the results of the survey.
The work group had planned to hold two focus groups as a follow up which we postponed to the fall. In the meantime, the work of visioning and engagement has continued. New initiatives are underway, and we have decided to hold off on the focus groups for the time being.
Please stay tuned for the details for the community forums.
Sending prayers for peace and hope.
B’shalom,
Mara
September
Dear Community-
The end of summer has flown by and the High Holidays are just a few days away. There was a lull in the board activity this summer. We often take a break in July and the executive committee returned to our pre-covid schedule of meeting once a month. July and August felt quiet in a way that they hadn’t with regards to the JCA in the past year.
In July, I had the good fortune to work with Tom Porter, Rachel Vigderman and Keren Rhodes to explore and clearly articulate the roles and responsibilities of the Finance Committee, Treasurer and Executive Director and how they will work together. I know this sounds dry and boring and perhaps even a little obvious. Yet, it was an important process for me, as I came to understand what “pieces” of the work of running the shul would now be handled by our executive director. And how important it was to clarify these relationships.
Our Board of Directors has largely functioned as an operating board, essentially running the business of the shul as lay leaders. As the community grew, staff were hired, but full oversight remained in the hands of the Board. Until now. We have made the shift from operating board to governing board. And with that, we need to have a good understanding of what that means. We are at the beginning of this process. I continue to learn, read, and consult with my peers from Reconstructing Judaism and my colleagues from the Board Member Initiative I attended this past year. I also meet with the Thriving Communities staff of Reconstructing Judaism for their guidance and support. By shifting our focus from day to day operations, we can turn to thinking about the present and the future in a new way.
I look forward to sharing more with you as we move deeper into this discussion.
In the meantime, there are two important pieces of information I want to share with you.
- Rabbi Weiner’s contract will expire at the end of this fiscal year. Last week, the Board voted to invite him to negotiate a new contract. Today, Rabbi Weiner and I agreed that following the High Holidays, we will enter negotiations for a new contract.
- The Board is in the process of creating a Nominating Committee. There will be several vacancies on the Board, as there are most years. Judi Fonsh will be communicating the details in an email to the community in the next few weeks. I would like to acknowledge that this is Judi’s final year as Nominating Chair. She is stepping down after many years of service in this capacity. Thank you for all of your thoughtfulness and hard work.
I look forward to welcoming the new year together soon.
B’shalom,
Mara Hahn, JCA President
On behalf of the Board of Directors
July
Dear Community-
I can’t quite believe it has been a month since the Semi-Annual meeting. Thank you to all who attended and voted to pass the proposed budget for FY 2024 as well as the proposed changes
to the by-laws. These two items represent much of the work that the board has endeavored to complete this spring.
After a very full six months of meetings and discussion, the board is taking a few weeks off to rest and recuperate. We will be back in August to begin to look towards the fall.
We are planning to schedule new dates for the focus groups we postponed in June as well as to begin to review the policy and procedures components of our “board book”. I suppose I am thinking that we will move into phase 2 of what it means to have hired an Executive Director. Our retreat in November will examine this more deeply and I look forward to being able to share what we discover and learn in the months to come.
For now, enjoy the summer!!!
B’shalom,
Mara
June
Dear Community-
Thank you for your attendance and participation at our Semi-Annual meeting on 6/11/2023. For those of you who were unable to attend, here is a brief summary of what we discussed and agreed upon.
Keren Rhodes, gave us a summary of the myriad of projects she has been working on. Since she assumed the role of Acting Executive Director in the Fall, she has been migrated our data to a new membership platform called Easy Shul, developed a new website (which will go live soon), implemented the security grant, hired and trained new staff, began the pollinator garden project. . . and more.
The governance group presented their recommended amendments to our current bylaws. Following some discussion, we voted to accept the proposed amendments.
Rachel Vigderman, our treasurer, presented an update on our Endowment Fund and also the proposed budget for FY 2024. Again, a discussion ensued and many questions were asked and answered. We voted to accept the proposed budget.
The most important information to share from this part of the meeting is that while we identified multiple errors in our previous bookkeeping system, these have been corrected and new systems have been developed. Our new bookkeeper, Lili Kualipai has been instrumental in spearheading this effort. We now have a much more accurate picture of our financial picture.
And finally, I reminded us that we are very much in a transitional time. We are learning to work within our new structure and will continue to ask important questions to clarify roles and responsibilities. We ask for continued understanding and latitude as we navigate these newer waters.
I am so excited about our future as we embark on this phase of our journey.
B'shalom,
Mara
April
Dear Community-
Happy Spring!
I hope everyone had the opportunity to connect with family and friends for a joyous Passover.
Now that we have hired our first Executive Director, we have begun to turn our attention to the next few orders of business. Earlier this week, a link was sent to the Community Engagement Survey. We hope that many of you will take a few minutes and share your thoughts about the JCA with us. We are eager for your feedback and ideas! Many thanks to the Community Engagement and Visioning workgroup for their hard work. The members of this group include Randi Stein, Doug Gnepp, Lili Kaualipai, Emily Bloch and Marty Pepper-Aisenberg. Kudos to all of you!
We are also in the development phase of the budget for FY 2024. You will notice it will have a different structure then previous budgets. As a part of the migration from Chaverware to EasyShul (these are the platforms we use to manage our memberships), we had the chance to integrate some of our accounting processes. We needed to restructure our systems to fully take advantage of the EasyShul software. I am thrilled to say that with the help of Lili Kualapai, we have accomplished this goal.
The governance workgroup has been examining and revising our By-Laws. They are asking important questions and thinking about how we have governed ourselves in the past and what, if any, changes to make now that we have hired an Executive Director. We plan to present these changes at the Semi-Annual Meeting for community approval.
In summary, our focus this spring will be to analyze and integrate the data collected from the survey, completion of the proposed budget for FY 2024 and to finalize the amendments to our by-laws.
I am glad to share that the Semi-Annual meeting will be on Sunday June 11th at 4 pm. We know this is a deviation from years past, and these changes are due to the timing of the Shavuot and building usage. We hope that with nearly 2 months notice, many members will be able to attend.
And finally, I know many of you have seen the reporting about the series of antisemitic incidents at the Jabish Middle School in Belchertown in the past few weeks, which have had a direct impact on some JCA kids and families. Rabbi Weiner has been working to support these families, and has been in communication with the Belchertown school system to monitor and assist their response. In addition, there is a Yom Hashoah Belchertown Gathering planned for next Tuesday, April 18th at 3 pm on the town common. The intention of this event is to show support and solidarity for the Jewish community, and to remind the greater community why it is so important to remember the Holocaust. State Representative Aaron Saunders will be in attendance. We are asking community members to attend this gathering to support our friends and members who are Belchertown residents and whose children have been the victims of these incidents.
B’shalom,
Mara Hahn
JCA President, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the JCA
March
Dear Community-
Shalom!
March is proving to be a very busy month for the Board of Directors!
This past Sunday we had the opportunity to interview Dale Rosenberg for the newly created position of Executive Director. Thank you to everyone who participated in the Community Meet and Greet and shared their feedback. We were able to record this session and hope to share it with the community soon. (There are a few technical glitches we are working through.) To view Dale’s resume, please click HERE.
Our second interview will take place on Sunday March 19th . We will be meeting with our current Acting Executive Director, Keren Rhodes. The community meet and greet will begin at 4:15 with light refreshments in the library and the conversation will begin at 4:30.
To view Keren’s resume, please click HERE
If you prefer to Zoom into this session, please use the following link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88141813068
In addition to the Search process, the Board is addressing several other matters:
-We will begin our budgeting process for fiscal year 2024 before the month is over.
-We received an exciting proposal from the Green Team at the beginning of March. For those of you who might not be familiar with the Green Team, this is a group of community members who are interested in “decarbonizing” the JCA, as part of our communal response to the climate crisis. They formed in 2018 and have created a goal of getting our buildings off of fossil fuels by 2030. After reviewing the proposal, the Board voted in favor of replacing the social hall’s failing gas-powered HVAC with an electric mini-split, and authorized further research into the financing and implementation of the larger plan. While this may be a baby step it keeps us walking in the right direction.. There will be much more to follow as we learn what is possible.
-The Community Engagement and Visioning Workgroup has presented their survey to the Board to review. We hope to distribute this in the coming few weeks. . . so stay tuned.
And finally, on a more personal note, I have plans to fly to Chicago this weekend to attend the final session of the Board Member Initiative Program, which I began in November. This is the premier volunteer leadership development program for board members of Jewish communal organizations. I have found it enormously useful and have gained skills and knowledge to help me be successful in my role as JCA president, particularly around how to think about the function of the board and begin to develop ways to increase our effectiveness. I look forward to sharing the fruits of my learning with the community.
I continue to feel honored to serve this community in the capacity of board president. Thank you for all the ways you show up!
B’shalom,
Mara Hahn
February
Dear Community -
Shalom!
My first month as president has been a busy one. As soon as I stepped into this new role, I began to meet regularly with Rabbi Weiner and Keren Rhodes. I have reached out to many committees and met with some committee chairs, as well as several congregants. It has been wonderful to get to know so many of you. Somewhat surprisingly, I have also been attending services more regularly. I am not a Shabbat morning regular, by any stretch of the imagination, and did not expect this to change, even as I became president. And yet… I was recently told there is a certain “power in presence.” I can attest to the truth of that statement. Being in the building more has had an unexpected effect on me. I find myself humming Saturday morning prayers throughout the week, and I suppose I might even say I am more conscious of myself as being Jewish. I am curious to see how the role of president will continue to influence the way I move through the world.
I am excited to report that our new online membership renewal process has been wonderfully successful. We have had over 240 households respond in record time. Thank you for making your commitment to sustain our community. If you have not yet renewed your membership, please use this link (bit.ly/jcadues) to begin the process.
The JCA Board, too, has been hard at work since the beginning of the year. A short while ago we finalized the job listing for our first-ever Executive Director, thanks to the thoughtful work of the ED Search workgroup. The position, which includes administrative, educational and programming responsibilities, is being widely advertised, and we intend to accept applications through the end of February. We anticipate holding the final interviews in March and will be in touch about opportunities to meet the finalists. The Governance workgroup, which is tasked with the review and revision of our By-laws, has been meeting biweekly, and we expect to make a number of amendments for the community’s vote at the Semi-Annual Meeting in June. Meanwhile, the Community Engagement and Visioning work group has been designing a wide-ranging community survey, to be distributed in the next few weeks.
We are excited to welcome Mari Schwartzer to the board. At the recommendation of the Nominating Committee, she joined us after the Annual Meeting at which the other board members were elected; she will serve out the remainder of the board-member term, through the end of 2024. Currently, one seat on the board remains unfilled. If you have interest in joining the board, please contact me at president@jcamherst.org. We would welcome your participation and energy; a letter of interest submitted to the Nominating Committee is all we need to consider your candidacy.
So, yes, a busy month! And the JCA is moving forward. I am so glad that you are joining us in this journey. I invite each of you to consider your presence in the community and to ask: could you show up a little more? Perhaps you might attend a program organized by the Adult Education Committee, or a holiday celebration. Or maybe you can volunteer your time by joining a committee or a workgroup. Your presence matters and makes a difference. You could be surprised at the magic that might happen.
January
Dear fellow congregants, shalom!
As the new year begins, I am excited to take on a different leadership role at the JCA: after six years of service on the Board, I am embarking on my first term as your President. I want to begin it by writing to you — above all, to thank you for the many ways in which you support our community. The 2022 Annual Appeal, which just ended, brought in $60,000 — a remarkable testament to our shared commitment to the place we cherish.
2022 was a year of renaissance for the JCA as we began to emerge from the pandemic. During the High Holy Days, we returned to in-person services, and, thanks to the generosity of congregants who subsidized the purchase of video streaming equipment, are now able to offer a much richer and more immediate experience of the services for those following from home. After a successful fundraising campaign by the Youth and Family Education Committee, the Kesher program is once again able to offer 25 weekends of learning. At services and holiday celebrations (most recently, during Hanukkah), our building teems with hundreds of adults and children who embrace with joy and passion our shared heritage and values.
The first step to sustaining the momentum of 2022 and ensuring the success of 2023 is renewing your membership. As Rabbi Weiner has noted, membership in a community allows us to pool our resources and, together, create a rich experience of Judaism which is alive with intention, compassion and curiosity. We accomplished as much as we did in 2022 thanks to your decision to serve as sustaining partners of the JCA’s efforts. This coming May, we plan to celebrate the JCA’s first half-a-century, which we had originally planned to do in 2020. The pandemic delayed our day of joy, but we are emerging a stronger and wiser community, proud of what we have been able to accomplish in the first fifty years and counting on you to shape the next fifty. Please extend your membership commitment today.
Thank you in advance for taking on the challenge of sustaining our community into the future. If there is anything you’d like to discuss, please reach out to me (president@jcamherst.org); I’m eager to think together about our way forward.
B’shalom,
Mara Hahn
President of the Jewish Community of Amherst
