Letter from the President:

For those of you that were at the annual meeting this will be a bit of a repeat. As you read above Alison will be moving on at the end of her contract.  While this is not what we hoped for when she was hired we knew it was a possibility and even a probability if we did not grow the membership and provide her with the opportunity for a better financial situation.  The good news is that the Board has been talking about this for a while and we are well positioned to move forward.   The relationship that we have with Hebrew College is excellent and I am in discussions with them about their being a source to find a replacement for Alison.   Also, I am in the process of putting together a pulpit committee and we will officially begin the search shortly.  We are well prepared to do this and we strongly believe that we will find someone before Alison’s contract is over and we will be able to move on with out missing a beat.  Alison has been a tremendous part of Sha’arei Shalom and we should all feel proud that in some way we have helped her achieve her goal of becoming an ordained Rabbi.  We have all benefited from the experience and it will only help us in the long run.  Her presence has helped us solidify many aspects of our Congregation including the Hebrew School, High Holidays, Ritually, Spiritually and the Membership.  It has been a critical foundation and now it gives us the ability to get to the next level.  In 2007 Sha’arei Shalom operated in the black and that is a big accomplishment.  However, the Hebrew School did not break even and we need to enroll more children to make it a profitable operation.  We need to increase our membership from the roughly 50 families we have now to over 100 families if we truly want to have a full time rabbi and the possibility of residing in our own facility.  This may seem like a big task but years ago when I was President the first go around – no one thought we would ever have a school, rabbi or torah.  It is doable but the membership has to get involved and each member has to actively help us market Sha’arei Shalom to prospective members.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we are in a position to have Alison’s successor move into a full time role?  It will only happen if the membership works together and is willing to make the commitment.  I know the Board is excited about the future and now we need the rest of the Congregation to step up.  All you have to do is be willing to help and we can a find a place for you.   Let’s celebrate what we have accomplished in 2007, let’s celebrate helping Alison become ordained, and let’s make 2008 Sha’arei Shalom’s coming out party for the MetroWest Jewish Community.

Jonathan