Just a reminder that the Sinai Board of Trustees will host a Congregational Forum on Sunday, January 27 at 10:15 AM in the Sanctuary. We have some new demographic information that motivates the strategic plan outline, that 1st VP Howard Holden will distribute soon to all of you. What surprised us the most about our member individuals is that we are one-third seniors and one-third children. We don’t believe that we have enough programs to serve our seniors or especially our post-B’nei Mitzvah youth very well. We have 40% of our family units with children still at home. The last ten years, Sinai’s count of member units increased, with a growth rate of about 18 families every 5 years. All of this demographic info is helping the Board and the Rabbis to identify gaps in our programming and services.

Finally, I need to make sure everyone knows about the snow closure policy the Board discussed at its December meeting. Until we can find an affordable on-call snow removal solution, all snow clearing is up to us volunteers. If there is snow on the walks or in the handicapped parking areas, it is not safe to have an event at the Temple. The group or committee sponsoring an event is responsible for rounding up volunteer labor to clear the walkways before people show up for the event. In the event the snow cannot be cleared, we cannot hold the event. We would hate for someone to have to cancel an event because they are cannot clear the snow, but the safety of our community is essential. We want to make sure that not only can we provide programming and activities, but that we do so in a safe manner.

Shalom,
John