From the Desk of the President

We have made it through another calendar year and are looking to 2022. We have much to celebrate about the last year and we have much to look forward to in the new year. Rather than looking back, I want to take the time to look forward to 2022.

In the new year, we will be celebrating many exciting things at Temple Beth El. We will continue to celebrate Shabbat, holidays, and lifecycle events with the wonderful voice of Cantor Fine and the insightful words of Rabbi Tiwy. We will continue to celebrate together as we are able and can hopefully look forward to more meaningful and joyous times in the same physical room, not just the same Zoom room.

We will continue the celebration with a “simcha semester.” This semester of joy is a project of the Adult Education Program. The program has created an entire catalog of classes that will help you to discover and learn about the simchas of Judaism. Online registration is currently available on the website (https://www.tbetacoma.org/form/adult-ed-registration).

We will celebrate the joy of possibilities that come with change and transition. Rabbi Tiwy will continue to lead us as interim rabbi through June and we plan to welcome our new long term spiritual leader and rabbi in July. We will also celebrate the retirement of Andy Mauer, Temple Administrator.

Thankfully we have two committed groups of community members helping us behind the scenes with these transitions. One group is working hard on finding a new rabbi to complement our Temple Beth El community. The other group is determining the best way to transition to a possible Director of Administration role after Andy's retirement.

We will also celebrate the comfort that familiarity or continuity brings. We are working hard to retain Cantor Fine as a source of joy, celebration, and music. The effort has begun to fundraise enough money not only to retain Cantor Fine through another contract but to create a sizable, invested endowment fund that will assist us with providing for the musical enrichment of our congregation beyond that.

This new fund designed to help us pay for all things related to music and cantorial needs at Temple Beth El. If you have helped with a gift toward the Shir Chadash II Fundraising Campaign, thank you. If you have not, there is still time, and we hope that you will consider helping us to build a lasting endowment to support music in our community. You can find out more information by visiting: https://www.tbetacoma.org/form/shir-chadash-campaign.

Not only will this be a year of simchas with both your participation and commitments, I hope it will also be a year to commit or re-commit yourself to supporting Temple Beth El both through your actions and your financial contributions.

Our TBE community is only possible with the commitment of willing and dedicated volunteers. The existing committee structure, as well as other commitments, relies on your willingness to step up and help. We simply cannot function without your help. In this new year, I ask you to celebrate with me by committing to help with any of our many existing committees or with something new.

Please contact me, the office staff, or clergy if you are interested in helping. You do not need to have all the skills, just a desire to help and grow.

Some of the immediate committee needs are:

1. Membership Committee: As a member of this committee, you will help foster and grow our community. You will help members feel they are part of our joyful community. If you have a desire to help new members feel at home when joining Temple Beth El you belong on this committee.

2. Personnel Committee: As a member of this committee, you will help with hiring temple staff, developing employment agreements and contracts, and oversee human resource policies and practices. If you have a background in human resources, you can be a great asset and resource to Temple Beth El.

3. Building: Jani Doctor has been, and continues to be, a wonderful asset to the community. She has worked tirelessly on maintaining our building, but she needs your help. If you have a background in, or enjoy dealing with the various aspects of maintaining a building, your help would be greatly appreciated.