President's Message

Almost 40 years ago, a group of congregants came together to officially open a new building on San Antonio Creek Road. Temple B'nai B'rith was the realization of a vision and dream for our community and it has served us well over the course of the past four decades. But time and increasing use have had their collective impact and the building is now in need of some serious and thoughtful attention. This past year we upgraded the religious school bathrooms, tented the building for termites and replaced a sizeable portion of our roof. Still, there is much more that needs to be done. Our air-conditioning unit is old and inefficient; one of our two large furnace units is failing; our carpets are torn and stained; the woodwork on our doors and throughout the building is damaged an in need of repair and refinishing; I could go one and on, but the sad truth is that our temple home feels and looks tired!

Forty years have passed and it's now our responsibility to maintain and restore our community's home. Even if we should decide down the road to embark on some major overhaul of our building—we simply cannot continue to ignore the very real needs (both aesthetic and practical) that face us today. In response to this situation, the Board of Trustees has devised an ambitious but realistic plan to upgrade our facilities, to ensure that the sanctuary and social hall have appropriate, efficient and cost-effective climate control systems, to replace the carpeting, to paint and to upgrade the appearance and functionality of our social hall, small chapel and sanctuary. We will be replacing the fixed-seating pews with functional "flexible seating" that will enable us to fulfill our clergy's dreams of having a more intimate and more communal worship experience, and to permit us to reorient our seating for the High Holy Days in a manner that ensures that every one has a good seat in a comfortable environment.

We unveiled our building renewal plans at a congregational meeting on January 29th, where people had the opportunity to see the new seating plans, view an artist's rendition of the "new" sanctuary, look at the sample displays of carpeting, fabric, paint and doors, and to hear from and address questions to committee chair Judi Koper, committee member Martie Levy, me, the Rabbi and the interior designer that we have contracted for this project, Dawn Sophia Ziemer of Kruger, Bensen & Ziemer, Architects, Inc. It was a high energy and enjoyable evening. If you missed it, you can still view the floor plans and drawings which are up on easels located in the social hall—so come by the building and have a glimpse into what our future will look like.

This vision—which we hope to complete in large part prior to the next High Holy Days—cannot happen without your support. We have begun to seek funds from individuals whom we hope will step forward and help make the dream a reality. I am pleased to report that we have secured a lead gift of $500,000 from a family who wishes to remain anonymous! This is an outstanding start for our project and we will continue to work to secure additional gifts to ensure the viability of the project. And we also want each and every family to have an opportunity to contribute by participating in a Chairs to Cherish campaign! For a minimum donation of $1,000, an individual, family or group can purchase a chair for the sanctuary, including a brass dedication plaque that will be placed on the chair. Dedicate a chair in your family's name, in memory of a loved one or in honor of a special person in your life! Parents, consider purchasing a dedication in honor of a special "class" of students, a bar or bat mitzvah, or a special teacher! There are only 250 dedications available and we do expect to "sell" out over the next few months, so please call the Temple office (964-7869) or fill out the form and send it in, and reserve yours today! There are multiple easy payment options available. Thank you all in advance for your continued support of our efforts. Together, we can and will breathe much needed new life into our temple home!

B'Shalom
Aaron Ettenberg
President