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Developed: June 2001
Long Term Planning Committee; Larry Hepner, Chairperson
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Mission Statement
The mission of Temple Beth Elohim is to be a focal point for Jewish worship & prayer, Jewish education, Jewish community and Jewish family life within the precepts of Reform Judaism and in the traditional role of the synagogue: House of Worship, House of Gathering, House of Learning. Through this focus, it is our mission to be mindful of our Jewish heritage, develop a congregational responsibility to the extended community we serve, and create an atmosphere of extended family for all our members. |
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Vision Statement |
The Process:
Who are we, this entity called Temple Beth Elohim? What's it all about for the long term, i.e. the long haul? Since becoming President of the Men's Club several years ago, these questions have intrigued me.
Through the years of our family membership, I have seen my children grow up in this synagogue. We have made many friends in the process. As others have written so eloquently, that in the process of "growing up" with the Temple, we have found along the way a wonderful sense of Temple family.
Did this happen overnight? No, but in the long haul, it did. Each member joins the Temple for many different reasons. Some, unfortunately, are looking only at the short term, perhaps for accomplishing some life cycle events before moving on. Others, by circumstances of career or location changes, can only focus on the short term. However the core value for the long haul is the sense of Temple family that takes time to develop.
To preserve the core value of the Temple as community, as family, requires the conscious or sometimes unconscious commitment to the Temple for the long term. How does one do this? It is done one person at a time. Reach out to someone you do not know when you are at Temple functions. Make a new friend or acquaintance. Find something that is interesting about that person to make a connection.
It takes effort to reach out. I know. It took me a while to feel comfortable in a new Temple. However, when I made a friend, it was someone who reached out to me from within the Temple. That was when I felt a little bit more at home. By doing the same thing, making a new acquaintance when we can, perhaps we are contributing to the sense of family for the Temple.
There is more to considering the who we are and where we are going for the long term. We all need to be on the same page (or at least within a page or two of each other) when considering where we want to go and who we want to be for the long term. As chairman of the Long Term Planning Committee, I want to share with you, what the Committee has come up with after a lot of basic input from over 100 members so far.
We have developed the draft Mission - Vision Statement (above) for Temple Beth Elohim. This is a basis for defining who we are and what we want to be. The statement is designed to be one that evolves, but is forward looking for the long haul.
This then is a first step in being on the same page with each other, to knowing who we are and what we are about for the long haul. The Temple is not just a building, not just the Rabbi and not just the religious school. It is all of us. All of us reaching out to make one new acquaintance, one new friend, to make someone feel at home is what makes the Temple secure for the future and ensure "the core value of the Temple as family".
