Don’t miss Shabbat, Friday, Sept 9, where we will celebrate our past presidents and enjoy a very special service and Oneg Shabbat. On Saturday night, the 10th, we will enjoy the biggest and most spectacular Temple Party we have had in a dozen years - great food, a fabulous band, spectacular silent auction items to tempt you, and best of all, an evening with your Temple friends and family.

As of this writing, there are still some seats available, so call quickly if you want to attend a truly memorable evening. On Sunday, the 11th, we kickoff the Sunday School year with a fun family day of crafts, games and surprises. You owe it to yourselves to attend at least one event on this special weekend. See you there.

Have you been into our Temple lately? Things have really changed. The Gold Chapel looks really beautiful with new carpet and our refurbished Chapel seating. The office? Wow! You can walk in to see the Rabbis or Cantor, and it’s peaceful - the office has dignity and is inviting. You mean we have a coat closet again? Incredible! Need to talk to Sara or the administrative staff ? They have moved to what used to be Boardrooms A and B. You can actually have a private conversation with office personnel again. We’ve made lots of changes, which I hope you will find makes your interaction at Temple a better experience. Yes, we have lost our boardrooms, but I think you will find it’s the best solution for keeping our Temple running smoothly on a day-to-day basis as we are outgrowing our current facilities. Your Board and staff are working hard to listen to your wants and needs, and I hope you enjoy the improvements that we are making to our Temple.

As requested by many congregants, we will be publishing a new Temple directory in November to distribute to our membership (for personal use only). Please be sure that the information we have in the office is accurate and current by notifying the office of any address or phone number changes you have had in the last year. We are only a month away from the solemn and inspiring High Holidays. Cantor Bernard has returned from his Sabbatical refreshed and ready to return his spirituality to the Congregation. Mary Thomas has done a great job of filling in while Cantor Bernard was out, and I am pleased that she has agreed to join the staff on a full-time basis. As you know, High Holidays are the busiest time of year for all of the Temple staff . Please don’t wait until the last minute to send in your pledge, request High Holiday tickets, etc. You will really help us a great deal if you take care of these things early.

As we approach Rosh Hashanah, Marcy, Daniel, Katy and I would like to wish all of you L’shana Tova. We hope that everyone shares a year of good health and happiness, and we look forward to enjoying our beautiful High Holiday worship together with you. May this be a year full of blessings to all of you and our entire congregation.

Fred Dumas, President