February 10, 2012
Shabbat Yitro 5772
Dear Temple Family,
As you may recall, in late 2010, our Temple Board of Trustees convened a multi-generational and diverse group of committed members to develop the newest Strategic Plan for Temple Beth Shalom. Using our recently adopted (2010) congregational Vision Statement as a compass, the group reflected for several months upon our life and our ‘journey’ as a community. And through this process, they identified those priorities that they felt would best enable us to become even more of a Kehillah Kedoshah, a “sacred community.”
Several weeks ago, after more than a year of work, the Strategic Planning group brought its recommendations to our TBS Board of Trustees. The Strategic Planning group’s efforts were received with tremendous gratitude as our Board then began its own work of review. Following several weeks of thoughtful discussion and consideration, we are pleased to share that, on January 22nd, this new Strategic Plan for Temple Beth Shalom was unanimously adopted by our Board.
A more detailed outline of our “2012 Strategic Plan,” including background information and our statements of Mission and Vision, can be found here.
In summary, the 2012 Strategic Plan calls for six elements of ‘community action’:
A. Ensuring outstanding Clergy/Professional Staff leadership for our congregation, as well as the necessary administrative systems to support fulfillment of our Mission and Vision
B. Ensuring excellence in Elementary Learning for our children and their families
C. Engaging our community in the work of Social Justice
D. Making worship more of a centerpiece of our community’s life
E. Ensuring a physical and spiritual home which allows for the full expression of our Mission and Vision
F. Ensuring the fiscal health of our community – for the present and for the future
While these six elements reflect significant priorities for our community, they are not intended to be a comprehensive list of all that is important to us. That is the purpose of our Mission and Vision Statements. We will, of course, continue in our commitment to chesed (“acts of loving-kindness”), life-long Jewish learning, deepening our relationship with Israel, and other essential community endeavors.
This is an exciting time for our community. The Board of Trustees, our lay leadership, our Professional Staff, and our Clergy have started creating action plans to address each area of focus. We invite you to become part of this community building effort! During the coming weeks and months, we look forward to further exploring and working on each of the elements.
We are proud that this work reflects a tradition of thoughtful planning that has guided Beth Shalom’s growth since our incorporation as the “Needham Jewish Community Center” in 1954.
Should you wish to become involved or have any questions, please contact Beth Pinals, TBS President at bpinals@comcast.net.
L’Shalom,
Beth Pinals, TBS President, bpinals@comcast.net
Michael Bailit, TBS Executive Vice President, mbailit@bailit-health.com
Rabbi Jay Perlman, jperlman@tbsneedham.org
Rabbi Todd Markley, tmarkley@tbsneedham.org
Daniel Barkowitz, TBS Executive Director, dbarkowitz@tbsneedham.org