DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Even though winter hasn’t official begun, we have had our first bout of winter weather, and if you are like me, once the sun starts setting around 5:00 pm I start longing for the warmer weather of spring and summer. The winter months here at the Temple tend to be a little quiet, which is why I am going to focus on some of the projects and programs that will take place this spring and summer.
I’m grateful for all the volunteers who recently came out to help plant daffodils around the Temple. The last two years the Temple has participated in the Daffodil Project. The Daffodil Project is a worldwide Living Holocaust Memorial, which strives to annually plant 1.5 million yellow Daffodils in memory of the children who perished in the Holocaust and in support for children suffering in humanitarian crises in the world today. Hopefully as you come by the Temple this spring you will see our daffodils, and please visit www.daffodilproject.net if you would like to learn more about the Daffodil Project.
The daffodils are not the only new growth we hope to see this spring. As you may remember we lost two saplings during the derecho that hit our state two years ago. (A little side note, derecho, is sadly word that I have had to teach Rabbi Neal. I’m hopeful that we will all have better things to teach him about our great state in the coming months and years.) This spring we are hoping to plant two new trees to replace the ones we lost. If anyone would like to sponsor one or both of those trees, we will happily add a leaf to our Tree of Life in honor of that donation. If you are interested in donating a tree, please contact me directly.
Lastly, it is not too early to start thinking about the summer. Especially if you are a parent or young person now is the time that you need to start thinking about summer camp. As always, if you have a young person going to a URJ run summer camp the Temple will provide a $1,000 scholarship for each young person going. If you have any questions about the scholarship program, please feel free to reach out to me, but if you would like to know more about the Camps themselves, I suggest you reach out some of the many people from the Temple that have gone in years past.
So yes, we are entering the dark and cold days of winter, but as we light our Menorahs in just a few weeks, I hope their light will remind us of all the good things we have to look forward to.
Shalom,
David Muenchrath
Executive Director
