Dear Friends,
We hope this finds you well and wish you a joyous and meaningful Passover holiday. May it be a time for celebration with family and friends.
Kol Tikvah is a vibrant congregation that plays a central role in our lives. We are proud of the caring community that we have built and the robust volunteerism that allows our temple to thrive and function. However, events over the past few years have affected us with an increase in costs and a downturn in membership. As we - professionals and lay leaders - pondered the future of Kol Tikvah as well as the greater Jewish community, we came to the realization that for us to remain viable, we needed to consider enhancing our strengths by joining forces with another community. Kol Tikvah is and will continue to be our home.
To that end, it is with simcha in our hearts that we announce we have recently signed a Letter of Intent with Stephen Wise Temple. This allows the clergy, staff, and lay leadership of both synagogues to discuss ways in which we might derive benefit from various forms of partnership, including an expanded array of learning, worship, and mitzvah opportunities. Kol Tikvah and Stephen Wise Temple wish to seize an opportunity that can preserve and improve not only each of our own institutions but the broader Jewish community as well. Through a harnessing of resources and a focus on the core competencies of each institution, we believe that we can be stronger together.
Over the coming months, a joint committee of lay leaders, clergy, and professional staff from both congregations will discuss how best to structure this partnership. There are many questions and many options that will be raised and answered, always focusing on the best path forward for both communities. Throughout this process, we will be committed to sharing information with our members and creating opportunities for you to share your questions, ideas, and concerns with us.
This potential collaboration will strengthen both communities and together enable us to provide not only creative, high quality programming, but ongoing support during times of sorrow and moments of celebration.
We have created an FAQ page that we will continue to expand in order to answer your questions. Please feel free to reach out to any of us with questions and comments as we move forward in this exciting discovery process.
L'Shalom,
