For the past 18 months our temple home has been under renovations and expansion. We have been holding Shabbat services and lifecycle events at the Jewish Community Center.
Over the past 3 years I have had the honor and privelege to serve on the Board of Directors at Temple Beth El. This past year I served as the presidential nominee on the Executive Board of Directors. I can not begin to tell you how amazing it felt to be a part of such an amazing accomplishment in the history of our temple.
After 18 months of life as "wandering jews" we can now return to our new home.
It is SPECTACULAR. Like nothing I have ever seen. Blood, sweat and tears were poured into our new home.
In honor of the new temple we held a Rededication Weekend filled with lovely celebratory events. Friday night services brought together many members of our community including Mayor Anthony Foxx and other community clergy. The service was amazing. Asher vetoed babysitting (he was screaming and hysterical crying) so he ended up sitting in my lap the majority of the service. The shabbat service was almost 3 hours. Other than him choking on his water and letting out a "cry" where the rabbi played off of it in her sermon and everyone present laughed out loud.
We ripped out the entire former ark and bimah (pulpit) and replaced it with what you see below. The doors of the ark are stained glass and the large wall of windows behind the wooden ark (which was built custom for our temple and is supported by steel beams inside) will eventually be filled with stained glass as well. Both sides of the sanctuary open up to accommodate much larger crowds for the high holidays and for the largely attended temple events like MLK Shabbat. We can now accommodate 1000 people!
In addition to the renovation we rebranded and selected a new logo that truly represents what our congregation stands for. This was not my first choice in the voting process, but the majority rules! And I was not the majority!
Saturday morning we participate in a special Tot Shabbat Service with all of the young children and their families.
Saturday night was the fancy Gala. This event was a large fundraiser with two bands, a quartet, excellent food from Serendipity and wonderful company. We had an absolute blast. The evening was perfect in every way. Lamp Chops, Beef Tenderloin, Salmon, Shoe String French Fries, Hot Dogs, Mac & Cheese, 3 amazing salads, delicious desserts and an open bar filled our bellies. The decor was gorgeous and very tasteful. What a wonderful and successful evening! We also reached our fundraising goals for the event!
We dont have any formal photos of the temple yet however this is a rendering of what the front of it looks like post-renovations.
We love our new temple home and look forward to many more decades of worship together.
