2021 — Oh What a Year! A review of activities from Temple Beth El

We have had an extraordinary year:

We renewed in-person services in the spring.

We received reimbursement for our security equipment from the FEMA Non-Profit Security Grant.

The Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library featured a 1956 photo of a TBE Hanukkah party on their Throwback Thursday Facebook Page. TBE was also featured in a “Self-Guided Tour of Alpena’s Places of Worship (1860-1890)” including a picture of our stained glass window on the front of the building.

We held a virtual Passover Seder led by Elie.

We received several pieces of electronic equipment from L’Dor v’Dor, funded by a Ravitz Foundation Grant including a web cam / document camera, projector, projector screen, and Bluetooth microphone / speaker.

We welcomed Mary to the Board of Trustees to serve the remainder of the term for Anne who had resigned. Mary has started cleaning the headstones at our Hebrew Benevolent Cemetery.

At the annual membership meeting Gregg and Deborah were unanimously elected to return to the Board of Trustees.

We landscaped and weeded around TBE thanks to members of the congregation. Thank you to David and Pia for the plants.

We received new Machzors for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services funded by a Ravitz Foundation Grant.

We have repaired almost all of the sash window cords in the sanctuary, funded by a Comstock Fund Grant. Work continues on the remaining windows. Thank you David!

We have installed an audio system in the sanctuary, funded by a grant from the Community Foundation of Northeast Michigan.

We hosted three services and programs through our visiting Rabbi Program funded in part by a Ravitz Foundation Grant.

• Rabbi Maya Leibovich and her husband Menachem from Israel.
• Rabbi Howard Morrison from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. And,
• Rabbi David Whiman from New York. (The Alpena News featured an article on his service and program, written by Douglas Pugh.)
• *We plan to host at least 4 programs in 2022 including a service and concert led by Cantor Nina Fine from Florida

We said farewell to Elie as he left Alpena to go to Denver for a new employment opportunity.

We welcomed new members to our congregation, Pia & David (in 2020) and Harold & Judith (in 2021). We have another application pending approval at the January 2022 Board meeting.

We held a successful Hanukkah party in December, lighting candles, listening to Hanukkah music, playing Hanukkah trivia pursuit (thank you Deborah) and Ken cooked Latkes.

We held our first Torah Study Session. These will continue to be held on the second Sunday of each month at TBE at 1 p.m.

Finally and most importantly, we agreed to a contract with Willet Hauser Stained Glass to do some minor repairs to our stained glass windows and replace the plexiglass covering on all four of our stained glass windows. The material will be a non-yellowing, ½ inch thick clear acrylic. The project should be completed by June, 2022. The cost for this project is almost $24,000 with $9,500 coming from the FEMA Non Profit Security Grant. We will be seeking additional grant funding and individual donations to help fund the balance. You can contribute to help preserve and protect our stained glass windows at Temple Beth El, PO Box 55, Presque Isle, MI 49777, or using our PayPal account on the Temple Beth El web site (www.templebethelalpena.org).

Thanks for reading and wishing you a safe, healthy, prosperous, and happy new year.

January 2022