Beth Abraham MEC

A subgroup of the MEC (Debbie Feldman, Suzie Katz, Joe Goldwasser, Michael Leffak) was formed to draft a MEC report, containing a model for the merged congregation. The writing group met on Feb. 17 to discuss the format and content of the report, and agreed to a target date of April 2010 to present the MEC report to each congregation.

The joint Merger Exploration Committee (MEC16) met on Feb. 1, 2010. The committee is working towards providing a report to each Board early in the spring, 2010. It was agreed that in the event that a merger is approved by the Beth Jacob and Beth Abraham congregations, the target for implementation would be soon after the 2010 High Holidays.

At the joint MEC16 meeting, the following topics were discussed:

1. details of a merged governance model (standing committee structure, joint transition Board membership, officers and their portfolios, elections, membership categories)
2. Merger of ritual practices
3. Financial aspects of the merger
4. Procedure for selection of a name for the merged synagogue
5. Mechanisms for merging traditions and artifacts of both congregations
6. Office staffing (transitional, long-term)
7. Programming (youth, adult education; social)

Comments and questions from members of either congregation are solicited.

(text of letter to Beth Abraham congregation)

Dear Congregants:

As you are aware, the Beth Abraham/Beth Jacob Merger Exploration Committee was formed by the Boards of Directors of Beth Jacob and Beth Abraham in early fall of this year to explore what a union between our two congregations could look like. We recognize that even the establishment of a committee called “Merger Exploration” is unsettling for many of the members of both congregations. Dayton has a long and rich history of vibrant synagogue life, which has been comprised of a variety of diverse congregations meeting the needs of the Dayton Jewish Community. We share pride in this history, and it is in that context that we moved forward with our charge.

Our committee is comprised of 16 members, eight from Beth Jacob and eight from Beth Abraham. We want to take this opportunity to thank each of them for the good will and dedication in which they have approached this task. We have had three meetings to date of the full committee as well as sub-committee meetings. At the outset of this process, the committee jointly agreed upon a mission statement for our committee, and it reads as follows:

In recognition of the demographic and financial trends evident at the Beth Abraham  and Beth Jacob congregations, and to preserve valuable traditions, the synagogues are exploring a possible merger, towards forming a single dynamic and viable congregation to preserve the best traditions, values and resources of both synagogues, and to serve the needs of both memberships.

The purpose of the joint merger exploration committee is to develop a vision of a single congregation, which provides for vibrant Jewish worship and programming that is inclusive and engaging.

The committee has now established four subcommittees, Financial/property; Personnel/programming; Governance; and Ritual. We are pleased so far with the substantive discussions that have been taking place both at the subcommittee and committee levels and believe we are on track to present each congregation’s Board of Directors a report, which will provide them with a vision for what a combined congregation could be like. It will then be up to each synagogue to consider and evaluate our report.

We know that there is a great deal of interest in the progress of this committee and we hope this letter has helped update you. In a continuing effort to ensure two-way communication, we have established a blog at mecblog.bethabrahamdayton.org. The purpose of the blog is to provide you with periodic updates as well as solicit your comments and feedback on our progress. Finally, if you have additional questions for either of us please do not hesitate to call.

Thank you for patience as we continue our efforts.

Sincerely,

Michael Leffak                               Debbie Feldman

The purpose of the joint merger exploration committee is to develop a vision of a single congregation which provides for vibrant Jewish worship and programming that is inclusive and engaging.

In recognition of the demographic and financial trends evident at the Beth Abraham and Beth Jacob congregations, and to preserve valuable traditions, the synagogues are exploring a possible merger, towards forming a single dynamic and viable congregation to preserve the best traditions, values and resources of both synagogues, and to serve the needs of both memberships.