Dear Har Zion Family,
"The image of God is within, but the presence of God is found "in the between," in our relationships..." – Ron Wolfson, Relational Judaism
A strong and vibrant community is always growing, developing, and advancing.
This reflects Har Zion today. We continue to be a strong conservative Jewish community because of our members. In turn, our synagogue enriches the community through quality programming, excellent educational experiences, a sense of togetherness, and the religious experiences we provide for all who walk through our doors or join us in action.
We know this is true because of the level of engagement from our membership and because of generations of families that choose to be here.
To that end, the Board of Directors of Har Zion Temple have updated our mission and value statements to reflect who we are today. These changes reaffirm our commitment to being a community of members and friends who support one another in prayer, learning, celebrations, sorrows, and day-to-day living.
To further support this reflection of who our community is today, our volunteer leadership of Officers and Directors approved a change to our membership dues structure. For generations, Har Zion had followed a commonly adopted formula of tiering the membership structure to seating during High Holiday services.
But this tiered structure does not reflect who we are as a community today. It does not accurately tell the story of how annual membership dues support the synagogue and our community year-round. Nor does the tiered system represent the strength of our finances.
Effective this year, the same membership dues rate will apply to all congregants and will not be based on High Holiday seating – demonstrating our commitment to an equal and equitable community. Seating on the High Holidays will be treated separately from membership. There will still be an opportunity to pay for reserved seating at High Holiday services, including any seats you currently reserve, but in a further demonstration of equality, open seating will also be available in all sections. This allows members to retain their familiar seats or establish new ones, while also supporting our synagogue.
In the coming days and weeks, you will receive additional details about the new membership structure and the ability to retain or reserve seats for the High Holidays.
Our synagogue and our community are not defined by one moment in time. We are grateful for the privilege of taking our journey together. It is thanks to members like you that we can advance our membership structure to better match our mission and values as a congregation.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Seth Haaz and President Josh Friedman
