News from Kol Ami

Guess what I’m not going to talk about in this article: I’m not going to mention the Jack Cahan Memorial Lecture on Sunday, November 11, or the upcoming Wednesday night Rabbi’s Learning Series: A Walk through the Prayer Book. I’m also not going to discuss our November 30 Beatles Shabbat or our December 7 Night of 1000 Candles.

Instead, I’m going to focus on two subjects with a longer timeline: planning for the 2019-2020 School year and the right of non-Jewish members of Kol Ami. As most of you know, we currently run two Religious Schools, one on Saturday morning at Kol Ami and one on Sunday morning at the Lebovic campus. And as many of you are aware, the plan is to have one school for the 2019-2020 year. Where? When? How? Those are all very good questions, for which we do not yet have an answer. A Task Force has just been created to research all the options, including location, curriculum, date and time, and submit proposals to the Board of Directors. Look forward to hearing more from the task force as their work progresses.

The Interfaith Committee has been working to address inconsistencies between our mission as an inclusive community, and our constitution, which limits the right of non-Jewish members. Kol Ami’s Vision is to be welcoming to people of all ages and backgrounds, yet we don’t allow non-Jewish members to vote or work on certain committees. The Committee has identified four proposed amendments to the constitution. You’ll be hearing more about these important amendments in upcoming months, including how and when we will vote on them.

Have a happy and healthy Movember.

Elliot