Congregation Shir Chadash

How Shir Chadash Actually Works

gloriagoverman — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:53:09 +0000

Dear Friends and Members of Shir Chadash,
I would like to talk to you about an important subject for the friends and members of Shir Chadash, and one which I think may be widely misunderstood. That subject is, “Finances”. How does Shir Chadash function? How do we pay our bills?” Where does the money come from? Where does the money go? OK… let’s take it a step at a time…
Income:
Each year we ask each family to make a pledge. Some pay all at once, some pay quarterly, some pay monthly. We do offer auto-pay and encourage you to use it. For auto-pay, just send a voided check to our treasurer (Liz Glassberg, 33 Cedar Pond Lane, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603) with instructions as to what you want your monthly deduction to be. This makes it easy for you (no remembering, no stamps) and easier for us (predictable cash flow, no reminding calls or letters).
Anyway, we collect about $90,000 in dues.
Not bad.
It averages about $1200/family. Our basic dues are $1500. Some families pay much more. Some pay much less. In this difficult economy, we have some families who are struggling to meet basic needs. We do not want to turn anyone away from Shir Chadash due to finances. AND all members are equally valued and welcome. But it is due to those who can do more that we can afford this philosophy and policy. Yea!
BUT… after all of this, we are only at about 65% of what we need to run the congregation.
Where does the other $50,000 come from?
Fund-raising events… concert – $15,000, auction – $7,000, Book of Remembrance – $3,000. That totals $25,000. The other $25,000 comes from “additional fund-raising”. This includes about $5,000 from our High Holy Day appeal. Those of you who are friends of Shir Chadash and make a donation during the HHDs… Thank you! But please realize that our open HHD services are truly a gift that we make to the larger Jewish community. Our cost just for the additional musicians is $5,000. Or another way to look at it… your contributions cover about 3.5% of the cost of keeping Shir Chadash a viable institution. We NEED you as members! Join our extended family! And the remainder ($20,000) is from our Mid-year fund-drive.
It may seem that we are always asking for money… I assure you that we would rather just get it in one big bundle at the beginning of the year (which is July 1st). But no one seems to want to do this… resulting in lots of extra effort for multiple requests.
Expenditures:
As you all know we have extraordinary clergy. Rabbi Polish is not only a warm and caring friend to the congregation, but is internationally known. He frequently visits the Pope and other world leaders… and he teaches us every other Shabbos morning too. Cantor Hirschenfang has an incredible gift in an operatic quality voice and a deep knowledge of music. She makes our services musical feasts and leads our Shir Chadash choir to exceed their own expectations… and organizes our school and teaches Bar/Bat Mitzvah students. And of course when there is a tragedy or a simchah both are there to help. OK… enough of the superlatives.
The result is that our costs for labor, including musicians each week and for the HHDs represent about $120,000 (86% of the total).
Our rent and insurance is about $10,000. Our newsletter, advertising, our website and various other miscellaneous is about $9,000. Our URJ dues are about $1000.

So where are we now? Here’s the part that people don’t understand… just because the Synagogue continues to operate each week, it seems that it always will, that it just goes on by itself. This is not what happens. We need to pay bills. And we do not have any extra, no margin. I’m afraid that some may feel that it’s OK to just not send in the Shir Chadash check. It isn’t. If we don’t get your check, then we can’t pay our bills. We can’t pay our musicians, our clergy, our printers, our insurance, our website developer, our booksellers, and so on and so on.

The bottom line is that this is a COMMUNITY which depends on ALL of its MEMBERS and ALL of its FRIENDS. Although almost all of our families are current in their dues, not all are. If you aren’t, please send in your checks now. If you did not participate in the Mid-Year Fund Drive… please do so now. Yes… I am talking about YOU! And I’m saying NOW!

We have built something new and precious. Please help nourish it. We don’t need a lot of money. Think of it this way, if every family sent in $36/week we wouldn’t have to have any fund-raisers, no mid-year campaign, no auction, no concert, … But Shir Chadash has to be a priority for you. You have to believe we change lives, we are an oasis of peace.
You have to want it.
I do.
I hope you all do as well!
Michael Rothman
Immediate past-president

Special Meeting May 20

gloriagoverman — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:30:41 +0000

By now you should have received a letter from Jerry Scheck and Ed Ginsberg about the idea of creating a campus with the Presbyterian Church. Chances are, you have lots more questions. Come to the special meeting on May 20 at 6 pm at the church to participate in a full discussion of the idea.

Can’t come to the meeting? Email Ed or Jerry with your thoughts.

Joshua Nelson – Back by Popular Demand

gloriagoverman — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 01:01:29 +0000

Join us on June 2 at 8 PM as powerhouse performer Joshua Nelson, the Prince of Kosher Gospel, returns to Shir Chadash for an encore performance! Jewish Gospel is the marriage of traditional Jewish music with American Gospel music traditionally associated with African-American churches. While this blend of divergent styles might seem counter-intuitive, it makes perfect sense once you know the back story.

Mr. Nelson, born and raised Jewish, discovered a recording of Mahalia Jackson when he was 8 years old. He practiced Judaism, lived in Israel for several years and, at the same time, became known for performing stellar moving Gospel music.

Eventually, Mr. Nelson blended this two parts of his life into one and has become, as Oprah Winfrey called him, the ” Next Big Thing”. He has sung with Aretha Franklin and with The Klezmatics, for Presidents, congregations and music festivals. And now, for you at Shir Chadash. Do join us for this exciting event!

The concert will be held at the Freedom Plains United Presbyterian Church on Route 55 in LaGrange. All tickets include the post-concert reception where you can have some light refreshments and meet the performers.

Building Update

gloriagoverman — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:04:44 +0000

The Planning Board of the Town of LaGrange at its January 17 meeting approved a Public Hearing for the Shir Chadash plan to build a synagogue on their land on Freedom Road. The public hearing will take place on Tuesday evening February 21st at 730 PM. All congregants and other interested parties are encouraged to attend and lend support. More details will follow in the February newsletter.Email or call Ed Ginsberg (845-440-3463) for additional information.

Win/Win With Groceries

gloriagoverman — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 02:31:37 +0000

Join us in an easy fund-raising effort that will fit right into your weekly grocery trip. Just buy grocery GIFT CARDS from Shir Chadash. This is how it works:

Buy gift cards in in$25 increments from Shir Chadash
Choose Hannafords, Shoprite or A&P
When Shir Chadash has accumulated $1,000 per store, you get your cards
A percentage of the money you spend comes back to Shir Chadash

Just print and submit this easy-to-use form to start this process now!