Dear Friends:
I hope to see you this Sunday afternoon as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of our congregation -- two years late as the celebration, like so many things the past few years, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It seems as if one of the unspoken themes of this past year has been honoring Kehilat Shalom’s clergy. I was deeply moved to be honored in September with a special Kiddush and program to mark my 10 year anniversary as your rabbi. Two weeks ago we honored Hazzan Kim Komrad with a similar Kiddush and program marking 21 years as our Hazzan. This Sunday Rabbi Emeritus Mark Raphael will be honored as he formally takes the title of Rabbi Emeritus. I will not say too much about Rabbi Raphael at the moment since I have to save something for my remarks on Sunday, but he has been a real source of support and wisdom during my tenure here and he is much appreciated.
On the theme of appreciation, it is easy to think that major events like this Sunday’s Anniversary Celebration simply take place by themselves, but there is a tremendous amount of work that goes into them. There is always the danger that by listing names I will omit someone, but you should know that the synagogue building has been humming with activity to get ready for Sunday. Thanks to everyone who has been busy working and/or will be helping out on Sunday.
As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 at the shul. You do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building.
As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org or 301-977-0768 rather than through the synagogue office. I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment. I have been spending more time in the synagogue recently but if you want to speak with me it’s best to make an appointment rather than assuming I will be there when you stop by.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Charles L. Arian
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