Women of Temple Sinai (WoTS)

“We are stronger together…”

This phrase is used as the banner, the slogan, the mantra, if you will, for the Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), the national sisterhood organization of the Union for Reform Judaism. It holds true for what the larger organization can do. This can also be used when considering our own lives, our livelihood, our families, and our extended family. When one of us is down, the rest of us join our strengths together to help uplift the individual. Being stronger together comes out in EVERYTHING WoTS does. There are programs to enhance women’s spirituality, there are events bringing families closer together, and there is a larger organization helping to strengthen the bonds between every woman and every member of Temple Sinai. WoTS —

Contributes approximately $25,000 to Temple Sinai annually
Provides gifts for the B’nai Mitzvot
Organizes Purim Baskets
Hosts the Chanukah dinner and other large Temple events
Prepares and serves dinners at the homeless shelters
Provides scholarships for Temple youth and religious school teachers to attend various Jewish education/camp events throughout the year
Runs the Temple Sinai Gift Shop

ELECTIONS!

WoTS elections will be held at our May meeting, on May 5th at 10:00 am. All WoTS members are invited to attend and to vote. The proposed slate of Officers and Steering Committee Members is as follows: (note that Officers and Committee Members who are completing their 2 or 3 year terms are not listed):

Chair: Susan Cohen
Vice Chair: Nancy Glynn
Corresponding Secretary: Mimi Botkin
Treasurer: Carol Woolford
Assistant Treasurer: Kim Zytnick
Fundraising: Rhoda Dorfzaun and Louise Mayo
Membership: Joanna Patterson and Arlene Smith
Programming: Reesa Rosenthal and Anne Faigen
Steering Committee: Nancy Dubuar, Abbie Evans, Randi Shaw, Lisa Osachy, Evelyn Scharf, Valarie Bacharach, Barbara Gibson, Louise Malakoff, Ellen Katzen, Linda Ochs.

Membership

This doesn’t happen in a bubble. It is done as a group. There are many committees with some women providing a few hours of their time to an event, and other women stepping forward and leading the charge. Being a member of WoTS means that you are also contributing to the many facets of advocacy of the WRJ. Being stronger together gives women the voice to advocate for health care coverage for children, to support the UN millennial development goals to reduce extreme poverty worldwide, to strengthen Jewish identity in Eastern Europe, to help end genocide in Darfur, and to continually work toward religious pluralism and peace in Israel. Through the YES fund, which all sisterhoods support, WRJ provides financial support to educating and training future clergy and sisterhood leadership, to the youth programs of the Reform Movement, and to programs benefiting women and children in Israel and the former Soviet Union. There is a place for each woman of Temple Sinai to be a Woman of Temple Sinai. When you become part of WoTS, you become Stronger Together. Join us, and become stronger with us. For more information, contact Carol Woolford (cw2g@andrew.cmu.edu) / 412.731.5054. Download the 2012 Membership Brochure.

Officers:

Lynn Lazar, President of the Women of Reform Judaism, and Carol Woolford, Chair of the Women of Temple Sinai.

Chair: Carol Woolford
Vice-Chair: Susan Cohen
Corresponding Secretary: Arlene Smith
Recording Secretary: Susan Blackman
Treasurer: Nancy Glynn
Assistant Treasurer: Barbara Gibson

WoTS Steering Committee Meetings 2012-2013

NOTE: ALL meetings are on Sundays, 10am-12 noon (unless otherwise noted)
September 9, meeting followed by holiday card mailing
** October, Atlantic District Regional Biennial in Pittsburgh, October 11-14
November 11
December 9
January 13
February 10
March 10
April 7 at 11:00 am
May 5
Friday, May 31, 2013: WoTS Installation
June 9 (annual meeting)

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5 GIFTS I CAN GIVE MYSELF WHEN I BECOME A MEMBER OF WoTS

I can connect with women of all walks of life through shared interests.
I can help my Temple, our youth and the community through leadership, projects, activities, and scholarships.
I can develop and strengthen lifelong friendships, bonds, and legacies.
I can get involved on my own terms with the flexibility to decide how involved I want to be — giving a few hours for an event, being an officer on the steering committee, or becoming the “go-to” person for some aspect of personal interest.
I can support the national organization’s projects, which include social action commitments and the education of future women leaders and Reform rabbis.