|
Cantorial Notes
from Sara Stock Mayo, Cantorial Soloist
June-July 2010 / Sivan-Tammuz-Av 5770
There are many things going on here as we wind down another calendar year at Sinai. First and foremost, Rabbi Ende and his family will leave us at the end of June to return home to Israel. The past four years have flown by and we have watched his children grow. It will be very strange to see them go, but I know that our community has been enriched by their presence. Rabbi Ende has brought us his warmth, his generosity of spirit and his absolute kindness.
And now, there will be much work to do for those of us who remain. Although we can never fill Rabbi Ende’s shoes, there are new opportunities for growth. As of July 1st, I will be starting my new role of Chaplain in addition to my work as Cantorial Soloist. Having recently completed my course in Clinical Pastoral Education, I am energized as I begin working more closely with filling congregants’ needs through hospital visits and other pastoral duties. I look forward to getting to know many of you better and to working more closely with the B’racha Center in all of our outreach endeavors. It is truly an honor to serve the congregation in this way and something I have been looking forward to for some time.
Each spring, I look ahead to the coming year (which for us, begins in July) and think about what kinds of things I’d like to see happen here at Temple. Rabbi Symons and I have begun to work on implementing a new Tot Shabbat format and family friendly service options. I truly feel that this is an area where we can continue to grow. There are so many wonderful families here that need an opportunity to be in the building more often with their children. We want to create that space for people, not just to come for Mostly Musical Shabbat (although, keep coming for that too!), not just to come for Religious School, but to really know that this is your place as much as anyone else’s.
The other thing I am looking forward to is having the opportunity to work more with our B’nai mitzvah students. As our students continue to study with David Haviv, they will be meeting with me now three times throughout their process as well. I will be running the final rehearsals with students and families the week of their bar/bat mitzvah. This will allow the students and myself to form more of a relationship together on the bimah before their big day. We will have the chance to work more on singing, presentation and general bimah skills. This is yet another opportunity for me to work with and get to know many of you better.
I hope you all have a restful summer filled with lots of sunshine, trips, camps, and many new experiences. I know that I look forward to embarking on this new adventure with you!
B'shira,
Sara Stock Mayo
sara@templesinaipgh.org
|
