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2022 Annual Report
Happy 2023! I hope that you were all able to find some quiet, some calm, and some moments of light over the holiday season.
On December 18th, we held our Annual General Meeting, and below is my Spiritual Leader’s Report:
Thank you all for being here today, for supporting the important work of this AGM, and for supporting everything we do here at Congregation Shir Libeynu.
One year ago, I stood in front of you – well, I sat on Zoom with you and shared my five-year dream for our synagogue. I mentioned that, based upon feedback from all of you, there were three areas that I wanted us to focus on in the next 5 years:
- expansion of our monthly programming – more points of connection for all of us throughout the month;
- expansion of our programming for children and families with children; and
- a stronger connection to the wider Toronto Jewish community, and specifically the Toronto LGBTQ+ Jewish community.
We are only 1 year into this 5-year dream, and I want to share with you the progress that we have made in these three areas.
First, the question of more
In addition to our monthly services and our regular adult education speaker series, we have added a monthly lunch and learn. It is held one Tuesday a month on Zoom, and we have a great hour-long conversation about the weekly Torah portion. We have regular participants, we have drop-in participants, and a wide variety of knowledge and experience with Torah study in the group. Everyone is welcome to join us, bring your lunch to the screen, and engage in some study. In this way, we have already doubled the number of regular monthly points of connection for our community.
Of course, there’s always room for more – and we want to know what interests you We’d love to offer social action opportunities, social events, and other opportunities for connection, and that relies on volunteers from our community stepping into those spaces.
If you want to teach something, run a program, organize a movie night or an event, let us know. We are a grassroots organization – everything we do comes from the ground up. Tell us what you want and tell us what you are able to provide. Share your talents and your knowledge. We will all be richer for it.
Second, programming for children and families with children
Last spring, we decided to bring back our B’mitzvah class, and we are pleased to share that we currently have fifteen students between grades six and nine participating in our class. We meet every-other Thursday at Trinity St Paul’s, and on Zoom, and we have made this class a required element of celebrating B’mitzvah with our congregation. The curriculum centers around Jewish Identity, and the goal is to help the students strengthen their connection to Judaism in a way that is modern and relevant to them and their lives. So far we have six students already scheduled to celebrate their simchas with us in 2023; several more will be booking their dates for 2024, and we have already had a few inquiries about next year’s class.
While we are currently unable to provide religious school for younger children, we continue to have an arrangement with the Danforth Jewish Circle that allows our members to send their children to their wonderful school until B’mitzvah age.
On the flip side, we were unfortunately not able to offer a children’s High Holy Day service this year despite our best intentions to do so. I would love to bring back High Holy Day children’s programming, and even add a regular Tot Shabbat service. If either of those programs are of interest to you or your family, please let us know. We need to know if there’s enough people who want these programs in order to gather the resources needed to make them happen.
And finally – connecting to the larger Jewish community
Since our AGM in 2022, we:
- Participated in the Toronto-wide Tikkun L’eil Shavuot, kicking off the entire evening with our Pride Havdalah on the roof of the MNJCC;
- Participated in the community-wide Pride Shabbat, a beautiful service and dinner that was held at Wychwood barns;
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Co-sponsored The 8 Gays of Chanukah – an annual Chanukah themed drag show;
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Participated in Ignite, a Toronto-wide pre-Chanukah celebration that happened at Holy Blossom Temple and online.
In addition, we continue to keep our programs open to the community, and we enjoyed learning with members of the Danforth Jewish Circle at our most recent Speaker Series event about combating racism, and the film Deconstructing Karen.
We are working hard to be a visible and active part of the greater community. Part of that process of increasing our visibility is outreach. As you heard at the High Holy Days, we have been awarded a grant through the JCC to help us promote our work with interfaith families to the wider community. We need volunteers to help us fulfill our obligations for this grant, and we are excited for the opportunity to showcase our community and the beautiful inclusivity that we practice.
We have accomplished a lot in the past year. We transitioned from online services to hybrid services, allowing our members to participate in whatever way is comfortable for them. We have implemented our new Pay What You Can dues model. We began a wonderful new relationship with Trinity St. Paul’s, we have commissioned a new ark to house our Torah, and we have welcomed many new members into our community. We’ve accomplished a lot, and there is still more that we wish to accomplish.
Congregation Shir Libeynu began as a safe place where people in the LGBTQ+ community, and beyond, could practice Judaism as their whole selves. And that is the important essence of who we will continue to be: a small, close, tight knit community that has room for everyone. A community where you are welcomed and loved for who you are; where the only requirement for entry is a desire to be here. Ours is a synagogue whose members support each other through times of pain, and celebrate with each other in times of joy; a movement of radical inclusivity. Together, we will continue to build on this incredible movement that you have built.
Our services will continue to be participatory and community led, and there’s room for you to participate in that leadership. If you want to read Torah, lead music, deliver a d’var Torah, volunteer on a committee, or help us fundraise, we want you. Email me or the Board of Directors, and we will find a place for you.
You are a crucial part of our resilience.
Thank you all for allowing me to take this journey with you. I am grateful to be here, and to walk through life with all of you.
B’ahavah - בְּאַהֲבָה - With love,
Cantor C. Wunch
For information about Danforth Jewish Circle’s children’s education programming, click here.
For more information about any of the volunteer opportunities mentioned in this report, contact the board at slboard@shirlibeynu.ca
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