Choices
Dear Board of Trustees and Beth El Temple Community,
As you are well aware, the Board of Trustees was convened for a special meeting last week in order to review the current state of the plans for our sanctuary renovation. The Oversight Committee would like to express our thanks to all of you who attended this unexpected meeting, during a time when many of us have our minds on things other than Temple business. It was extremely helpful to us to hear all of your voices. We would also like to apologize for the lack of communication during July and August. It was never our intention to withhold information. The Committee was simply trying to grapple with a very difficult situation. Going forward, we hope to be able to keep the community up to date and aware of all decisions and developments.
Last week’s meeting was quite well attended, with 26 Board members present, as well as 14 additional interested congregants in attendance. All who attended were given an opportunity to speak, and members of the Oversight Committee recorded all comments.
The purpose of this letter is two-fold: 1) To summarize the discussion by the Board at that meeting, and 2) to further clarify some elements of the renovation plans as they were presented, in order that everyone understands not only the purposes, but also the interrelationships of these elements, so that we can make our decisions based on clear knowledge of what is at stake as we redesign our worship space.
At last week’s meeting, three general plans were presented, all of which were post-bid redesigns of the architects’ original plan, since the bids came in much higher than we expected. In brief, the plans range on one end from a design based strictly on the monies we currently have available to us, but which accomplishes very few of our original goals and values, and significantly compromises sightlines, to the other end – the plan that we put out to bid and towards which we were aiming, which accomplishes everything we had set out to do, but would require a significant organizational “stretch” financially, and finally, a plan that is somewhere in the middle, which accomplishes most of our important objectives, and will require some additional monies. The Oversight committee feels that the “budget” scheme has lost some of the essential goals that we have been working towards for the past five years, and cannot recommend that the community go forward with a design scheme that does not at least maintain current sightlines. The committee feels that at a minimum, we need to find a way to increase our budget to at least slope the floor or move the columns. That being said, we also have confidence in Bob Luchetti to adapt any budget to something that will be comfortable and nice – however, the community needs to be aware that it does not meet our mandated goals.
After the presentations, both Board members and non-Board members individually offered their points of view. There did seem to be a very strong desire that both the Board and the community want us to proceed with the renovation as soon as is prudent. What is not clear yet is what our budget should be and which design option we should pursue. Overall, the Board’s concerns about both the Temple’s operating budget and the current economy came through loud and clear, and only a few members appeared to support the full vision. And while some Board members and congregants felt that we should only do what we can with the current budget, a number of Board members were willing to entertain the possibility of trying to increase our budget through a combination of fundraising and additional borrowing if: 1) additional pledges come forward, 2) specific financials are articulated, along with the potential impact on future budgets, 3) it is clear that there are tangible and functional design benefits in terms of our community goals and values, and that we are not simply trying to make ornamental changes or create something “fancy.”
The major goals of our sanctuary renovation, as articulated by members of our community, are to create a warm, comfortable, flexible, and accessible space, with improved sightlines, lighting & acoustics, and if possible, with more natural light. In order to accomplish these goals, several interrelated structural changes need to be implemented. The following is an explanation of what these changes entail, and how they are related both to each other and to our communal goals and values.
1. Moving the Bima Back. There are at least four, important renovation goals that require moving the bima back towards Concord Avenue.
a) .The first two goals requiring us to move the bima back are sightlines and accessibility. In order to have a bima at the height we would like to have available for the High Holy Days (to maximize sightlines from the auditorium), we need to move the bima back so that we still have enough distance to create a wheelchair ramp that complies with building codes (i.e., whose slope is not too steep). Some people think we can accomplish our goal of accessibility by installing a mechanical lift – this neither meets code, saves us money or is an expression of our values since it adds a stigma to those who may need to use it.
b)The third and fourth goals requiring us to move the bima back are flexibility and seating capacity. Flexible seating (which allows us to arrange seats in ways that are more creative and also better nurtures a feeling of community), takes up significantly more floor space than rows of pews. In order to have sufficient room for those flexible seats without losing too many additional seats in the sanctuary, we need to move the bima back. You’ll note that this goal means we’d still need to move the bima back even if we chose not to make the bima accessible (or to use some alternative kind of lift device).
2. Enlarging the Bima Area. The renovation goal achieved by this design feature is the flexibility we need for the many and various services and events when more people are to be present on the bima
3. Moving the Support Columns. Once we decide to move the bima back and enlarge it, the two, vertical columns that support the roof (they’re now hidden behind the bima wall) are uncovered. The renovation goal at stake in moving these columns is to maintain or improve sightlines in the sanctuary. Relocating the vertical columns allows clear sightlines to all areas of the bima – if they are not relocated – some seats on the sides of the sanctuary will likely have obstructed views and thus limited use. Also, because they will be exposed, congregants may find them to be a visual distraction even if they have a clear view of the ark and the center portion of the bima.
4. Adding a Second, Lower Level to the Bima. The two renovation goals fulfilled by the lower bima are flexibility and creating a warmer, more intimate feeling for our intermediate sized, regular services.
a)While we want, ideally, to have a higher bima for the High Holy Days, the vast majority of our services do not require a bima of that height. In fact, with such a high bima, the effectiveness of our regular, smaller services actually is harmed because of the drastic angle of sight from the front rows and also because the high bima creates a sense of physical distance/separation from the people on the bima and discourages the feeling of involvement and active participation in services. In other words, for the vast majority of our services, a higher bima actually makes it more difficult for the clergy to create the kind of warm, participatory experience envisioned by our congregational mission statement. By contrast, a lower bima allows us to create a
warmer, more intimate, more involved feeling for our intermediate sized services (approx. 100-200 people) while still preserving maximal sightlines. Many of our B’nai Mitzvah services, for example, would benefit from being conducted from such a lower bima.
5. Sloping the Floor. The goal of sloping the floor is simply to maintain or improve sightlines in the sanctuary. The new, lower bima—which would be much more appropriate and effective for many of our services—would make it somewhat more difficult to see what takes place on that bima if you’re sitting towards the back of the sanctuary. While this would not be much of an issue for services with attendance of fewer than 100 people (presuming people would sit either in the flexible seats or in the front rows of pews), the decreased angle of sight to the lower bima would be difficult for folks in the rear of the sanctuary (when we have 100-300 people in the sanctuary or a number of folks who simply choose to sit in the back rows). Simply put, even people of average height would find it difficult to see over the heads of the people sitting in front of them.
6. Windows. In the early days of this process, during various opportunities for input (both written and verbal), many members of the congregation expressed their hope for introducing more natural light into the sanctuary. Many said that such light would add a kind of warmth and feeling of connection with nature that is very important to their own sense of spirituality. The plan calls for a skylight over the bima and new windows along the wall. The new windows proposed for the walls of the sanctuary and above the ark are intended to nurture and respond to that sensibility.
At the next Board of Trustees meeting, which is scheduled for September 24th, Board members will be voting on the renovation plan with which we will proceed. Prior to that meeting, Board members will receive more details regarding the financial implications of the options we face. In addition, the Oversight Committee will hold informational sessions for the community on Sunday, September 14th from 9:30 –11:00am, and on Tuesday, September 16th from 7:00-8:30pm, and post updated information on the sanctuary renovation website. The Oversight Committee wants and encourages your input as we attempt to implement our synagogues’s mission to be a community that nurtures a warm, vibrant, beautiful and spiritually nourishing worship life, while at the same time being fiscally responsible and moving forward with this holy project of building a sanctuary that will hopefully serve our needs for many years to come.
On behalf of the Sanctuary Renovation Oversight Committee, thank you for taking the time to read this and to participate in the discussion. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Mike Wolfson at mwolfson@alum.mit.edu or Elyse Shuster at elyse.shuster@verizon.net
