Week of October 11, 2012

Week of October 11, 2012

As you can see, things are really beginning to take shape. The interior framing should be completed this week. As you walk through the building now, you can see where our amazing services will be held, where our children will learn, where we will enjoy our community’s events in the social hall and courtyard and really start to get a feel for what it will be like. Sheet rock will be getting installed on one side within the next 2 weeks and electrical, plumbing, HVAC and audio are moving right along. Before you know it, our dream will become reality!

Week of August 23, 2012

Well, the walls are going up and roof is being put on - and we’ll have an enclosed building soon enough. The roof decking is about 90% complete and they are going to start installing the roof itself later next week! Damp-proofing has been applied to the cement block floor, and the brick veneer will be added shortly. Our construction is moving along nicely and the building committee is working diligently with our architects on some of the interior details including the ark and bimah.

July 5, 2012

Well, the moment we have been waiting for has come. Well, one of those moments, anyway. We are the proud beneficiaries of a brand new shiny Building Permit! It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get busy building this building. No more excuses now! The steel is being delivered and we will be fully underway this week. Now we will start seeing some real progress on our new home!

Week of June 20

Well, we are getting closer to getting our building permit, but we don’t have it quite yet. We are down to getting one last item for the City of Sandy Springs and are hopeful that we can get the permit issued later this week or early next week. Keep your fingers crossed! We are continuing to work on getting the details finalized as we are about to embark on our construction. The roof is now off (literally) and we are getting ready to start building. The building committee met this week to begin looking at interior finishes and initial designs for the ark and bimah. We are still a work in progress but we are continuing to move forward!

Week of May 23

This week we are waiting...

for a permit.

week of May 16

On Tuesday, the river rocks were finally placed under where the new Bimah will be located. We have been working with City of Sandy Springs as they review our construction documents and have received some comments back that our architects and team are working on. We have also been working on finishing the kitchen design as well as coordinating with Conlan to get pricing based on our construction documents. Further work on the site will be limited while we finish up the permit process with Sandy Springs, but we are working diligently to get our permit.

Week of May 9, 2012

More demolition this week! The remaining parts of the exterior of the building that are to be removed in this demolition phase have now been removed. Dump trucks were driving in and out filling the pits that were excavated last week. Our construction trailer is in full use and we even had our team meeting there this week. We have some meetings with Sandy Springs later this week and hope to get our building permit very soon! While the building is now essentially a slab with a roof, one can now begin to imagine where the sanctuary will be, the social hall, the courtyard, classrooms…this is getting very exciting!

Week of April 30, 2012

This week, a good portion of the outside of the building was removed. Talk about air conditioning! Our construction documents were delivered to Sandy Springs last Thursday and we are currently awaiting our building permit. The remaining in-ground remnants of being a car repair facility were also removed this week. In addition, there was much concrete cutting done to allow for our plumbing and underground utilities to be installed later. Towards the end of this week, our cornerstones (river rocks) will be placed in the ground under where our new Bimah will be!

Progress!

Progress! That’s what we have going on right now. Conlan has been busy at work on the demolition of the interior of the building. The construction trailer was delivered last week and we are currently waiting on getting our temporary power service set up. Our construction drawings were completed by BLDGS yesterday and are being delivered to Sandy Springs for approval today.

Our Building-Our Future: Builders' Club Chorus

Shabbat is back and I am thrilled to speak
The Capital Campaign has had a good week
We're picking up steam and calling many of you
There are no secrets; you know what we want you to do

Give now if you have not participated as of yet
Helping us build our new home you will not regret
Increase your gift if you can find the way
And you will surely gladden this beautiful day

Adding a 6th year to your original pledge is indeed
The way for us to get closer to the amount we need
We've raised $4.1 million and we still can do better
Please respond at once to our call, email or letter

$5 million is the amount we need to build it complete
We'll have our own kitchen to make good things to eat
There will be classrooms and offices and coffee bars
Two rabbis' studies and room for all of our cars

Not to mention the Sanctuary and social hall too
We can't build it all without increased gifts from you
It is a once in a lifetime opportunity we have before us
Don't be left out of our Or Hadash builders' club chorus

Thanks and know that we appreciate all that you have done
We can't wait to cut the ribbon and celebrate with everyone
 

Sherry Frank, President

Our Building-Our Future: The Executive Director's Perspective

My first year as Executive Director of Or Hadash has been a whirlwind. When I started we had just found a property that would meet the needs of our new home and we were starting a capital campaign to fund the purchase of our Trowbridge property and construct our new home. Since then we have closed on our purchase, and almost paid off our purchase loan, engaged two extraordinary architects who are well underway with the design of our new home and thanks to the generosity of so many of you we have raised over $4.1 million! We just have a little more to go.

Or Hadash has a unique culture. We are egalitarian; we are inclusive; egos are parked at the door; Tikkun Olam and Chesed are apparent in everything we do; and everyone rows in the same direction. In a few short years we have become a force that is admired throughout our community because of what we do and the "Or Hadash" way that we do it. Being a part of it has been an extraordinary experience for me.

We have been in a marathon and are now nearing its completion. If we keep rowing together we can reach our $5 million goal and complete a new home that will give us pleasure and serenity for many years to come. Please join me in adding a 6th year to your pledge or making a new pledge if you haven't already done so. Remember everyone counts at Or Hadash.


Bruce Warschoff

Our Building-Our Future: Reflections Over Pesach

Twas the morning of the first Seder night

I was very busy and my kitchen was a sight

Matzah balls were boiling and gefilte fish was chilling

Then I received a call that was really thrilling

Andy Kauss said be at my office, 1 o’clock is the time

We’re ready to get your signature on the dotted line

Steve Wertheim’s contacts with Sun Trust Bank truly showed

We were ready to purchase property on Trowbridge Road

Can you believe it was just one year ago this week

Of all that we have accomplished, I am proud to speak

Ma Nish Ta Nah our members soon will be saying

With visions of our future home where we’ll be praying

We’re not there yet, but we are getting closer every day

We are counting on you and you know just what to say

Yes, I will pledge if I have not done it yet

I can stretch my pledge to give more, you bet

I will add a 6^th year because I clearly understand

$5 million is needed to build something really grand

At our Seder tables we will relive the Exodus story

We’ll ask questions and retell the plagues that were gory

We’ll remember the struggle and hardship and tears

We wander in the dessert for so many years

Thankful for the seas parting, we celebrate freedom and we eat

We conclude saying next year in Jerusalem, what a joyous treat

I wish you a happy Pesach and good times with family and friends too

It has been an historic journey I have traveled this year with each of you

Shabbat Shalom,

Sherry Frank, President

Our Building-Our Future: The Home Stretch

Shabbat is here and I'm back once more
With a different poem from the one before
I am focused on the Capital Campaign
This will sound like a familiar refrain
We're asking everyone to make a pledge, this is true
We are surely depending on each one of you
Increase your gift if you can find the way
We need everyone to stretch and do it today

Add a 6th year to your pledge if you haven't done it yet
And the closer to $5 million you will help us get
We have a few more weeks, but who is counting
We're calling, emailing and pressure is mounting


We have the architects' plans and they are great
Visions of our future home are cause to celebrate
We're raised over $4 million, and we're on a roll
Please help us get even closer to our goal


We are all volunteers trying to do our part
Don't delay any longer and give from the heart
Call the office, send an email or tell me anytime
That you are ready to participate....that's the end of my rhyme


Shabbat Shalom,


Sherry Frank

Our Building-Our Future: Mah Nishtanah?

Why is this time different? 

The excitement generated by the Exodus of Egypt is a true testimony of faith and Divine-Human partnership.

Every year we prepare ourselves and our homes for the celebration of Pesach. There are memories from the past and joy for a refreshed opportunity to bring new customs and to refresh our spirits when the Spring Holiday of Freedom is coming.

Mah Nishatnah? How is this year different? As an extended family at Or Hadash, we have walked our own desert in a nomadic way, from social halls to churches, to Jewish day schools and high school. We have invited and still invite all those who are physically hungry and spiritually looking for a home to be part of our open tent. We have been telling our story and asking many different questions. We have been working very hard to move each step forward.

Mah Nishtanah? Why is this year different for our Or Hadash family? Because we are sitting around our table knowing that we have now a permanent home, a home we will build with and for each one of us. Each person counts and we count on each one of you. The Exodus was filled with questions, uncertainty and anxiety but hope and faith illuminate the light within the people.

This is an invitation to be part of this journey and to help us build a dream come true.

Pesach Kasher v'Sameach!

Rabbis Analia & Mario

Our Building-Our Future: Building Progress Report

During the past nine months, we have had the honor of leading the capital campaign to help our Or Hadash community realize the vision of a new home. From our congregation's beginning, the culture and values of our community have been clear-- the importance of belonging to a truly spiritual community, the comfort of knowing there are others to celebrate times of joy and provide support at times of sadness, the exuberance of music and prayer, and the endless possibilities of learning, regardless of age or background. Like our unique community, it was clear from the start that our capital campaign and the building we create would also need to be uniquely Or Hadash - a home for communal worship, shared simchas, a place to break (and make) bread, watch our children grow into mensches and Jewish leaders, study, schmooze, or simply meditate in a spiritual Jewish space.

With the involvement of the majority of our community to date, we have been able to raise over $4 million. While cause for celebration, we are not "there" yet. As a community which respects the importance of each member, we look to each of our members to stand up and say "Hineni" and be a part of what we are building together. Excited by the vision of our new home which has engaged over 240 of our members, the input of an incredible building committee, and our two creative and visionary architects, we now turn back to our community to help us finish the task of raising the funds to realize our new spiritual home.

For those of you who have not yet participated in our efforts, we ask you to join in to help make our dream a reality. To those who have already pledged--THANK YOU! If you are able to add to your pledge or would consider adding a 6th year to your commitment, it will help us close the gap between what we have raised so far and what we need to finish the job.

Many of us started this Or Hadash journey seven years ago, with much uncertainty. Today we are a vibrant spiritual community on the threshold of realizing a spiritual home we can call our own. Thank you to everyone who has helped us to get to this point and thank you to those who are now stepping up to say "Hineni" and help us get the rest of the way.

B'shalom,

Abby Friedman and Harry Heiman

Melinda and Steve Wertheim

Our Building-Our Future: Our New Home

Our Building-Our Future: The Synagogue, A Member's Perspective

During Shabbat morning services, a few weeks ago, each aliyah was taken by someone celebrating a wonderful occasion, a celebratory milestone. The next day, I was back at Or Hadash, sadly, for a memorial service. As I was walking into the building, it occurred to me that there are not many places where we go both to celebrate the happiest occasions in life and to come together as a community for the saddest ones. A synagogue, a place of prayer, community and learning is very special in that way.

For me, the synagogue is like an envelope, gently wrapping itself around my family's life, nurturing spirituality, holiness and responsibility. It was within this environment that we brought our daughter, Johanna, into the world. We celebrated her baby naming at Or Hadash, then located at the Sandy Springs United Methodist Church. A few years later, she was marching through Or Hadash at The Weber School, with her religious school class, waving a flag and receiving her first milestone of Jewish learning.

We are now peeking into the next place, a permanent home for Or Hadash. When I look into this new space, I see all of us, but mostly I see Johanna. She is moving through the hallways, lit with gentle sunlight, from religious school class to the sanctuary. She is playing outside with her friends, rushing in to Kiddush to find the desserts, and only too soon, studying in the Rabbis' offices for her Bat Mitzvah. What I see in this building is a space where the most meaningful parts of her life will take place.

Or Hadash has been a bright light for our family, and we are looking forward to the warmth of this new light wrapping itself around us once again.

Michelle Epstein

Our Building-Our Future: A Little Bit More

All through my life and still to this very day

I love to write poems for what I want to say

So please won't you give me your attention
I have a vital message I want to mention

Our shul is on its way to having a permanent home
No longer will we be nomads, continuing to roam

Creative architects have developed a vision that is exciting
Welcoming, inspiring, green space and natural lighting

Over $4 million dollars is the number we did raise
Can we stretch to $5 million in the next 42 days?


Have you made your pledge, now don't be left out
Everyone's participation is what Or Hadash is about

There's a message that I will surely adore
"You've made your pledge but can stretch a bit more"

The very best way we can bring $5 million near
Is if all of us who have pledged will add a 6th year

So let us hear from you right away
We need to make progress every day

Thanks from the bottom of my heart for all that you do
Together we will make this dream of our new home come true

Call the office, sent an email or tell me any time
That you're ready to participate....that's the end of this rhyme
 

Sherry Z Frank