DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

This will likely be the last article I write for the Temple bulletin. Hopefully, by now you have heard that my last day will be June 30th, as I will be focusing more of my time on caring for my family.

Recently, my family made the decision to pursue more palliative care for my brother, and my stepfather has begun to experience some health concerns that I’ve been helping with. As you can imagine, the decision to seek palliative care has not been an easy one, but it is equally difficult to watch my older brother continue to suffer from tremendous pain as a result of his stroke.

Managing all of their appointments and helping them with daily tasks continues to feel like a full-time position—and one that will continue for quite some time. That said, I know I will continue to see many of you in the years and months to come.

While caring for my family, I have accepted a part-time position with Iles Funeral Homes and will be assisting with funeral services as my schedule permits. In addition, I have recently applied to graduate school and have submitted my application to the clinical counseling program at Drake University.

On June 22nd, the Temple will hold its annual meeting, which will also serve as an opportunity to say farewell to me—and to welcome our new Director of Programming and Communications. I would love to see many of you there and to share my appreciation for my time at the Temple. The one thing I ask is that you please not give me any personal gifts. If you would like to honor my time here at the Temple, I would ask that you make a donation to the Temple’s Camp & Israel Fund.

Attending camp was an important part of my life. I went to as many camps as I could—YMCA camps, Boy Scout camps, and a few religious camps like GUCI, where many of our young people go. This year, we’ve had more of our young people elect to go to GUCI than we’ve had in over five years. I think that’s tremendous, and I would love to see the Temple be in a position to continue helping young people have this experience for years to come. So, as a camp kid, it would mean a lot to me if you made a donation to this fund in my honor.

So, while this may be my last article, I hope we won’t see this as an end, but rather as a new beginning for both Temple B’nai Jeshurun and myself.

Shalom,

David Muenchrath

Executive Director