“I’d like to welcome you to Temple Ahavat Shalom and the Men of TAS”

I was about to correct that statement to say “I welcome you…“, when I realized it is correct as it stands. For us to welcome you to MoTAS and TAS, it requires one little thing on your part: A willingness to be welcomed.

Often when we come to synagogue or are encouraged to participate in an organization or activities, a whole batch of “negatives” get in the way that prevent us from enjoying the experience. Someone was indifferent to us in the past. Someone insulted us. Something doesn’t work the way we like. We sit, stew, and get turned off.

I’d like to suggest a different tack. Let us welcome you. Let us work with you to fix what is broken. We cannot fix a problem if we don’t know about it, and part of welcoming is fixing what makes us unwelcoming. Getting involved with a smaller group such as MoTAS is much less daunting than the larger groups.

So as I said at the beginning: “I would like to welcome you to Temple Ahavat Shalom and the Men of TAS”. Let me do that welcoming. Give us that chance, and if something isn’t working, let us know. We’re here to hear you (and you can start, if you want, by commenting on this post).