Meet Sarah Kianovsky & Frank Friedman

Let’s Be Friends:

MEET SARAH KIANOVSKy AND FRANK FRIEDMAN

As we kick off the 2016 Friends Annual Fund, we are pleased to introduce Sarah Kianovsky and Frank Friedman as the Chairs of this year’s Friends Annual Fund. Get to know Sarah and Frank and why they support Temple Israel and the Friends Annual Fund.

How long have you been members of Temple Israel, and why did you choose Temple Israel?

We have been members since 1997. We initially chose it because of the strength of the education program, and because our oldest child was enrolled at FJECC, so it was already home to her.

How have you been involved with Temple Israel?

Sarah just completed her sixth, and last year on the Board of Trustees, where she was liaison to the Museum and Archives committees. Before that she was on the Religious School committee and the Education Task Force. Frank is serving his fifth year on the Leadership Council. He was one of the founders of the weekday minyan, and co-chairs the 477 initiative. He also organized the first Sha-Bike Shalom rides. We have also both served on the nominating committee, but not at the same time.

How has this involvement shaped your vision for Temple Israel?

Working from the inside has shown us how many people, lay leaders and staff, work hard and are invested in programming and making Temple Israel run smoothly. More than just services and classes, this has made it more clear how many communities the institution must serve. Our vision is to help Temple Israel serve all of the various interests, and not just our own personal needs.

What do you think is the most important work that Temple Israel does?

Temple Israel is at its best when it provides people with a home--spiritual, emotional, or intellectual.

What do you hope that Temple Israel will achieve in the near future? In the long term?

In the short term we need to emerge from the current rabbinic search process as a congregation that is more aware of all of our needs, ready to work together to build and grow an even more dynamic community. In the long term, we hope that we are able to maintain the diversity and progressive nature of the community, so that we can continue to evolve as a bastion of American progressive Judaism in this new century. The only way to maintain that diversity is to insure that membership is a possibility for anyone who wants to join us.

What do you value most about Temple Israel?

We value that ours is a community that welcomes inquiry and debate. The programming and spiritual life clearly reflect that. We have strong clergy leadership; with their guidance many of Temple Israel’s most vital programs have arisen directly from member initiative.

Why do you think the Friends Annual Fund is so important?

The Friends Annual Fund makes membership affordable for many of our members. Diversity is our strength.

We have already raised over $45,000 for the 2016 Friends Annual Fund. In order to meet our budget this year we need to raise $425,000. Our goal is that every member of Temple Israel will make a donation to the Friends Annul Fund this year. Each gift makes a difference. Your participation in the Friends Annual Fund strengthens our community and is one of the reasons such diversity exists and keeps membership affordable for so many of our members. For more information or to make a donation to the Temple Israel Friends Annual Fund, contact Julie Gal-Or, Director of Development, at 617-566-3960 x156 or at julieg@tisrael.org.