In many congregations, a trustee responsibility and, it is hoped, pleasure is to represent the board on the bimah during bar and bat mitzvahs. Your presentation may be the only exposure the guests will have to the lay leadership of the congregation. It can also serve as a moving and memorable connection to the bar/bat mitvah's family, and it is frequently preserved on tape for posterity.

Some synagogues randomly assign this responsibility, while others circulate a sign-up form so that you, as a board member, can select families with whom you have a particular connection. Whether you have known the bar/bat mitzvah since birth or are meeting him/her for the first time at the service, it is your responsibility to prepare and make a warm and appropriate, albeit brief, presentation.

Do some advance planning and research. Try to meet the bar/bat mitzvah and his/her parents beforehand if you do not know them. Speak to the rabbi, the cantor, religious school teachers, fellow congregants, or friends of the family about him/her. Learn what makes this individual special and try to discover any special associations he/she has with Judaism. Spend a few minutes organizing your thoughts.

During the service, pay particular attention to the bar/bat mitzvah's recitations and presentation. Relating the bar/bat mitzvah's attributes and activities to his/her d'var Torah, Torah, or haftarah presentation in your speech will be particularly meaningful to him/her and his/her family.

If there is more than one bar/bat mitzvah, treat each one equally. It can frequently happen that you are on the bimah because you have known one of the bar/bat mitzvahs his/her whole life. You may never have met the other one. It may seem obvious, but keep in mind that to everyone in the audience, and particularly to the family of the bar/bat mitzvah whom you do not know, you are on the bimah because you are a board member, not because you are the best friend and business partner of the father of the other bar/bat mitzvah. Wonderful presentations can be made acknowledging and contrasting the two situations, e.g., "Even though I just met you today, I can see that your deep understanding of the parashah shows your strong commitment..."

Other ideas to include in your address are:

• A description of the gifts presented by the synagogue and a suggestion about how to use them. For example, "We present you with a Kiddush cup to use with your family in welcoming Shabbat."
• An emphasis on the fact that bar/bat mitzvah preparation should be just the beginning of the bar/bat mitzvah's Jewish education.
• A suggestion that the congregation wants to help the bar/bat mitzvah continue his/her Jewish education.
• An expression of the expectation that this bar/bat mitzvah's Jewish education will continue at least through confirmation.

With a little preparation and forethought, bar/bat mitzvah presentations can be one of your most rewarding and meaningful board responsibilities.

There are forty days left until the year 2000. You can be like Noah and spend the next forty days holed up waiting for the weather to improve, or you can take steps to guarantee a smooth transition by:

• Making sure all your temple's computer-based systems (including payroll, calendar, and finances), in-house developed systems, software programs, services providers, hardware containing microchips that support your temple, electronic systems, and service contractors are Y2K compliant.
• Creating an atmosphere on Shabbat, December 31, 1999, that would encourage your members to think about Jewish time and values as the century comes to a close and to contemplate what we can do to keep Judaism alive and well in the next century. Try to take into consideration that although the millennium has no Jewish meaning, the date's secular significance will inevitably have an impact on us.
• Checking your employment contracts for any year-end notification requirements and alerting your Personnel Committee to focus on follow-up on these issues.
• Planning a substantial Jewish study component for your January board meeting, a traditionally less hectic time. Watch for a step-by-step guide to writing divrei Torah in next month's Inside Leadership.

If your congregants are like most people, the bulk of their charitable contributions takes place toward the end of the calendar year for several reasons: tax considerations, an increase in solicitations, and a predisposition on their part to end the year making charitable gifts.

Now is the time for the board to create a year-end appeal that will encourage your members to include the temple on their list of charitable donations.

Consider the following approaches:

• The Chanukah appeal: Ask your members to contribute to the temple in lieu of purchasing gifts for one of the eight nights.
• Supplementing/Following up on the High Holy Days pledge: Use the year-end as an opportunity to ask your members to reassess and follow through on their prior commitment in view of their year-end financial situation.
• A direct mail appeal to your existing donors: Remind your tried and true donors that this year-end gift will enable them to take advantage of tax laws while allowing them to make a further financial commitment to the temple.

Whatever your approach, remember to enumerate the financial advantages of year-end giving: larger deductions and better capital gains treatment, while planting the seeds for future planned giving. Remember:

Now is a good time to review the effectiveness of your congregation's and board's agenda and consider sponsoring a workshop to help your members develop solid congregational management and communication skills. The UAHC Ida and Howard Wilkoff Department of Synagogue Management will provide your congregation with a trained facilitator who will help you assess your needs and conduct a Leadership Development Workshop.

Call the Department of Synagogue Management and speak to Renee Drell, its assistant director. Tell her about your congregation, discuss the key accomplishments that your board would like to achieve, as well as any particular board problem or special situations, and propose three possible dates for the workshop. Once a date has been selected (usually one day on a weekend), more background work needs to be done: An introductory letter and a Workshop Questionnaire form, which assesses board function, member/volunteer satisfaction, and goal setting, should be distributed to your board members, the results of which will be analyzed by the Department of Synagogue Management staff.

A facilitator who has expertise in your areas of concern will be assigned to your congregation. The facilitators are members of Reform congregations who have a background and expertise in group dynamics, for example, professors, psychologists, and behaviorists. They have all participated in intensive training sessions.

The facilitator will speak with various staff members and lay leaders, including your rabbi, president, Leadership Development Committee chair, board members, and others, in order to gain a complete understanding of your congregation and to help him or her focus the workshop. Based on all of the above, the facilitator, with assistance from the department, will design a workshop tailor-made for the specific needs of your congregation.

Leadership Development Workshops enable congregational board members to become more effective leaders by teaching them leadership skills; impressing upon them the importance of vision, mission, and goals; helping them define the purpose of their temple; establishing the function and responsibilities of a temple board; improving team building; and demonstrating how to build consensus, resolve conflicts, and recruit and train Jewishly aware leaders.

The facilitator works to insure that the day-long workshop concludes with focused action plans for follow-up, including establishing a process for the continued development of your synagogue board.

Last month's Inside Leadership highlighted sites that will help you as temple trustees develop your leadership skills. http://uahc.org, the Reform Web site, also features a variety of fascinating resources that will help you grow Jewishly. Consider those listed below.

Schedule time for your own enrichment by:

• Preparing for Shabbat with Torat Hayim, http://uahc.org/torah, a commentary on and guide to the weekly parashah.
• Curling up with one of Rabbi Yoffie's suggested Significant Jewish Books, http://uahc.org/books. Check out the study guides to help you choose which book you would like to read, or use one of the books as the basis for a book group discussion.

Are you intrigued with on-line shopping? You can take care of that Chanukah list with wonderful gifts found at the following sites:

• The UAHC Press, http://uahc.org/press, has a list of suggested gift books with companion discussion guides and complete title and author listings, as well as featured selections of the month and a complete catalog by subject matter, all of which you can order directly on-line.
• Transcontinental Music Publications, http://uahc.org/transmp, has songbooks and recordings for parents and children, as well as audiocassettes and compact discs that feature prayers, blessings, and songs ranging from the traditional to the contemporary, recorded by leading rabbis, cantors, and musicians, as well as children's choirs.

When you are at home with your children or grandchildren:

• Light the candles on Friday night and explore Shabbat Table Talk, http://uahc.org/shabbat, which offers suggestions for Torah talk that are especially appropriate for families with children.
• Are you looking for latke recipes and a new spin on the dreidel game? Click on The Jewish Parent Page, http://uahc.org/educate/parent, to enrich your understanding of Jewish holidays, customs, and traditions, from blessings, prayers, and historical backgrounds to recipes, holiday how-tos, and activities.

Are you making vacation plans?

• Adult Jewish Growth, http://uahc.org/growth, offers opportunities throughout North America and in Israel for study programs, kallot, spirituality and study retreats, and even a Para-Rabbinic Fellow program.

Would you like to attend Shabbat services as you travel around the country? Or perhaps you are anticipating a move and want to find an area with a congregation that is just right for you.

• Congregation Search, uahc.org/csrch.html, provides information about congregations and connects you to their Web sites, offering you a potpourri of data from service times to sermons, from the temple bulletin to biographies of the clergy.

http://uahc.org can enhance your life and help you grow Jewishly, and it is just a click away.

Share Your Ideas and Input

Do you have

• Programs that have worked well in your congregation?
• Topics about which you would like more information?
• Suggestions for articles for Inside Leadership?