Sermon: 25 years at Alyth – Lynette Sunderland
Written by Writings & Sermons by others — 3 December 2016
Shabbat Shalom.
I now have to remember what I tell my pupils – don’t be nervous, speak slowly and clearly….. and smile!
When I started working at Alyth, having previously been a member with my family for some fifteen years, I was young (very, very young). I was, despite all my bravado, a bit like a rabbit staring into the headlights. I knew that I had joined something very special and for me in particular it had fulfilled a vision that I once had sitting where you are now, that Alyth, was the place to be. I still remember vividly to this day, the first moment i walked through those back doors as a shy nine year old with a sense of awe and wonderment and today I am feeling that same sense of awe and wonderment as to how it is I am standing here today – 25 years later – alright not quite but I’m still very, very young!
When dear Viv Bellos, yes, it’s all her fault, with whom I was having singing lessons, informed me that the then administrator, Mavis Ashleigh, was retiring and was looking for someone to train, I jumped at the chance and began working as a full time employee in October 1991. Here I was a young woman (very, very young!) Working for a synagogue where I had become Bat Mitzvah, where I considered a lot of those I was now working for honorary aunts, uncles and friends. It was to all intents and purposes the dream job. And for 25 years I have continued to consider myself to be a very lucky person.
Alyth looked very different then – as you walked in you were greeted with the sound of the men’s urinals flushing, the bimah was high up, there were velvet curtains everywhere, a single computer in the office had us all scratching our heads – and we all drew straws as to who was going to work the gestetner carbon copier that week and get covered in black powder ink.
And so my work began – whether it was as secretary, administrator, community co-ordinator then director and finally as director of welfare and life cycle, my main thought has always been “our business and concern above all is people”. Helping people build relationships between each other, building relationships between myself and others, making sure that people feel welcome, cared for, supported and part of the Alyth family.
At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion we read about Rebekkah, pained with pregnancy, twins struggling in her womb. Such struggle and pain that she asks god, what will happen in the end?” I’ve always had a soft spot for Rebekkah. Rebekkah who in last week’s reading not only showed the Jewish values of kindness, chesed, and offered water and hospitality – hachnasat orchim – to the stranger but who went the extra mile and helped to feed the stranger’s camels too. A woman of her own mind who was asked – not told – did she want to follow the stranger to a new place, the only woman in the Torah who seems to talk directly with god, sees a vision, recognises the change that is needed and with confidence changes the course of Jewish history. Rebekkah who having asked the question what will be the outcome of her difficult pregnancy does not just exist for the day but thinks of the future and what the consequences might be.
The values and vision that Rebekkah shows are those that outline the work we do here.
I am very proud of Alyth. We don’t always get it right but I can say with hand on heart that what we do always tries to be rooted in Jewish values. The one question that my colleagues and I often ask and is also considered amongst the lay leadership when making a decision about a matter is “what values are we fulfilling, will it be kind to the majority of our members and what will be the outcome?”
In a community of over 3,000 people it’s impossible to please all the people all the time. But if we start with these questions then hopefully we are heading in the right direction and I have been pleased to be a part of this thoughtful, visionary and Jewish value decision making process.
Fulfilling mitzvot is what a synagogue community should be about. Welcoming the stranger, comforting the mourner, being kind to each other and helping the sick and those who are struggling and in need. You will be hard pushed to find another synagogue where on the front page of its publicity it talks about the values that we aspire to in all aspects of our work. I am very proud that this is how we think and approach our work. I am proud that throughout the years we have had and still have wonderful volunteers who enable our community to function and who enable others to have light in their life; from those who involve themselves with the senior club to those who host the shalom suppers; from those who cook for the gemach to those who are a part of our chevra kadisha, from those who set out our kiddush to those who sit on our reception and to those who attend to the needs of the individual – you, who enable these events, fulfil the values we hold dear.
I am proud that i am enabled by my colleagues, lay leaders and congregants to work with the community in addressing real matters that affect people every day. Such as our partnership with Jami the mental health service for our community; the Alzheimers Society; the work we are doing in conjunction with the whole reform movement to combat isolation and loneliness whatever age; and in this regard it is wonderful and exciting to know that we hope to have the Alyth minibus trundling around north west London very shortly to help more people access our events and activities.
I am proud to be part of an ever moving, forward thinking, thriving, thoughtful and caring congregation which aims to consider all interests and life situations. And when members, new members and others from outside Alyth, say to me, this is an amazing community with so much going on for all – it is wonderful – I am proud, very proud.
The word toldot means generations. Another aspect of my work is the teaching of bar and bat mitzvah students. Talia – mazel tov on becoming bat mitzvah – Talia alongside her family was one of the pupils I taught at the family education programme, Satch, and it has been lovely to have been a part of your Jewish journey over the past few years. One of my biggest delights is to see the next generation of what will hopefully be this synagogue’s future leaders. When you start teaching the 12 year olds of those whose parents were your peers and whose grandparents you worked alongside in a professional/lay leadership capacity – you know you have been here a while! But it is essential that we welcome, nurture, understand and provide the right environment for our young people as well as our older generation. Welfare is now not just about the care of our elders. Both the young and the old suffer and have their trials and tribulations. We as a staff team recognise this by regularly meeting to discuss the welfare of our under 18s. This ensures that our young are cared for and supported in the best way possible. In a troubled world with limited practical and financial resources available – welfare addresses the needs of all ages, in all sorts of health and personal circumstances. At Alyth, I am once again proud that we have a natural ethos of being able to think of others in our generosity and our actions. Taking care of and being there for each other is what we as a community should be about and my work for 25 years has always aimed to strive for this.
So I want to take this opportunity to thank you – thank you to Viv for thinking of me; thank you to the Alyth community for giving me the opportunities to learn and develop over a quarter of a century, thank you for giving me the trust and privilege of sharing sometimes your difficult and/or joyful journeys, thank you for the care, support and love you have shown me in my difficult and joyous times, thank you to past and present lay leaders who have given me the leeway to try things new and to my colleagues, past and present, for making my working day a joy. In particular, I want to thank rabbis Mark and Josh. Since they have both been at Alyth, their encouragement and support of both me personally and professionally and their tireless work alongside me has allowed us to think outside the box and to ensure that Alyth becomes in many instances an exemplary model of welfare, well-being and pastoral care.
And last but by no means least, thank you to my family and friends who have understood and tolerated that for the past 25 years I have not had a job but a full-on vocation.
The old shall dream dreams and the youth shall see visions. Whilst definitely not old, I may not quite make another 25 years in post! However, I look forward to partnering those already doing and those wanting to join us in the work that is still to be done with values, visions and with good heart well in to the future of this community. Thank you. Shabbat shalom.