If you were to evaluate your life today and carefully examine the various twists and turns that have come to define you, what is the story you would tell others? Now, consider the story others might tell about you. Based on these two narratives, what might you define as your lasting legacy as an individual?
There comes a point in our lives when most of us begin to think about what value we have added to the world. With any luck, as we journey from childhood to maturity, we find ways to touch the lives of others and make a difference in the world. These enduring gifts remain long after we have departed this earth and hopefully define how we are remembered for generations to come.
Congregations, like individuals, are concerned with the preservation and perpetuation of enduring values. Like individual legacies, a congregational legacy longs for ways to make a difference in the world.
At Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism, we have reached a moment in our history as a congregation which calls upon us to preserve and strengthen what past generations have built for us. Like those who stood here before us, it is now our turn to consider ways to ensure that our children and grandchildren will have the same firm commitment to Judaism and its ethical values as our ancestors did before us.
For nearly sixty years we have taken great pride in the fact that central to our mission is an effort to embrace all who enter our doors. For nearly half a century, we were the only congregation in the City of Houston with a rabbi who officiated at interfaith weddings, and throughout our existence as a community we have sought ways to engage all in experiences which strive to be intimate, inviting and inspirational.
We are a congregation that is committed to nurturing relationships rooted in shared experiences, and we are dedicated to the ongoing cultivation of new and dynamic ways of engagement through worship, study, social programming and acts of loving kindness. From infants to seniors, we seek to engage individuals with opportunities to explore the values and customs of our heritage and faith while building life-long relationships with each other, the synagogue and God. Like a family, we seek to support each other in times of need and celebrate our blessings in times of joy.
At Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism, we understand congregational life to be central in nurturing this human capacity to have a positive impact on each other and the world. This is our legacy. It is rooted in the past, anchored in our membership today and is something worth preserving for the future.
L’Dor VaDor is the Hebrew phrase which alludes to the legacies we leave. It means “From Generation to Generation.” In the coming months we will be launching a major legacy gift giving program called the L’Dor VaDor Legacy League. This effort is committed to assuring our vitality and vibrancy, our traditions and our innovations, our roots and our blossoms for many year ahead.
Keep your eyes open for more information about the L’Dor VaDor Legacy League and learn about ways to bequest gifts to ensure that Houston Congregation for Reform Judaism will continue in its mission for many generations to come.