The Community Today
The synagogue has been struggling to reatain sufficient support to remain open. The shul that was built in the 1960s and is used today is quite large and was meant to accommodate the larger numbers that existed back then. Unfortunately, by the late 1970s, it only had 40 paying members. Although many simchas are held there, it really has been a struggle for the synagogue executive to draw in the numbers required to make ends meet. In turn, they often do not have the required number of men to serve as a minyan, which is required to hold services. Mitchel Speigel, who served as president of the shul for many years, has been very concerned about the fate of the synagogue. He indicated that there are many Jews in town who are unaffiliated, and despite having a beautiful building with lots of space, there are only 4 families in town now involved in the shul.
The community has been discussing the possibility of counting women as part of the minyan and trying to reach out to those who have not been involved in the synagogue before by creating a more liberal congregation. At the moment, the community is split as to what course it should take. One group is committed to retaining a traditional approach and the other would like to create a more egalitarian environment. The two sides have been unable to achieve any type of consensus. Consequently, they asked Emma Sobel, from the Regional Jewish Communities of Ontario (RJCO) to help them out. She came to town in April 2008 in order to listen to the two sides and try to arbitrate between the two groups.
There is therefore a great deal of pressure on everyone concerned to achieve some type of understanding or consensus. If this can't be reached, the community may not be able to maintain the shul. Considering the rich history of the congregation and the energy that their parents and grandparents put into building the shul, one hopes that a plan can be devised that will enable the community to come together and not only sustain the institution but maintain some type of unity within this fractured Jewish community.
