Nobody told me when I joined Temple Micah that baking cookies would be part of my membership obligation. But there I was, early morning on the day of the Tom Chapin concert, mixing a batch of chocolate chip cookies for the Micah NFTY fundraiser. But this wasn't my idea. Sheri Blotner sent an e-mail around, soliciting bakers. And Wendy Jennis arranged the demanding logistics of the concert. And Doug Mishkin miraculously was able to snag this great singer to come down to our little shul to perform for us and our Washington neighbors.

In other words, Temple Micah is a community of involved and connected people. While cookie bakers are a part of the mix, they are only a small segment of a group of people who make things happen at Micah. Make Micah Friends, the Fiber Arts group, Kol Isha, Micah Cooks, Micah Mocha, Hineini, and Friends in Need--each of these groups developed from a member's vision of a meaningful way to engage and support our community.

I think about this a lot when I hear someone ruefully reflect on how large our congregation has become and how it has changed in the decade since we moved to our new home.

No doubt Temple Micah is different today. The congregation is now twice as large as it was before we moved. Few, if any of us, know everyone by name, or even by sight. We no longer can communicate with a critical mass of the congregation by simply lingering at an Oneg Shabbat. And it is strange to realize that when we experience the death of a congregant, not everyone can recall a story involving that person.

But I don't think that all of this growth is bad. Growth has brought new people, and new involvement, to our community.

First and foremost is the inclusion of Rabbi Manewith. In her brief time here, she has seamlessly entered into our vibrant world. As our associate rabbi, she has brought a different and wonderful perspective to our worship and teaching. Her energy, wisdom, and knowledge quickly made her an integral member of our community. Meryl Weiner's role has also been expanded to accommodate our growth. Her title of cantorial soloist does not begin to describe her contributions, as she also tutors b'nai mitzvah students, both youth and adult, works with Kol Isha, and has developed programs for our teens and adults.

The board has been tackling the practical challenges that come from congregational growth. Administrative tasks such as fielding calls from prospective members, handling security, overseeing building maintenance, and handling the temple's finances have added substantial burdens to our administrative staff. Remember when Susie Blumenthal, our devoted administrator, could handle all this herself? So we have added new staff and a bit more structure in the office. We have even engaged a consultant to assess how the business hub of our congregation can be streamlined to better support the work of our professional staff and the needs of our congregation.

Communication is a real challenge in a larger congregation, but it is a challenge that Micah is meeting head on. The Vine and our expanded Web site make it possible to tell our stories to more members than can schmooze at a single oneg. Again, these valuable pieces of the Temple Micah community exist because of the involvement of committed members.

As we grow, it does take more effort to maintain our feeling of being a connected community. In a larger congregation, we will have connections to different groups within the congregation, but probably cannot have direct connections to everyone individually. But we continue to build bridges between these groups, bridges that help link us together.

And some things don't change. You will always find homemade cookies at Temple Micah events. Wishing everyone a relaxing and restorative summer.