The board of directors of The New Reform Temple has decided not to renew Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn’s contract, which expires at the end of May 2012.
“This decision was the culmination of a long and thorough process which resulted in a vote that was supported by an overwhelming majority of the board,” said Thomas C. Barnett, board president. The congregation has 285-member units.
“The rabbi has served our congregation for over 10 years, and we are all grateful for the progress the congregation has enjoyed during his leadership,” he continued. “Please be assured that this decision was a difficult one for all concerned.”
Rabbi Cukierkorn informed some members of the congregation about the board’s decision last week. In an e-mail, he stated that he was “sorry and saddened” to inform them of the board’s decision not to renew his contract.
“My family and I love the congregation and the Kansas City Jewish community. We have lived here for 10 years and I expected to be the rabbi of the New Reform Temple until my retirement, many years from now. I am committed to continue fulfilling my rabbinical duties for the remainder of my term,” he said.
“It has been an honor and a joy to have been part of your lives and have you be part of ours for the past 10 years,” said the 43-year-old rabbi who was ordained by the Reform movement in 1994. He joined the congregation in 2000.
Rabbi Cukierkorn reports that during his tenure the congregation’s membership doubled in size “and has become far more active and involved in the Kansas City Jewish community.”
Since he’s been here, Rabbi Cukierkorn has authored two books, “Accessible Judaism: A Concise Guide,” which is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and “They Were Just People: Stories of Rescue in Poland During the Holocaust,” that he co-authored with Bill Tammeus. He has also written numerous articles for major Jewish magazines and newspapers all over the country and been featured in a documentary about the conversions he oversees in Latin America.
Rabbi Cukierkorn currently serves as vice president of the Society for Classical Reform Judaism and has served as president of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City.
The congregation has not yet completed plans to begin the search for a new rabbi.
