Bob McKeown Norman Allan and Irwin Alterman, standing, often join Rabbi Spectre at the morning minyan breakfast. without any interest. It also shocked our congregants into action?' Norman Allan, a founding member of Adat Shalom, remembers this period vividly. "When I found out we had filed for bankruptcy, I couldn't sleep at night. I knew I had to raise enough money to pay off the bank and get our synagogue back. I had been president twice before, but I begged the nominating committee to put me on the slate again as president. I knew no one else was going to work on this day and night:' "I had until Dec. 31 (1973) to raise the money; the bank was talking tough. I knew they meant business?' "Within a month, I had run down to Florida to talk to other long-time members and had secured checks for $375,000. I also borrowed from my bank to come up with funds. In all, I was able to raise the necessary $750,00 to pay off all our past bank payments and bring our mortgage up to data" Alterman praises Allan's single- minded dedication. "Many people contributed significantly to saving our synagogue, but Norman Allan was the single greatest factor to keep- ing us from losing our building and perhaps even ending our congrega- tion. He worked non-stop for years, and was far and away our single largest contributor. Allan is modest about his effort. "Sometimes you have to live with yourself. I had seen Mat Shalom grow from an empty storefront on Livernois to the Curtis building, to the modern structure on 28 acres in Farmington Hills. I wouldn't have been able to look at myself in the mir- ror if I had done any less?" Allan was instrumental in put- ting together a creative deal with the "Sometimes you have to live with yourself. I have seen Adat Shalom grow from an empty storefront . . . to 28 acres:' Norman Allan bank. The synagogue was given six years of low-interest payments in trade for a complete mortgage payoff at the end of the six years. "We instituted an austerity pro- gram," says Alterman. "We knew we had six years to raise the balance of our mortgage loan. We also had to work on creating a positive image. It's like anything else. It's a spiral. If peo- ple think you're going to make it, then they'll join and contribute. Within the six years, the area around the synagogue grew rapidly. The on-site synagogue nursery brought in a new base of young con- gregants. And Rabbi Spectre, hired in 1978, brought a new stability and dynamism. Congregants became optimistic. On Sept. 14, 1984, Adat Shalom burned its mortgage. Alan Yost, the synagogue's executive director, remembers that moment and the sense of freedom it offered the con- gregation. "The biggest nut on our back was the interest payments on the mortgage. Once we were free of the mortgage, we were able to concen- trate on running a businesslike en- vironment and using monies for a dynamic operating budget, including programming?! "As soon as we paid off the mor- tgage," says Alterman, "we turned our attention to building repairs. We spent a quarter of a million on a roof and parking lot repairs?' "This past August, we entered a new phase in our synagogue's history:' continues Alterman. "We hired our first -assistant rabbi since the bankruptcy and our attention is now focused squarely on the needs of our congregants." In the past three years, Adat Shalom has seen a dramatic rise in new members. But 200 new member families also offer new challenges. Executive director Yost attributes the increase in membership to "our location and the popularity of our nursery school and United Hebrew School programs" offered at Adat Shalom. He is also concerned with the challenge of integrating and educating the large numbers of new member families. "We are always looking at new ways to make our con- gregants feel at home. We are offer- ing a variety of programs focusing on the Jewish family. With the renewed interest in Conservative Judaism, we hope to offer all our members a positive synagogue experience?' Rabbi Spectre sees the outside issues in Jewish life affecting Adat Shalom. "There are the problems of Jewish life in Russia and the threat to K'lal Yisroel, with the fighting among ourselves," he says. "There are the excitements of Jewish life in Israel and in our own gifted and bless- ed society. "We hope that the synagogue can be a focus for direction, for the best use of what we are as Jews and what we can become in this world, using the best of our God-given resources. To this end, we are working to make our congregants knowledgeable Jews, so they understand our heritage and are able to apply the richness of our heritage within their lives in today's society?' So is Adat Shalom home free? Hardly. "We are almost at the top of the mountain, but we still have a ways to go;' says Yost. Even with all the excitement and enthusiasm we feel being a part of Adat Shalom, we are still looking for more ways to bet- ter serve our congregants and con- tinue to attract their active participa- tion?' But for Normal Allan, these days bring a quiet satisfaction. "My greatest pleasure is going to shul and seeing all the children!" ❑ THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 25