“semiquincentennial ” is Rabbi Shana Nyer’s new favorite word.
Over the July 4 weekend, Nyer said she picked up a “semiquincentennial” magnet in colonial Williamsburg and, on July 6, attached it to an empty magnet board in her new office to mark not only the country’s 250th birthday, but the start of her service to Suburban Temple-Kol Ami as rabbi of the Reform Jewish congregation in Beachwood.
The next day marked a new beginning for another staff member, Lauren Trexler, who succeeds Ner as the synagogue’s director of lifelong learning to round out STKA’s seven-member staff. Unlike Nyer, who is starting her 15th year with Suburban Temple-Kol Ami, Trexler is entering uncharted territory serving a Cleveland-area congregation. The Tallahassee, Fla., native comes to the temple from a nine-year position as director of education at Temple Israel Akron…