ANNOUNCING THE 2009 EPSTEIN COMMUNICATE! AWARDS RECIPIENTS
Communicate! is the online resource bank of over 2,500 programs
and ideas that has been created exclusively for Union
for Reform Judaism congregations and their members. Every two years summaries in several
categories are selected to receive an Epstein Award, recognizing those congregations'
outstanding programming. Award
recipients receive a $1,000 grant in programming funds awarded at the
Union for Reform Judaism Biennial Convention, which took place in Toronto, Ontario,
on November 4-8, 2009.
Communicate! founders Paddy and Barry Epstein
created this grant to encourage congregants to submit their successful programs
and ideas to the Communicate! resource bank.
Epstein Communicate! Awards were presented for the
following programs:
Annual Report Temple Emanu-El,
Westfield, NJ (Category: Congregations
with more than 750 households) Temple
Emanu-El created a beautiful and thorough brochure as an annual report of how
their money is spent. Congregants now
have a visual understanding of where their financial commitments and fund
raising dollars go. This brochure has
also proven to be an effective marketing tool, as prospective members can tell
at a glance all the great goings-on at Temple Emanu-El. Summary number
2602
Bylaws Treasure Hunt Temple Sinai
of Sharon,Sharon, MA (Category: Congregations
with 250-750 households) After
recognizing that few board members actually read the congregation's bylaws, Temple Sinai
of Sharon
created a successful Bylaws Treasure Hunt that is played at each Board
Orientation/Training session. Board
members not only have fun searching for the answers, but they also work as a
team to learn the synagogue's bylaws. Resources: 2009 Bylaws Hunt
clues; 2008 Bylaws Hunt
clues; Summary number 2643
Small Congregation Affiliates with Large Congregation
and Keeps Its Identity(Category: Congregations
with fewer than 250 households) Congregation
Beth Ahavah, the thirty-three year old small but free-standing GLBTQ
congregation in Center City Philadelphia, learned it was to lose the lease of
its space - a storefront which had been its home for the last fifteen years. A nearby synagogue, Congregation Rodeph
Shalom, invited Congregation Beth Ahavah to use its space and eventually an
affiliation agreement was reached and has been successful in the eyes of both
congregations. Resources: affiliation
agreement; Summary number 2583 Congregation
Beth Ahavah at Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia, PA
Senior Rabbi Selection Criteria Discussion Beth Emet the Free Synagogue, Evanston,
IL (Category: Member of National Association
of Temple Administrators) Faced with
the need to select a new senior rabbi for only the second time in its
sixty-year history, Beth Emet, The Free Synagogue, created a "Senior Rabbi
Selection Committee", which sought to engage and involve the congregation and
collect congregants' input about their hopes and dreams for the next senior
rabbi. Resources: draft
criteria circulated to the congregants; facilitation
guide; Summary number 2636
Foreign Food and Film
Festival Temple Beth Ami, Rockville, MD (Category: Member of National
Association of Temple
Educators; Early
Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism; or Program Directors of Reform Judaism) Three times
a year following an early Shabbat service, Temple Beth Ami extends their
successful Spirit of Shabbat program by holding a Foreign Food and Film
Festival. During the Festival,
congregants take a virtual journey to a foreign country; they enjoy that
country's cuisine and learn about the country through engaging presentations
and documentaries. Summary number
2618
Honorable
Mentions were presented for the following programs:
Auction and Deflation
Dinner Temple Israel, Columbus,
OH The result
of five months of planning, Temple
Israel's Auction and
Deflation Dinner was a great success.
Congregants donated their "good stuff that never made it to eBay" for
the auction and gift certificates from local business were also solicited. Congregants were then invited to join the
event, including dinner, wine and music, for just $18! One Temple Israel
member pointed out, "This is the largest turnout for a social event since the
High Holy Days!" Summary number
2620
Changing the World Together One Block at a Time Temple Judea Mizpah, Skokie, IL Temple
Judea Mizpah's Religious and Social Action Commission, rabbi and Education
Director worked with the Executive Director of the Good News Community Kitchen,
a community organization, to teach their Jewish and at-large community that
they can help themselves as well as others. Resources: photos
in the local paper; publicity flier;
Summary number 2633
Connecting Generations Temple Israel, Omaha,
NE Just as the
Torah has been passed on from generation to generation, so should our personal
narratives. Temple Israel
entrusted this great responsibility to both the elders in their congregational
community and the middle and high school students. Students were trained in interviewing skills
and proceeded to interview the elders' stories and record them for preservation
in the archives of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society. Summary number
2571
Three Faiths
Day Monmouth Reform
Temple, Trinton Falls, NJ What do you
get when a rabbi, a minister and an imam ride on a bus together? You get a rare
opportunity to join together three different religions and their spiritual
leaders in one day to compare and contrast, and learn and demystify one
another's faiths. Monmouth Reform Temple
was the lead Jewish organization participating in a Tri-Faith Day of
Cooperation in Monmouth County,
NJ. Resources: www.monmouthreformtemple.org;
Summary number 2641
WHARFF Expo Temple Beth
Ami, Rockville, MD In response
to the community need for quality, non biased education relative to the issues
one faces either when preparing to retire, is already in retirement or is
caring for an aging and/or ill family member, Temple Beth Ami put together a
day long multi-faceted education Expo to address these issues - the Wellness,
Heath, Aging, Retirement and Financial Freedom
Expo. Resources: video highlights; sample
presenter packet; sample
exhibitor packet; sample budget;
detailed
timeline; track and
session listing; promotional
pieces; Expo program;
Summary number 2590
Multimedia: 