FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMUNICATE!
Q: What is Communicate!
A. Communicate! is the online Resource Bank of programs and ideas, contacts and resources created by Union for Reform Judaism members for the use of our Union congregations. Created in 1994 so that synagogues could share their best practices, successful and replicable program and ideas, the Resource Bank continues to grow as congregations and the Union add to it.
Q: What is a Communicate! Summary?
A. A short synopsis of a successful replicable program with material, such as invitations, brochures, publicity or curricula attached and links to relevant Union programming.
Q: What is in a Communicate! Summary?
A. A Communicate! summary is chock full of information. Each summary contains:
- The title of the summary
- The summary number
- The author of the summary
- A synopsis of the program
- Resources which are often linked to actual congregational documents
- “For more information” links to Union material
- Synagogue contact information including Name, Size, Mailing address, Phone and Fax numbers, Contact name, Contact email
- Forwarding email
- Communicate! email
- The number of your search results
- Arrows to move among your search results
Q: What is What’s New in Communicate!?
A. What's New in Communicate! is a monthly email describing the newest Communicate! summaries, highlighting seasonal and topical summaries and illustrating how best to use the Resource Bank. Click here to subscribe.
Q: How can I search using Communicate's Advanced Search?
A. Keywords: Search using the Quick Search on the home page by choosing from the drop down menu. Search using the Advanced Search by choosing one Keyword from the drop down menu in the first Keyword box. Narrow or expand your search by choosing a second Keyword in the second Keyword box. If you want to expand your search, click on Match One, if you want to narrow your search click on Match All. You can also type in your own Keyword in the third Keyword box.
Congregation Size: You can choose to limit your search by size. For example, if you are interested in only small congregations, enter 1 and 250 in the search boxes.
Author and Congregation: A colleague may have mentioned that he or she submitted a program to Communicate! Browse the drop-down menu to find that person’s name or congregation and the program submitted.
Text: An alternative to the Keyword list, the text search enables you to cull through the actual summary.
Summary Number: The quickest way to access a summary if you know the number (having learned about it in What’s New in Communicate! or from a colleague) is to enter it in the box or enter 1 and 2500 in the two boxes to browse all the summaries or 2000 and 2500 to browse the newest ones.
Q: How do I use the Keyword list?
A. Click on the Keywords drop down menu and browse the hundreds of possible topics availabe in Communicate!
Q: Do I have to use the Keyword list?
A. No, In the Advanced Search just type in a word or words and click Enter, the Keywords help you understand the scope of what is available on Communicate!
Q: What is the difference between the Search box on the home page and the Advanced Search?
A. The home page search box is a quick one-step search, just like the Google Search on the Union’s Web site, where you can either choose a Keyword from the drop down menu or type in what you would like to search.
The Advanced Search in Communicate! enables you to narrow your search by
- Using two Keywords and choosing Match All to limit your search or Match One to widen it
- Choosing a range of sizes of congregations
- All the summaries from a particular congregation or state
- Entering a word that appears in the Text
- Entering a Summary Number
Q: Do I need to complete all the boxes in Advanced Search?
A. No! Fill in as much or as little information as you wish to broaden or narrow your search
Q: What types of programs and ideas are on Communicate!?
A. Summaries span the full spectrum of life cycle events and congregational needs
- Weddings
- B'rit milah
- Educational and social programs for the young, the elderly and everyone in between including bar/bat mitzvah projects and adult b'nei mitzvah classes
- Chevra kadisha and funeral and cemetery practices and handbooks
- Outreach and conversion information
All aspects of synagogue management are represented including
- Members' financial commitment (dues)
- Budgeting
- Building operations and maintenance
- Board meetings and training
- Computer programs
- Membership recruitment, integration, and retention
- Fund raising and endowment
- Publications including Web pages and bulletins
- Office software - including the ability to find other Reform congregations using the same software
Worship and study programs include:
- Adult Torah study
- Family retreats
- Shabbat and holiday programming
- Special services (Brotherhood, WRJ, healing, religious school)
- Special needs situations
- A collection of Purim spiels
Social action programs involve:
- Mitzvah days and projects
- Israel
- Caring Community
- Interfaith celebrations
- High Holy Day food drives
- Political forums
Q: How can I find the latest summaries?
A. When you search using Communicate! the newest summaries appear first. If you would like to browse the entire Resource Bank, enter 1 and 2500 in the two Summary Number boxes. The newest summary will appear first. Then click on the arrows in the upper right corner of the summary to continue browsing.
Q: What is the Epstein Communicate! Award?
A. Communicate! founders Paddy and Barry Epstein created a grant program to encourage congregants to submit their successful programs to the Communicate! Resource Bank.
Q: What are the Award categories?
A. Grants are awarded for the best program or idea submitted by a
- Congregation with more than 750 households
- Congregation with 250 to 750 households
- Congregations with fewer than 250 households
- Member of NATA––National Association of Temple Administrators
- Member of
- NATE––National Association of Temple Administrators
- ECERJ––Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism
- PDRJ––Program Directors of Reform Judaism
Q: How do I enter the Award Contest and be eligible for an Award?
A. Entering is easy—
- Log on to www.urj.org/comm
- Click on Submit Summary
- Complete the form and click Submit
Enter as much information as you wish. Be sure to include a contact name and email address. Include as long a summary as you would like and click Submit. Be sure to send electronic documents to Communicate@urj.org. Your programs and ideas will be forwarded to the Communicate! Resource Bank administrator where it will be reviewed and, if accepted, it will be formatted and entered into the online program and be made available for use by all your fellow Union members. It will automatically be entered into the next Award contest.
Q: How can I get help entering my program?
A. Email Communicate@urj.org with your questions or call the Communicate! Hot Line at 800.784.4735 anytime. The Program Administrator will call you back between 9–5 Monday-Friday Eastern Time.
Q: I have a Communicate! CD-Rom. What do I do with it?
A. Throw it away! Communicate! has a powerful search engine that is not compatible with the old CD. Communicate! is exclusively Web based, all you have to do is log on to Communicate at www.urj.org/comm and you will have the latest entries at your fingertips.
