Bimah Assignments: How to Keep it "Covered"
Fat Cows in Fall, Lean Cows in Spring: What to Do?
Board Training on a Grand Scale: The Biennial of the Century
Start Your Board Meetings with Torah Study
Your Temple Bulletin: Free Advertising for the Board and Board Activities
Israel Kallah 2000: an Extraordinary Opporutnity
Share Your Ideas and Input

Bimah Assignments: How to Keep it "Covered"

One of the board's frequent responsibilities is "bimah duty." Trustees represent the temple leadership at services by greeting the congregation, congratulating those experiencing simchas, welcoming newcomers, making bar/bat mitzvah presentations, and ushering. Trustee representation at every service is an effective way to demonstrate that the board is devoted to the spiritual as well as the "policy" aspects of the synagogue.

The challenge for the board is to structure bimah assignments with maximum effectiveness while minimizing effort and the possibility of failure. A good way to start the process is by circulating in June a list of all the services that will need to be "covered" by board members. On the list, note if there will be any guest speakers, a theme for the evening, or anything that might pique a board member's interest in attending the Friday night service, and include the names of those who will be celebrating their bar/bat mitzvahs during the Saturday service. When board members are given the opportunity to sit on the bimah at a service they are otherwise planning to attend, there is a strong likelihood that they will, in fact, attend. Circulating the list in advance also provides board members with the opportunity to decline dates on which they will be unable to serve.

Next, prepare a schedule that assigns the rest of the dates randomly to board members. Some synagogues also assign a substitute for each service. Distribute the completed list to all board members in August. It then becomes the responsibility of board members to obtain a substitute if they are unable to fulfill their duty. Trading is permitted! Seeking a substitute via e-mail can be very effective. There are always a few board members who attend services regularly and can be called upon at the last minute.

The final step toward insuring success is follow-up by either the temple office or the Ritual Committee. A reminder telephone call, postcard, or e-mail the week before the assigned service is appropriate.

Following this process can insure board bimah coverage, a truly worthwhile endeavor. As Brian Schuster, the past president of Temple B'nai Torah, Bellevue, WA, says:

When they sit on the bimah during services, our board members feel
honored to participate in the service and to share in the celebrations
of our congregants. They become more visible as leaders, and they
have the opportunity to meet more of our members.

Fat Cows in Fall,
Lean Cows in Spring: What to Do?

Many temples send out their yearly dues bills during the summer and receive the bulk of their funds for the year around this time, in September. Bills, however, come in throughout the year and there must be funds to pay for them. Joseph became Pharaoh's right-hand man by interpreting Pharaoh's dreams about fat and lean cows and then devising a plan to deal with a time of famine that would follow a time of plenty. Take your cue from Joseph and make sure that you plan judiciously for the less fertile times of your year. Below are some tips that will help your board prevent this potential cash flow problem.

1. Consider billing quarterly or even monthly. Also think about permitting congregants to pay by credit card, with monthly payments being automatically charged to their card and paid to the temple.
2. Planning your various billings so that money comes in at different times of the year is another way to "spread the wealth." Consider billing for the religious school in April to help your temple get through those lean summer months. You may want to include in your budget a reasonable projection of year-end contributions, which can be factored into your January-March quarter.
3. Budgeting carefully will relieve the pressure when your congregation's large bills, such as insurance payments, UAHC dues, and winter heating statements, arrive. Consider managing the investment of your operating funds in such a way that funds are available during those peak demand times. Alternatively, try to arrange with your vendors for quarterly or even monthly billing to relieve single-payment stress.
4. Prudent annual and multiyear budgeting paired with a careful monitor of cash flow each month can predict problems before they occur and give you an opportunity to address them.
5. Excellent computer software in an easily readable and usable format is available to help congregations keep careful tabs on their spending.

Board Training on a Grand Scale:
The Biennial of the Century
GO FOR YOURSELF, YOUR BOARD,
AND YOUR CONGREGATION

Reenergize yourself spiritually and intellectually. Worship with 5,000 people, all of whom know the words. Return to your congregation full of ideas, knowledge, and a better sense of your role as a synagogue leader within the Reform Jewish community.
________________________________________________________________________
For further information, contact the UAHC Department of Conventions and Meetings at (212) 650-4270, and consult the Biennial Web site at http://uahc.org/orlando for the latest news about the convention.

Torah study is so essential to the life of the Jewish people that including it as a regular part of your board meetings makes good sense.

• Your board meetings will become a model of Jewish community for your congregation.
• Your board members will grow to become a community of Jewish leaders.
• Your congregation will be healthier because you, its congregational leaders, will become more educated and better informed.
• You will have the opportunity to bring God, spirituality, a sense of the divine, and a hint of transcendence into your meetings.
• While studying and exchanging ideas, you will be building community with your fellow board members.
• You will learn about yourself spiritually and as a Jew.

1. Start with the blessing: Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha'olam, asher kedeshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu la'asok bedivrei Torah.
2. Select a text from Torah with an eye toward engaging your board in meaningful dialogue that has specific relevance to board tasks and responsibilities. The text can be selected from the week's parashah or from anywhere in the Bible, Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, or more contemporary writings.
3. Provide commentary -- some background information about the text that will encourage meaningful discussion.
4. Pose questions for discussion that will help the board probe the text.
5. Offer reflections -- some ideas from the text for your board members to think about during the coming month.

excellent material for focusing our study activities on Jewish principles
and the spiritual mission that relate to our activities as lay leaders; it
gives us a moment to step back and understand why being a synagogue
board member is different from being a board member in any other
institution. I would encourage every congregation to use Go and Study.

• A Fruitcake in Every Pot
• The Big Picture
• When Should You Just Say No?
• No Pain, No Gain
• Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, but Words Can Stop Rebellion

As the New Year begins, take another look at your temple bulletin as the ideal resource for promoting and communicating the work of the board. The bulletin is the perfect vehicle for publicizing the board's vision, mission, and goals for the congregation. Ongoing board columns can help dispel the ever-present communications barrier. The bulletin can also introduce your members and their achievements to the congregation, as well as help to market board-sponsored or recommended events.

Consider an ongoing board column titled "Board Briefs," which can summarize monthly board meetings, highlight the board's accomplishments, and explain its activities. Feature profiles of your members in an article entitled "Meet the Board," with photos and summaries of each member's unique qualifications for trusteeship.

Other board-sponsored or promoted activities that could be featured in your bulletin include:

• The president's annual meeting address.
• Your congregation's Mission Statement.
• An acknowledgment of long-standing members.
• Profiles of staff members, for example, your administrator, religious school principal, or teachers.
• A welcome to new members.
• Volunteer recognition.
• A congregational photo.

Consider sponsoring a group of your board members to attend the new Israel Kallah 2000 for an "Adventure of the Spirit." Israel Kallah 2000 is specifically designed to offer you the extraordinary opportunity to enrich your work as board members and provide you with new tools to enhance the performance of your board duties as you study and worship in Israel, while also visiting key Reform institutions and sites.

Kallah in Israel, January 12-23, 2000, is cosponsored by the UAHC and HUC-JIR.
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For further information, contact the UAHC Department of Adult Jewish Growth by phone at (212) 650-4087,by e-mail at ajgrowth@uahc.org, or on the Web at http://uahc.org/growth/kallot/israel00.html.

Share Your Ideas and Input

Do you have

• Programs that have worked well in your congregation?
• Topics about which you would like more information?
• Suggestions for articles for Inside Leadership?

For our September-October issue: Share with us how the CCAR's "Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism" is impacting the leadership style and vision of your congregation.