Contact:
Emily Grotta
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uahc@uahc.org

REFORM FELLOWS TRAINED TO
ASSIST CLERGY IN CONVERSIONS;
LAY LEADERS HELP MEET
EVER-GROWING INTEREST IN JUDAISM

The fifth class of Reform Outreach Fellows recently completed a five-day training program, the first step in a yearlong program to certify Outreach Fellows to help rabbis meet the growing demand from non-Jews interested in converting.

Since the Reform Movement established the Outreach Fellows Program for Conversion Certification in 1998, almost 90 people have completed the program, which certifies lay people to work in partnership with rabbis, counseling small groups of prospective Jews on authenticity, acculturation, and family concerns. With the 30 men and women who began the program this summer, trained fellows are now working in every region of the country.

"The Outreach Fellows Program is a wonderful opportunity for lay leaders to play an important role in welcoming Jews-by-choice into Judaism," said Kathryn Kahn, associate director of the UAHC's Department of Outreach and Synagogue Community. "The Torah teaches us to welcome the stranger, and, by helping integrate converts into synagogue life, graduates of the program help fulfill this important mitzvah."

Equally important, it enables rabbis to handle the ever-increasing number of people who, after taking the Reform Movement's introductory courses about Judaism seek to become Jews-by-choice.
"I was amazed at the three women who came back [to my congregation] from the first Fellows program," said Rabbi Aryeh Azriel of Temple Israel in Omaha, NE. "They immediately rolled up their sleeves and became very involved with…the practical steps toward conversion, providing information, guidance, and inspiration."

The Outreach Fellows Program is sponsored jointly by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. The training, held on the HUC-JIR campus in Cincinnati August 7-11, covered topics such as the history of conversion to Judaism, contemporary conversion requirements, dealing with difficult issues such as anti-Semitism, Jewish identity, and relating to Israel, and family issues.

Reform scholars teaching classes at the Outreach Fellows Program included Professor Mark Washofsky, who conducted a seminar on conversion during the rabbinic era, Professor Michael Meyer, who taught about Israel and Zionism, and Professor Samuel Joseph, who led a class on the ways that adults learn.

Participants were also able to work with a panel of Jews-by-choice from a variety of backgrounds, and had the opportunity to work with a group of potential converts before returning to their home congregations.

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The Union of American Hebrew Congregations is the central body of Reform Judaism in North America, uniting 1.5 million Reform Jews in more than 900 synagogues. UAHC services include camps, music and book publishing, outreach to unaffiliated and intermarried Jews, educational programs, and the Religious Action Center in Washington, DC.