Building a "Community Within a Community" Through Board Orientation

The election or appointment of new board members provides a critical opportunity to set the tone for your leaders and your congregation. It is the moment to build new habits and demonstrate that board service can be both enriching and productive. A board orientation gives members shared language and purpose and creates an energy that sets them up to do great work. Its value cannot be underestimated.

Great board orientations include both new members and folks who are either continuing board service or have previously served. Things change each year, and orientation is an opportunity for a diverse group of people to get to know each other, learn together, and share stories and knowledge. The URJ defines a congregational board as a "community within a community." The way we interact with each other should be the way we want our congregants to act with each other: with kindness, care, and in a relational way so that we deepen our connections beyond "hello."

Tapping into the success of our Leadership Boot Camp, the URJ will be launching the first ever URJ Board Orientation Boot Camp this spring. Join us on the evening of June 4 for a 3-hour online experience. Congregational boards will participate in a combination of plenary sessions and congregational breakout rooms. There will even be time allotted for congregation-specific content you want to share with your board. URJ staff and volunteers will work with your board through interactive learning, activities, and discussions about:

• The board's role
• Clarifying members' roles
• Being an ambassador
• Sacred partnerships

The URJ Board Orientation Boot Camp is for leaders with all levels of experience. We hope that this will be an expectation of all board members in our congregations. The board will learn together, create a shared language, and establish shared expectations to ultimately move ahead together as the community you aspire to be for your entire congregation.

Registration for the Board Orientation Boot Camp will open at the end of March. For more information and answers to your questions, contact boardworkshops@urj.org.