Related Blog Posts on Strengthening Congregations

Hands on a keyboard with a seder plate on the computer screen

Digital Content to Enliven Your Passover Seder

URJ staff and Reform Movement partners

You already know how to host a beautiful, profound, and Jewishly meaningful seder. What you may not yet know, though, is how to re-imagine your usual traditions to incorporate digital content that will enliven this year’s virtual rendition of your seder.  

Photo of 8 men and women wearing suits sitting around a table in an office

Congregational Consulting Cohorts: Addressing Challenges Together

Many URJ congregations face similar challenges, from growing membership to increasing community engagement to ensuring a bright future for the next generation. To help congregations find better solutions to high-level challenges, we're announcing the Congregational Consulting Cohorts.
Photo of 8 men and women wearing suits sitting around a table in an office

Enhance Meeting Effectiveness with Our New Toolkit

Julie Harris
Whether your next congregational meeting is focused on collaborating, relationship building, or checking in on the progress of strategic initiatives, ensuring that it effectively meets your desired outcomes is critical. To help you in this important work, the Union for Reform Judaism has released our Effective Meeting Toolkit.
Photo of the silhouette of four people trying to help a fifth person cross a gap in between two rocks

Summer Resources for Year-Round Board Success

Julie Harris
The summer months are a great time for presidents and boards of directors to kickstart planning for the upcoming year. Here are six important ways you can jumpstart your summer planning.
Photo of 6 arms/hands in the middle of a team huddle

Setting Your Leaders Up For Success

Gila Hadani
It's board nomination season again! Time to compile lists, get recommendations, and start calling the future leaders of your congregation. The URJ has resources, advice, and initiatives to set you and your board up for success.
Nine hands in various skin tones clasped together

Safety, Equity, and Accountability is the Path to a Thriving Jewish Community

Nicole Nevarez
Healthy, safe, and equitable culture inside Jewish organizations is absolutely imperative in light of the continued rise in antisemitism at home and abroad. The organizations that have the tools to foster psychological safety, community, and inclusion are faring as well as possible in the face of this.
RJ Web Builder feature image

RJ Web Builder 3.0: A Guide for New Users

Joel Emerman
New webmasters Lisa Goldstein, RJE, Co-President Karen Freedman, and Treasurer Michelle Foels share what their motivations for choosing RJ Web Builder 3.0 were, what their experiences were like, and what features they most enjoy.
person taking a survey on a laptop

The URJ Pulse+ Survey Can Elevate Your Story

Barak Malkin
The URJ Pulse Survey and the newly expanded URJ Pulse+ Survey showed that participating congregations were experiencing similar trends. Having the ability to compare your data with that of other URJ congregations will paint a picture that will help you assess where you are and share a more detailed story with your congregants and donors.
a hand pressing a button on a laptop

Reviving Synagogue Communities Using Smart Tech

Allison Fine
Beth Kanter
Email and other technologies are a huge factor in why employees feel like they're always on the clock. This "always-on" culture accelerated while synagogues began facing declining membership before the pandemic and has only intensified since. Even if clergy or staff are cut, the work demands don't decrease. As a result, remaining clergy or staff or volunteers are even more overwhelmed and are burning out at alarming rates.