Building Capacity for Change in Congregational Education through Communities of Practice
Our work has revealed to us several key principles about building capacity for leading change in congregational education.
Communities of Practice
Focusing on One Topic of Congregational Life Can Be a Game-Changer for Your Community
If your congregation spent 12-24 months focusing on one topic of your congregational life, could it transform your entire community? If you decided to really delve into engaging baby boomers or figuring out how to focus on social justice issues, could it be a game changer for your congregation? This year, we’re excited to launch four new Communities of Practice, and applications are open through May 9th, 2016.
Building on Successful Launch Cohort, Union for Reform Judaism Introduces New Communities of Practice, to Promote Innovation in North American Congregations
Contact: Lauren Theodore at 212-650-4154
November 6, 2015, Orlando, FL – At the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ)
Sacred Giving: How Reform Congregations are Reimagining Financial Support
Nearly every congregation today faces the challenge of trying to increase or stabilize revenue, so it’s no surprise that in the last few weeks alone, the Jewish press published three separate pieces on the subject:
- eJewishPhilanthropy shared an overview of the changing landscape and what that may look like for particular synagogues. They explain the traction this issue has gained in recent months, calling on the expertise of researchers and advocates for change.
- In “The Case for Pay-What-You-Can Synagogue Dues” on Jewish parenting site Kveller, one blogger wrote a personal reflection about the many factors that families consider when weighing the cost and benefit of joining a synagogue – and why the potential upside for congregations seems worth the risk.
- The Sun-Sentinel recently reported that Temple Beth Orr of Coral Springs, FL, became the first congregation in South Florida to adopt a voluntary dues commitment model.
And that’s not all.
How Tots Helped Our Small Congregation Grow
By Harriet Skelly
In 2013, Congregation Shir Ami in Castro Valley, CA, was at its lowest membership in 15 years. Several years earlier, we had implemented a new, low-cost dues structure in the hopes that it would help increase the membership. At about the same time, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, visited the Bay Area and spoke with local congregational presidents about audacious hospitality, relational Judaism, and “going outside the walls.” I was intrigued by his language, but still didn’t really get it. I was just stuck on how to find unaffiliated Jews in our area to bring into our congregation.