Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

JRF is proud to present PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership. These real-time distance-learning sessions will be facilitated by a senior member of the JRF staff and will include best practices from selected congregations from across the movement.

We are pleased to provide this service free-of-charge to all JRF affiliates. It is our belief that by providing congregational leaders with the resources and experiences needed for growth, each of our communities – and the Reconstructionist movement as a whole – will benefit.

Sessions will take place via tele-conference; registered participants will receive call-in information and program materials in advance of the call.

Click here to register for PEARL offerings.

Click here for resources from previous PEARL sessions.

For more information, please contact Isaac Saposnik at isaposnik@jrf.org

CONGREGATIONAL GROWTH

* Growing Your Congregational Community
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

* Cultivating Leadership: Responding to the Volunteer Dilemma
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

* How Do We Run a Successful Congregational Fundraising Event?
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

* Congregational Dues: Models That Work
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

* Using the Web and Newsletters for Successful Community Building and Engagement
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

* Creating A Home: Thinking it Through From Building Renovation to LEEDs Platinum Certification
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

RECONSTRUCTIONIST LEADERSHIP

* Embarking on Strategic Planning for Smaller Congregations: Mission, Vision, and Values
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

* Boards That Work: Building and Sustaining an Effective Governance Structure
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

How To Successfully Integrate and Use Reconstructionism in Synagogue Processes
May 19, 12:00 - 1:30 pm EDT
Determining values that underlie congregational life can provide the framework for a viable approach to engaging and vibrant Judaism. Values-based decision making (VBDM) and similar processes can help to make your congregation uniquely Reconstructionist – this workshop will present models of how.
Facilitator: Carl A. Sheingold, JRF Executive Vice President
Guest Expert: Dr. David Teutsch

THE RABBI-CONGREGATION RELATIONSHIP

* Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Hiring a Rabbi
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

* System Evaluation in the Rabbi-Congregation Relationship
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

TIKKUN OLAM

* Sustainable Synagogues, Part 2: JRF Congregations Best Practices of 2008
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

* Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof: Actively Pursing Social Justice: Congregational Based Community Organizing and Congregational Advocacy
Click here for resources and an audio recording from this session.

Living our Values of Tikkun Olam Inside and Outside: Processes and Programs in our Congregations; Taking Action in the Larger World
May 14, 12:00 - 1:30 pm EDT
This call will explore best practices for creating committees and buy-in for effective social justice work in our congregations, including integrated youth and adult education and tikkun programming, as well as service-learning, decision-making and advocacy outside our communities.
Facilitator: Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Director of Outreach and Tikkun Olam
Guest Presenters include:
Rabbi Fred Dobb, Adat Shalom, Bethesda, MD, presenting on Adat Shalom's congregational advocacy process and policy;
Cliff Goldsmith, Dorshei Tzedek, Newton, MA Service Learning Program Resources for JRF's Teen Service Learning Week;
Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, Kol Tzedek, Philadelphia, PA, presenting on starting a congregation with a tikkun Olam focus;
Rabbi Cheryl Weiner, Outgoing Director of Religious School and Youth Programs at Kehillat Israel Religious School and Director of the "Menschlekeit Matters" Program, Pacific Palisades, CA