Congregational Relations

Congregation Consulting and Resources

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:43:06 -0500

Welcome to the Department of Congregational Consulting and Resources. Our mission is to provide programs, consultation and resources rooted in a Reconstructionist, Jewish values-based approach for member communities of JRF, and to help our member communities share resources and build relationships with each other.

The Congregational relations team, under the leadership of Rabbi Nancy Epstein, is also pleased to offer:

Board training or in-person visits around particular issues
Consulting with Presidents, Rabbis, staff and lay leaders
Gathering information from other JRF affiliates and distributing it to you
Leadership Workshops, Resource books and Curricula see http://63.115.67.94/cong/resources.html
PEARL tele-conference learning sessions for congregational leaders at http://jrf.org/PEARL
Providing community development and programming ideas
On-line audio resources and cassettes on a variety of issues at http://jrf.org/heart-mind-spirit
E-mail discussion groups that give JRF affiliates a way to discuss common issues and share innovative solutions at http://jrf.org/listserves
Fundraising and Planned Giving support through our Development Department at http://jrf.org/development
Regional support for congregations (e.g. Regional councils, Shabbatonim)

For a full listing of available resources, please visit
http://63.115.67.94/cong/congmain.html and http://jrf.org/resources-library

(Note: For communities in the New York-New Jersey, Midwest, Western and Chesapeake regions, please contact your regional directors through the regional websites on the home page.)

"You may have noticed that 'values-based decision making' has been the theme throughout all of the JRF workshops, whether talking about growth, the role of money, or congregational leadership and governance. If we are clear about who we are and what we stand for and communicate these values between and among each other, then the decisions we make - no matter how big or small - will be based upon mutually agreed upon and shared values." --Susan L., Dor Hadash, San Diego, CA

We look forward to providing you with the support you need. Please look at the links above for details. Feel free to contact us directly if you need.

Rabbi Nancy Epstein
Director of Congregational Relations
215-885-5601, ext. 11
Nepstein@jrf.org

Rabbi Shawn Zevit
Senior Consultant
215-885-5601, ext. 24
SZevit@jrf.org

A Step-by-Step Guide to CBCO

Brian Fink — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:19:53 -0500

Your congregation is interested in community organizing ... now what?

In congregation-based community organizing (CBCO), existing institutions, mostly religious congregations, are recruited to join a citywide or regional organization. CBCO affiliates organize existing groups, as opposed to individuals, since existing groups already have leaders, interpersonal relationships, resources, a shared culture that facilitates group action, and community connections and commitments.

The local affiliate and the national networks train leaders in creating winnable campaigns on local issues that affect the day-to-day lives of their members. In focusing on the "winnable," CBCO blends idealistic values with pragmatic self-interest.

While CBCO avoids direct participation in electoral politics, organizations position themselves to become power players by thoroughly researching issues, building alliances, developing strong relationships with leaders in the public and private sectors, and staging large, dramatic public meetings to demonstrate grassroots support to targeted decision-makers.

Step #1 - Investigate what's happening locally

There are four international CBCO networks:

DART - Direct Action Research and Training
The Gamaliel Foundation
IAF - Industrial Areas Foundation
PICO - People Improving Communities through Organizing

On each network's website, there is a listing of local affiliates, organized geographically. There, you can investigate whether there already is one in your area ...

For DART, click here.
For Gamaliel, click here, then browse through the regional directories on the left-hand side of the page.
For IAF, click here, and then browse through the regional directories on the left-hand side of the page.
For PICO, click here, and use the pull-down menu on the right side of the page.

Step #2 - Make contact

After you've determined that there is a community-organizing group in your area, you can use the online directory to contact the community organizer associated with the local affiliate. The organizer will probably want to schedule an initial "one-on-one" conversation with you, or with someone else from your synagogue.

During this in-person conversation, lasting from 30 minutes to an hour, the initial focus will be on each person learning something about the other. A more "nuts and bolts" discussion about the CBCO affiliate and the potential process for becoming involved, will likely only occur towards the end of the meeting, or at a subsequent follow-up.

Organizers spend a good part of their time meeting with clergy and key leaders of prospective congregations in order to discover their perceived self-interest and determine how that might fit with the self-interest of the other member organizations and the affiliate.

The organizer may subsequently invite you to have a similar conversation with members or clergy of other congregations that belong to the affiliate, and/or invite you to observe a local event or "action" occurring in the near-future. Both of these would be excellent strategies for learning more about the organization, and for making personal connections with others who are already involved.

If there is not a local CBCO affiliate in your area, the first step towards establishing one, would be the creation of a sponsoring committee made up of interested clergy, lay leaders, and other members of the community. This would typically happen in coordination with an organizer from one of the four CBCO networks.

Step #3 - Laying the groundwork

Formally joining an CBCO affiliate involves an substantial annual financial commitment, dependent on the size of your institution. Since this model of organizing teaches that the power to make change comes from organized people and organized money, paying dues represents a congregation's seriousness of commitment. Affiliates are expected to raise at least two-thirds of their money from member dues and fundraising events, and only one-third from foundations and other large donors. Some affiliates offer a reduced-cost "initial" or "provisional" membership.

Especially due to the degree of financial and human resource commitment, the entire board of the congregation, not only the tikkun olam committee, should be involved with this ongoing process at this stage, if not earlier.

Many congregations engage in an internal "one-on-one" or house-meeting campaign within their congregation before formally joining an affiliate. Regardless of the ultimate decision whether or not to join a CBCO affiliate, one-on-ones and house meetings can be extremely valuable tools. One-on-ones connect disparate segments of the congregational community, re-integrate alienated and unengaged community members back into the life of the community, and help leaders learn how best to meet the varying needs of the community.

For these reasons, the membership and programming committees of the congregation should also be involved in this process by this stage.

Step #4 - Moving into action

Once you've joined an affiliate, things do not necessarily begin with issues or ideologies -- but with the idea that if organizers train leaders not just in political skills but also in how to build relationships of mutual understanding and trust with each other, they will find ways to identify and act on common problems effectively. The CBCO networks have developed a very deliberate and skilled process for doing so. This occurs locally or at regional trainings sponsored by the network.

Through this process, often in conjunction with community "house meetings," issues emerge that can be acted upon publicly within the CBCO context.

Successful examples include congregation Doreshei Tzedek's involvement with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization. For more information, see:

The Reconstructionist

online

Step #5 - How JRF can help

In partnership with your congregation, the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation can help with your community organizing efforts through providing:

A listing of the CBCO affiliates located in your geographic area
Jewish texts for study and reflection
Facilitated networking with other Jewish organizations already involved with CBCO
Trainings and other learning opportunities

For all of these areas and more, please contact Rabbi Shawn Zevit at JRF, 215-782-8500, ex.24.

JRF North American Leadership Workshop on Congregational Growth, March 2, 2008 - Register Now!

Lisa Tuttle — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:18:28 -0500

“Congregational Growth: The Dynamics of Membership, Outreach and Financial Resources”
Sunday, March 2, 2008, 9 am to 4 pm, at Ezra Habonim – The Niles Township Jewish Congregation, Skokie, IL

Come learn how to use a congregational systems approach to understand the dynamics of congregational growth. Gain important skills and ideas about how to effectively reach out to attract new members, reach in to strengthen already-existing members and volunteers, and how to creatively grow the congregation's financial resources.

All JRF affiliates are invited to send representatives to this special one-day workshop! We strongly encourage you to come in teams of three or more to maximize the benefits.

Presenters: Barry Nove, JRF Director of Development and Rabbi Shawn Zevit, JRF Director of Outreach & External Affairs/Tikkun Olam.

Tuition: $72 per person includes breakfast, lunch and materials.

REGISTER ONLINE NOW and download the event flyer and registration form at www.jrf.org/north_american_leadership_workshop_skokie.[/b]

This workshop is part of JRF's North American Leadership Series. For information contact Shoshi Braman at jbraman@jrf.org or 215-885-5601, ext. 10.

Goals and Benefits

Learn how to use a congregational systems approach to understand the dynamics of congregational growth.
Discover how a congregation’s stage of development relates to issues of membership and financial resources.
Come away with important skills and ideas about how to effectively reach out to attract new members, reach in to strengthen existing members and volunteers, and to creatively grow the congregation's financial resources, qualitatively and quantitatively.
This workshop will benefit all those working on congregational growth and development, including board members, membership and development committees, treasurers, planned giving and capital campaign advocates, senior administrators, and education and program directors.

About the Presenters

Barry Nove, JRF’s Director of Development, who is becoming known as “Dr. Fundraiser” by Reconstructionist congregations/havurot from coast to coast, wants to help your congregation treat ailments of raising money by sharing approaches other communities are finding and have found successful. Barry serves as JRF’s fundraising consultant to affiliates; his fundraising expertise is wide ranging and includes planned giving and endowment.

Rabbi Shawn Israel Zevit (RRC '98), JRF’s Director of Outreach & External Affairs/Tikkun Olam, has over 25 years experience in spiritual leadership. He has conducted leadership training and developed numerous resources on outreach and volunteer development for JRF and its congregational affiliates across the country. Shawn is well known for his work in the area of the “Torah of Money,” and is author of Offerings of the Heart: Values-Based Approaches to Money in Faith Community (Alban Inst). Since 2005 he has been the visiting rabbi for JRF affiliate Dor Hadash, Pittsburgh, PA.

PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership

Isaac Saposnik — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:39:54 -0500

As part of its North American Leadership Series, JRF is proud to present PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership. Throughout the coming months, we will offer a series of conference calls on a wide variety of topics important to congregational leaders. Topics range from dues structures and running a successful fundraising event to growth and volunteer development to the rabbi-congregation relationship and using Reconstructionism in synagogue processes, and more. 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.

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.

Click here for registration and a full list of offerings.

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

North American Leadership Workshop on Congregational Growth – Register Now!

Lisa Tuttle — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 11:07:39 -0500

“Congregational Growth: The Dynamics of Membership, Outreach and Financial Resources”
Sunday, March 2, 2008, 9 am to 4 pm, at Ezra Habonim – The Niles Township Jewish Congregation, Skokie, IL

All JRF affiliates are invited to send representatives to this special one-day workshop! We strongly encourage you to come in teams of three or more to maximize the benefits.

Presenters: Barry Nove, JRF Director of Development and Rabbi Shawn Zevit, JRF Director of Outreach & External Affairs/Tikkun Olam.

Tuition: $72 per person includes breakfast, lunch and materials.

Download the attached flyer and registration form.

This workshop is part of JRF's North American Leadership Series. For information contact Shoshi Braman at jbraman@jrf.org or 215-885-5601, ext. 10.

Goals and Benefits

Learn how to use a congregational systems approach to understand the dynamics of congregational growth.
Discover how a congregation’s stage of development relates to issues of membership and financial resources.
Come away with important skills and ideas about how to effectively reach out to attract new members, reach in to strengthen existing members and volunteers, and to creatively grow the congregation's financial resources, qualitatively and quantitatively.
This workshop will benefit all those working on congregational growth and development, including board members, membership and development committees, treasurers, planned giving and capital campaign advocates, senior administrators, and education and program directors.

About the Presenters

Reconstructionist Placement Office

Rabbi Shai Gluskin — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:03:42 -0500

When seeking to hire a rabbi, our Director of Placement Services will guide you through the process. The Director of Placement Services will assist you in creating your listing, reviewing the applicants' résumés, and going through the interview process. If necessary, they can also assist with contract negotiations.

The Reconstructionist Placement Office is a joint project of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation (JRF) and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA). This website is intended to help rabbis and congregations receive placement-related materials whenever they are needed. There are specific processes and rules that pertain to JRF congregations, as well as non-JRF communities.

For detailed information see http://www.reconplacement.org/

The Director of Placement Services, Rabbi Joel Alpert, can be reached at (215) 576-5210, ex.2.

To hire a student rabbi, you will work with the Dean of Students, Rabbi Gail Glicksman at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) (215) 576-0800 ex. 125.

Weekend Retreat with Rabbi Marcia Prager & Cantor Jack Kessler

Abby Weinberg — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:47:35 -0400

Start: Nov 2 2007 - 4:00pm

Rabbi Marcia Prager and Cantor Jack Kessler: In Madson, WI November 2-4, 2007Congregation Shaarei Shamayim in Madison, WI is pleased to announce that Rabbi Marcia Prager and Hazzan Jack Kessler will be leading a joyous, soulful weekend November 2-4, in Madison. All JRF members are invited to Join Shaarei Shamayim in an inspirational Shabbat of singing, learning, and exploring together in community.

Rabbi Prager is a vibrant Reconstructionist/ Jewish Renewal teacher, storyteller, artist, and therapist. She is the author of the book, The Path of Blessing, an exploration of the profound spiritual wisdom that lies in the Jewish practice of blessing. She is also the creator of The Weekday Amidah in Guided Imagery, a deck of 20 exquisitely hand illustrated cards which use guided meditations through the transformative blessings of this ancient prayer practice.

Hazzan Kessler is a traditionally trained cantor and director of two Jewish music ensembles. He has been described as a one-man force of nature in Jewish music. His most recent CD is Blue Suede Jews, featuring The Klingon Klezmers. A lyric baritone, he has performed opera, oratorio, and premiered new works, in addition to his ongoing career as a singer of Hazzanut, the sacred cantorial art. He is the dean of the Cantorial department of the professional framing program of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal.

For more information and to register, please contact Celeste at shabbaton@shamayim.org

Mayyim Rabim Celebrates Liturgist Ruth Brin

Abby Weinberg — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:02:26 -0400

Well over 100 guests came together on Sunday, May 20 to honor Ruth Brin and the literary contributions she has made to our Mayim Rabim and far-reaching Reconstructionist communities over several decades.

Among those who spoke about Ruth and her work were Leah Kamionkowski representing the Reconstructionist Midwest Region, and Mordecai Specktor of the American Jewish World. Robin King Cooper acknowledged Ruth’s enthusiastic support of Mayim Rabim, and read greetings from Rabbi Renee Bauer.

Ruth Brin CelebrationJonathan Paradise, professor of Hebrew at the University of Minnesota, read his Hebrew translation of one of Ruth’s poems. Carla Vogel beautifully read selections from Ruth’s works.

Finally, Ruth shared some reflections and acknowledged significant persons who helped make it possible to pursue her writing career. A reception took place after the program.