I once heard a colleague quip that the Conservative Movement it “the ever-dying movement.” It often seems that the Jewish world is criticizing our movement or questioning our purpose, vision, and direction. Over the past few years, our movement has been shrinking in numbers yet we have simultaneously been involved, on regional and national levels, in a process of reinvigoration and renewal. One key factor is the establishment of new leadership in our major institutions, the Rabbinical Assembly, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and United Synagogue.
You may have some familiarity with United Synagogue: many of you know that they help in areas of synagogue leadership and programming, and perhaps their most successful work has been with USY, our movement’s international youth group. But what else does United Synagogue do? I often hear members of Conservative synagogues confused about United Synagogue’s role and why we, as a Conservative congregation, need to pay them so much in dues.
It is with all this in mind that I invite you all to take a look at the most recent attempt at clarification of who exactly we are as Conservative Jews and Conservative congregations. Last week, United Synagogue together with the Hayom (a grassroots coalition of Masorti/Conservative rabbis, cantors and congregational leaders) came out with a draft of a new strategic plan for the congregational arm of our movement.
A few highlights of the plan include:
I encourage you to check out the entire plan at United Synagogue’s website ( www.uscj.org) and I would be most appreciative if you would e-mail me with your reactions. United Synagogue is also looking for your input, so feel free to e-mail the contact listed in the attachment as well. For an article written in The Jewish Week about this effort, see the following link:
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/united_synagogue_turns_inward
I am hopeful that this plan is an important step in the reinvigoration of a vibrant, dynamic, meaningful, and purposeful Conservative Judaism for the 21st century.