Growing A Synagogue Part 3: Communicating in the Twenty-First Century

 
B. Websites

The basic unit of publicity on the Internet is a website. While there are domains (web addresses) that are free, for just a few dollars you can own your own domain name (e.g. www.CongregationBethX.org or www.templex.com or something similar). Think of a website as one way of having your synagogue office open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week (yes, even on Shabbat!). If a congregation is looking to attract young adults, to anyone born after 1980, an organization or business that does not have a website, in their eyes, just does not exist. Long before a young adult will ever come to visit a synagogue, they will first check the congregation out on its website. It is important that the website be done right.

A website should include the following information: the name of your congregation and an accurate description of what you’re about; the mission statement and values of the congregation; your physical address and directions on how to find your synagogue; information including times and locations for services, programs, and classes; an up to date calendar of events and contact information for the synagogue staff. It’s also nice to include a bio of your clergy, sample sermons from the rabbi or audio files of the cantor; the different committees and affiliates and some of the activities that they sponsor; and information about the neighborhood such as kosher restaurants or supermarkets, etc.

Your website must have accurate and timely information and be updated regularly. Developing a website either means having a volunteer who really understands the web design it or else having the website designed professionally. Professional web design may not be the cheapest option, but if the congregation is cutting back on print advertising, a professional designer may be a good investment. One important consideration is how the website will be maintained. Who will be responsible for keeping information on the site up to date, and what training might they need? Synagogue staff and volunteers should establish a communication strategy that includes making sure that upcoming programs are posted to the website, old material is taken down and that the website is accurate. This also includes an annual review of the entire website and at-least-monthly check for accuracy. Also consider rotating the pictures on display.

If a congregation does not have a website or the congregation is unhappy with what they have currently, the first thing to do is spend some time on the web looking at what other successful synagogues and churches are doing. Ask people who use the web regularly to let you know their own favorite sites. Go to those sites and look at the style and what they put on their home page. Examine how they divide up the different areas of the congregation, putting them on different pages. Pay attention to how easy is it to find a particular piece of information, like a map showing the synagogue's location, a list of who to call for information, a calendar of current activities or the times that services will be held. Look at what pictures are used, what graphics are used. Look further and pay attention to what colors are in the background and what color is used for the fonts. If the site was professionally designed, often the designer will have the company name at the very bottom of the page in very small letters. If you like what you see you can contact the designer (at the designer's website) and inquire as to how they can be of service to you. If you have a professional design your website, make sure that it is designed so that it can be easily updated by synagogue staff or volunteers without needing the designer or incurring additional expense. When constructing a website, it should be designed to be easy to update so that the volunteer or staff member who keeps the calendar, or the one who does the publicity, can easily post new material and take down the old information. (Usually this means having a content management system [CMS] which enables those who don’t know how to code to update the text on a website).

 
One common mistake congregations make on their website is putting a picture of the synagogue building on the home page. Your community may be very proud of your synagogue building but the building is not the most important part of your congregation. Synagogues (and churches) are all about people and it is better to have pictures of people on your homepage; especially people who are having fun, smiling people, cute children and lots of activity. You can add a guided tour of your building to the site for those who are interested, but it does not belong on the home page.

If you have a website already, open it in your browser and see what it looks like when it opens. Like the synagogue tour above, take a tour of your own website. Does the homepage make you look like a place you would want to visit? A website is like the large window of a department store. It is the face that the world sees when they look at your synagogue. It needs to be kept fresh, up to date and have all of the most important information. A website that is out of date will never get a second look. It is better to have no website than to have one that is out of date with old, useless information. (If you really can’t keep a website up to date, consider having a “brochure website”, with the name and address and contact information for your synagogue- at least until you can establish a more dynamic website). 

Most synagogues overlook this but metrics (statistics) are a vital part of a website. There are a number of companies that offer free metrics (such as google analytics) for a website. Usually you get a counter to count how many hits the website gets. But they also include metrics that tell you how visitors found your website, what pages they visited, how long they spent on each page and how long they were on the entire website. It can tell you where these visitors live, what their internet service provider is, which browser they are using and a host of other details that can be very helpful in planning and updating the website. Businesses use metrics all the time and they can be of great help to synagogues and churches as well. Make sure that if someone is looking for a synagogue or rabbi in your area and Googles these terms, your site will show up in the search listings. If it doesn’t appear, or is ranked lower than other less relevant results, consult someone who knows about search engine optimization (SEO) to help you fix this.

It is also wise to consult someone about website security. Pictures of children and members should not give too much information to the outside world. The website should have a strong password so other nefarious characters cannot deface it or hijack it. If you allow transactions over the website, they must meet security standards including having an SSL certificate. Email addresses should be protected from those who scan the web looking for addresses to send spam and other dangerous items. Since a website can be scanned by spammers for a particular text (like an email address), sometimes it is better to post sensitive information not as text but as a graphic or picture and avoid problems with spam. Be careful how your website is linked to other sites. You don't want problems with other sites which may be out of date or with faulty security to affect your web address. The web can be a wonderful place but it can also be a bit of a wild frontier. Make sure that your web page is protected from problems. There may be legal implications of what appears on your website; you may need to specify terms of use, a privacy policy, a formal release to use pictures of individuals on the site. It is a good idea to consult with whoever does the legal work for your congregation before you make a new website public.

Some congregations have a password protected area on the website; for members only, for parents of the religious school only or where committees can share information privately; a place where more personal information can be shared. In some of these areas, social networking has been built into the website itself. By separating the public and private sections, members can have more information available than they could on a public site. They can not only share synagogue information but they can inquire about local service providers, share information on babysitters and give away unwanted furniture or theater tickets. A private area on a web site for members only can be a wonderful community tool.

Growing A Synagogue Part 3: Communicating in the Twenty-First Century

    
A. Communicating in Print

The third leg of a successful congregation is communication. We can be the most welcoming organization in town, and have some of the most meaningful and innovative programming ever devised but if we can't get the word out about who we are, where we are and what we have to offer, we will be unknown for a very long time. There are many synagogues that have extensive advertising campaigns, but most of the information that I have seen indicates that display advertising, in newspapers and fliers, is of little effect. It is okay if all that is needed is name recognition, but this kind of advertising does not attract new members or new participants.

Everyone knows that the single most effective way to get new prospects is to have synagogue members personally invite friends and neighbors to join them at the synagogue. With the possible exception of the month before Rosh Hashana (when Jews do look for a synagogue to attend for the holidays), display advertising is of very limited use. Too many of the people we are looking for no longer get their information from print advertising.

For example, many newspapers and organizations use community calendars that offer free advertising of events. I don't know of any community calendar that publishes all events no matter who sends them in. Often events are published based on how much space the publication has available in the issue and if the program intrigues the editor. These events may only be published a day or two before the event occurs even though the deadline for inclusion is weeks in advance. Someone who is looking for something to do that day may read about it and decide to attend, but most of the time it only serves as a reminder for those who have already signed up.

Print display advertising for synagogues is expensive and never really very effective. To be fair, most synagogues have not really invested in a major advertising effort. Synagogues don't hire advertising firms to create eye catching and informative display ads. Most congregations just don't have the budget for that kind of marketing. My colleague, Rabbi Jack Riemer told me once that he convinced a major PR firm to do a series of ads for his synagogue for free, as a public service donation of time. That was a rare successful program. In these modern times, newspapers, magazines and other print media are a dying breed. The place to get our word out today is on the Internet. The good news is that it is fast and free. The bad news is that it is much harder to rise above all the other noise on the web.

Synagogue Bulletin/Weekly Announcements

Because synagogues are multi generational, there may still be a need for a printed bulletin. The bulletin should include your synagogue logo and should carry a professional design. There are many computer programs that can help design a very professional bulletin. There are also many good graphic designers for those who would like their bulletin, stationery, and logo to all have the same look and feel. The cost of a print bulletin, printing and postage, can be underwritten by a donor or there can be advertising sold to cover the costs. You never know in whose hands a print bulletin will end up so the bulletin should be only used as a way to advertise upcoming events. Controversial items or critical letters do not belong in a bulletin. If you can afford to print in color and include pictures, that is great. If not, find lots of graphics to highlight a page so that it is not just blocks of print. Pay attention to the color and quality of the paper and the quality of the printing. If you can't do a quality job in house, then pay to have the bulletin printed at a local print shop. A good graphic designer can, for a rather modest fee, create a template for a print bulletin that can be used over and over again. It is helpful to have good advice on the layout of the bulletin. The balance between text, graphics and white space, the use of logos and borders and matching the headings for regular columns in the bulletin often require the assistance of someone who has experience and an eye for graphic design. Once the design is finished, reusing the design every month should be easy for in house editors.

While it may be expensive, it’s worth thinking about, and good business practice, to have your print and web materials professionally branded. This includes consistency in the language you use as well as consistent use of fonts and colors to create a cohesive design. In this manner those who receive or view your material can instantly recognize that it’s from you and have a sense of what your congregation is about simply from the look and feel of your website or envelope.

Weekly announcement sheets can be put out every Shabbat for those in attendance to pick up at services. This is a good way to help those who attend on weekends receive information on upcoming events. Do not make the common mistake of thinking that if something is put in the weekly announcements that every member of the congregation will see it. In fact, only the small percentage of people who attend services will see the events posted. It is no more than a reminder sheet for those who are active in the congregation. It can be used to thank those sponsors and donors for events that weekend so they can see their name in print. Since it is handed out to members and guests, it is also a public relations document. It should be short, to the point and easy to take home. If a newcomer to the service picks one up, it can also include information about the service, the congregation and who to contact if they want more information. It should have all the contact information about the congregation including the web address and the names of officers and staff who can be contacted for additional information about the synagogue.

Because both of these documents, bulletins and weekly announcements, are put together by volunteers, it has become a kind of sport, over the years, to find as many typos and mistakes in them as one can. There are whole books written about the humorous things found in church/synagogue bulletins and announcements. It is crucial, therefore, to make sure that a qualified proofreader goes over the documents before they go to print. I know that this sounds obvious, but getting the names (the right name and the right spelling), dates and information accurate is not an easy job and somebody needs to be responsible to make sure that everything is as correct as it can be.

The information on both of these documents can and should be included on the synagogue website. If it is created on a standard word processing program on a computer, it can easily be reformatted to fit on an existing page or it can be posted to its own page in just about the same format as it was for printed distribution. It is a good idea to have a teaser for important items on the front page which click through to the full description of the program or event on a different page. Since people looking for a synagogue will be viewing your website, having the announcements on the website is a good way for strangers to get to know your organization and for regulars to easily find details for programs they’d like to attend.

Chapter Four: Growing a Synagogue Part Two:- Programming for the Congregation

Let me try to be specific about the kinds of programs that compliment the welcoming atmosphere that we need to first establish. Once a synagogue has the reputation for welcoming new faces, the next big issue is “what does the synagogue have to offer?” In some ways Welcoming and Programming need to go hand in hand. As I stated before, many Jews today want to get involved first and then will become part of the community. So how do we get them involved?

First of all, we must remember that each person who walks through our door has individual needs and interests. We live in an age where we encourage everyone to find their own way in life. This means that we need to offer an array of programs, to cast our net wide, so that we can involve a diverse group of people in a wide range of programs. A synagogue may eventually discover that a staff person is needed to oversee this extensive program. A Program Director or a Lifelong Learning Director could do what a Rabbi alone may not be able to do. A pulpit rabbi, no matter how good his or her intentions may be, will be drawn away from planning and organizing when pastoral duties interrupt. Having someone to do the coordination and publicity could make a big difference in the success of these programs. Volunteers can go a long way in a program that is just getting started, but as the programming grows, and as the congregation grows, a new staff position may be required. 

Programming is not only about social activities; it is about learning and social/political action. These are the two main areas that synagogues and other religious institutions can provide that are still important and meaningful to those who are tired of empty and self centered living. While there are many non-profit organizations that try to offer such programming, synagogues (and churches too) are in a unique position to do a great deal of good in a very wide segment of the larger community outside their doors. Synagogues can partner with other non-profit organizations to bring the volunteer culture of the congregation to the causes espoused by the non-profits. We don't need to always reinvent the wheel by starting our own programs. We can work with other organizations to make the biggest impact in the wider community. 

Examples of Social/Political Action Programming

Having stated the need for Social/Political Action, we must remember to be sensitive to the needs of the different groups in our congregation. Young Jewish adults may be able to do different activities than those who are middle aged or seniors. For example, middle aged adults may be able to help at a homeless shelter by checking in the residents for the night and making sure that they have what they need; younger volunteers may be better suited to stay on duty over the entire night. For this reason some congregations that have homeless shelters have two shifts, one in the early evening for a couple of hours to get everyone settled, and a second shift that stays overnight, for six to eight hours, to make sure that everything goes smoothly all night. A middle aged adult may be happy to do carpentry work at a Habitat for Humanity build, but someone older perhaps should be kept off the ladders. Every one of every age has a role to play and we need to be sensitive as to what those roles may be by providing options for those who wish to serve.

Some of the best volunteers at a Senior Center are other seniors. They often have the time and patience to assist every resident. Younger volunteers, or those who do not have the patience to sit and talk with the clients of the Center, could take part in special programming. I have seen volunteers who speak Yiddish have a profound effect on elderly Jews who feel like the world has changed so much that they no longer have a place in that world. Just speaking Yiddish can make a world of difference to those who are very elderly. Over time, volunteers should be provided the means to increase their skills and find new ways to help. As volunteers become more skilled, we should make sure that there are many ways for them to use their experience to provide greater service to the cause. 

Here again it is important that we realize that “one size does not fit all.” Individuals will have different ideas as to how to bring meaning into their lives. It may not even be an age difference, but their approach to social action may reflect incidents from their childhood. I once wanted to open a Jewish Alcoholics Anonymous group at my synagogue. The President refused to allow “those kinds of people” to come onto the synagogue campus. I am sure that somewhere in his past, an encounter with a drunk set his mind against “those kind of people.” There is no one social action or political action program that will make everyone happy.

In a church setting, these kinds of programs are called “ministries”. Every part of the church is organized around volunteers who are part of a “ministry”. In Hebrew, the word is “Vaad” or the plural, “Vaadot” which loosely translates as “societies” or “committees”. It seems to me that this is an excellent way to organize a Social/Political Action program in a congregation. Invite groups to come together around a particular service program and if they can reach a critical mass of people, from 8-12 individuals or so, then they can begin to work together on behalf of their cause. There are two types of programs that they will need to focus on: the ongoing program that speaks to the needs of the community and the congregational program that teaches the other members of the congregation what the work of this “vaad” is all about and how they can help. Sometimes help may be a fundraiser for the project, but there are lots of other important ways a congregation as a whole can help the vaad. For example, if they are knitting wool caps for Israeli soldiers, then anyone can sign on to make hats that the committee can send on to Israel. If there is a need for contact with political figures, there can be a congregation wide letter writing program, or maybe a forum featuring information on the issue and inviting political figures to join the event.  It could alternatively mean setting up a “lobbying” day at the state capital or in Washington DC to bring home to the state and federal leadership the importance of this cause to your congregation. A vaad that is working with a homeless shelter could ask members of the congregation to donate furniture and clothing to help the homeless set up new lives. Some congregations sponsor “suit and dress” drives to collect clothing for the homeless to wear for job interviews. A local orphanage, with teens getting ready to graduate high school, were looking for donors of cars for these students who were leaving foster care and going on to college as adults, taking on responsibility for their own lives. 

Examples of Learning Programs 

Almost every congregation has an Adult Studies Program. The issue is not having the program; it is having a GOOD program. All too often, adult studies classes are simplistic lectures which are perpetually geared for beginners; the level of learning is far below the level of most adults today. Students are not inspired to look deeper into the subjects and to grapple with traditional study texts. Innovative programs for adults provide opportunities for learners to share their knowledge with others and encourage them to find their own way in these important religious texts. What makes Jewish learning exciting is the discovery of meaning in ancient texts. This does not happen when someone is lecturing on what the meaning of the text is for that teacher. Real learning comes when students are permitted to find their own meaning in the sources. There are two basic kinds of programs that promote this kind of learning and every synagogue should think about having opportunities for both. 

The first type of class is, as we stated earlier, Hevruta Learning of serious texts. This kind of learning is text based. It encourages learners to read and grapple with a text, but not alone. It can be used to study Bible, Talmud, Liturgy or any other form of sacred text.  A teacher should prepare a section of text, in Hebrew or in Hebrew and English, depending on the students’ abilities, (Hebrew is the language of Jewish learning and at some point the students should want to expand their Hebrew proficiency) with a list of open ended questions. The students then should have some time to look at the text and contemplate the questions. This is done in small groups of two or three students (a Hevruta – from the word Haver, meaning “friends” or “colleagues”) around a table. The group can be as large as four or five but remember that the more students in each group, the longer the time they will need to prepare the material since each person needs some time to share his or her understanding of the text with the rest of the group. Each person in the Hevruta has his or her own background and life experience to bring to the discussion.

At the end of this “Hevruta time”, the groups then gather where the teacher gives a “shiur” a “lesson” that offers the groups a chance to explain how they understand the text and how they came to answer the questions. There should be time allotted so that each group can share their ideas and answers, and then the teacher can weave all the answers together, explaining why some ideas are not as good as others based on the limits of the text and how rabbis and other commentators understand what the text is about. This will deepen the understanding of the text for the students. Hevruta study is a way to learn from the experiences of others and at the same time have the guidance of an experienced teacher. 

The other style of learning is an independent study group. Here, a diverse group of 8-12 people decide on a text to study and then start at the beginning and read through it with whatever commentary and study aids they find that help them understand the text. Here too, the life experiences of the members of the group are brought to the table to understand the meaning of the text. The Genesis Project, made famous on a PBS special years ago, is a good example of this kind of learning (The Bill Moyers Genesis Project: www.pbs.org/wnet/genesis). A diverse group of learners gathers each week in someone's conference room and study together a text of their choosing. Each person in the group can lead a session and the rest of the group can comment on what has been presented. The group does not need a teacher unless there is something in the text that stymies the entire group and a teacher or some reference work can be consulted for the next session. 

Both of these methods of learning rely on the students to set the tone and pace of the discussion. Sometimes a teacher can point out a really important concept that will help the students later in their learning or the teacher can help the students drill down into the text to find deeper meaning than they may find on the surface. For example, Bibliodrama, a way of personally encountering the stories of the Bible is an extension of the study group. Here a teacher can guide the discussion to bring out the ways that the stories of the Bible are also the stories of our own lives. (See the book, “Our Fathers' Wells” by Peter Pitzele, Harper Collins Press 1995, as an example). The organization “Storahtelling” in New York (www.storahtelling.org ) can provide a good kickoff for this kind of a group or a way to renew a group that is struggling. 

Adult learners should be encouraged to examine and write out their Jewish journey, the journey that has brought them to study these texts. Sometimes these journeys can be an inspiration to others who are on a similar path. To know that the same need for meaning and the same search for faith that drives one adult are the same motivations that drives others is a powerful way of helping adults to connect with their learning. This is not the esoteric learning of college nor the practical learning needed to improve skill sets on the job. Adult Learning at the synagogue should be the kind of life changing learning that helps us understand better who we are and where we want our lives to go. It is unique to religious learning and we need to make better use of it for the benefit of those who are searching. 

I like to think of this kind of adult learning as participating in the longest running classroom discussion in the history of the world. Jews have been studying these texts together for thousands of years. It is an honor to be able to study these texts together and the enterprise is filled with meaning for the students

Chapter Four: Growing a Synagogue Part One: Welcoming - Programming

Perhaps, in the 1950's, we could say that almost all Jews were married, with children, and would be able to find all that they needed to do in the synagogue. I don't know if this was completely true then, but it certainly is not true today. One of the reasons that synagogue membership is falling off is because synagogues are not welcoming to every Jew anymore. Jews are a diverse people; perhaps we are more diverse today than in any other time in modern Jewish history.

Most synagogues today, however, are still looking for young families with small children. We live in a time where the number of families with children is decreasing. The number of children each family has is decreasing. We can no longer build our synagogue programming around a demographic that is no longer the central pillar of the Jewish community. There are many other groups we need to attract; some groups have been ignored so long we no longer even think about them. Some groups are so new we are only beginning to understand their needs and desires. Synagogues need to expand programming horizons to include those who may not fit the old stereotype profile of the two parent family that was more common half a century ago. .

In my mind, the most obvious group forgotten by synagogues is young singles. As I mentioned earlier, young people are marrying later, sometimes 15-20 years later than young people did 25 years ago. If we want to attract single Jews, then we have to have programming that will interest singles. Does every event have a “family price” but not a price for singles? It is hard for singles to attend events where there will only be couples. Not only is it uncomfortable to be one of only a few who are present who do not have a partner, but often the couples attending are not happy having the singles around either and they tend to shun singles when singles are present. Even in the most welcoming congregation, singles love to meet other singles. Having special programs for singles should also be a part of a synagogue's planning.

It would be a wise idea not to just have one program for all singles. Singles need to be organized by age. Young singles do not mix well with older singles. Single parents likely have different needs than the never married. Seniors who are single may be looking for someone younger, but that does not mean that someone younger is looking to socialize with someone over 70. As singles get older, they have a tendency to “fudge” their age a bit. If you are trying to separate the singles programs by age, it may be necessary to adjust the ages to allow for those who may “inaccurately” report their age.

It is important to understand that programming for singles should not be all socials and “mixers”. In fact, these are the hardest programs to create since the young single community is very fluid and it is very possible that the program will not attract the same people twice as they pair off and move on to other concerns. Like all other demographic groups, singles have available to them a wide range of social activities that the secular community provides; there are downtown hot spots, internet games and social networks that can keep singles busy all day and all night. Singles, on the other hand, have similar needs as couples do, to create meaning and direction in their lives. It is a far more successful plan for a synagogue to create social action projects and political action projects that are open to all members of the community and invite singles to be a part of that program.

Young singles, however, are not the only neglected demographic. I have a friend who became the president of his congregation. Sometime after he left that position, he became divorced. For the entire time he was divorced, his congregation had little contact with him. It was as if he had disappeared. Eventually he remarried and soon after that, he was asked to become a part of the synagogue board again. This is not how a congregation makes singles feel welcome.

We see this kind of thinking all across the Jewish community. If we want a service to be family friendly, but don't start babysitting until an hour into the service, then we have effectively said to that family “you are not welcome in our service until an hour after it starts”. If we have a population we want to reach that doesn't have English as their primary language, then why not have a reading or two, or create a siddur with instructions in their primary language (Spanish, Russian, etc.) or have an auxiliary service that is conducted entirely in that language? What about Jews with disabilities? Is the building and the sanctuary handicapped accessible? How about hearing assistance for those who are partially deaf, or large print Siddurim for those who are visually impaired, or having one service a month professionally signed for the deaf?

Is there a Jewish gay and lesbian population in the area? Think about how to make these Jews feel welcome. In a congregation where couples receive Torah honors, is a gay couple given an honor? Are gay families offered the “family” dues? A congregation should announce gay commitment ceremonies (where both partners are Jewish) in the synagogue bulletin. What about programming for families who have intermarried? Are the non-ritual programs made so that the non-Jewish partner feels welcome? Often a congregation is so set on what parts of the service a non-Jew must be excluded from, that we forget to consider the parts of the service where a non-Jew can be included. How are non-Jews welcomed into services? What role in the service can they participate in when there are family celebrations? Many congregations struggle to find ways to be inclusive of intermarried families but we still have a long way to go. Jews who convert to Judaism are not “converts” but “Jews.” We need to remember, however, that these Jews by Choice may not have the same Jewish family memories that other Jews may have. We have to be sensitive in our programming to be as inclusive as we can. No Jew should be left behind.

Chapter Four - Growing A Synagogue Part One - Welcoming - A Welcoming Building

A Welcoming Building – A Self Test

Try this experiment. Go to the front of your building, the part of the building that can be seen from the road, the place where your driveway connects with the street, and look at your facility as if you are seeing it for the first time. Take a moment and put yourself in the shoes of a first time visitor. While you are standing there, ask yourself these questions:

1. Can you see the signs/building when driving on the street or only after you enter the driveway? Just because “everyone” knows that you are supposed to enter the parking lot from the “back”, do visitors have to drive past the building and turn around because they can only see the turn when it is too late?
2. Once you are in the driveway, is it clear where a visitor is supposed to park? Do they have any way of knowing where the closer parking is or will they always park in the wrong lot? Remember, the door used during the week may be different from the door used on Shabbat. The door used by the school may be different from the one that leads to the offices. Is it clear where all these entrances are in relation to the parking lot?
3. Can a visitor find the main entrance easily? If there are many doors, are there signs telling someone while they are still in the car, where they need to park and where they will enter? I belonged to a congregation where years ago they stopped using the “old” entrance to the building and started using a different entrance on a different side of the building. As I would walk up to the building every Shabbat, I always found someone at the “old” entrance trying to get in the locked doors. There was no sign that the entrance had been moved to the other side of the building. Often we found that visitors who decided to walk around the building looking for the entrance, would circle the building to the right and walk around the entire campus before finding the proper doors that would have been found easier if they had gone to the left. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to find your way inside the building and finding every door locked. I once visited a church and there were signs everywhere; the problem was that I didn't know the lingo. Was I looking for the “vestry”? What was the “nave” or the “chancel” ? The signs were of no help; these signs needed to be written in a way that that any visitor, especially one who does not know church lingo, can understand.
4. After visitors find the proper entrance, can they find their way around inside? Are there signs that point to the main office, the Rabbi's office, the Cantor's office, the Education office? Is there a sign pointing out the sanctuary, or the chapel where daily services are held. (Does the chapel have its own outside entrance? How would a visitor to daily minyan, who arrives when the offices are still closed, find their way to minyan?) Can a visitor find the Gift Shop and the Rest Rooms? Remember if these rooms are “named” would a visitor be able to find them if they don't know the “name”? (Does the sign say: “Levine Hall” or does it say, “Levine Social Hall”? To a visitor the second name gives more information than the first name.)
5. Do the people who work in your office have name tags that identify them by name? Besides the security issue, how will someone who is lost know who to ask for help and directions? Often the only person who has a name on his or her shirt is the janitor.
6. Finally, who will be the first person a visitor will meet when entering the building? Who is the receptionist? Who is the greeter/usher? Does that person have a welcoming personality or are they too busy to notice someone in the lobby? I was once visiting a hospital that I had never been in before. I don't think that I walked more than ten steps in any direction without someone on the staff offering to help me find what I was looking for. Does that happen in your congregation on a weekday? On Shabbat?

In addition to the physical entrances to your building, there are also other “entrances”. What is the experience of someone calling on the phone? Do they get a live human being or do they go directly to voice mail? How many numbers do they have to push to hear a live human voice? What about the website; is it warm and friendly? Synagogues have a tendency to put pictures of their building on their home page. A synagogue is NOT a building, it is a community. Leave the building to a different page; the home page should have lots of smiling people doing fun activities.

When a person does become a member, what then? Do they get a call or letter from the Rabbi? The President? From someone asking them to join a committee or a project? If you don't invite someone to participate, then don't be surprised if they are not so quick to volunteer. Is the only thing they get for their membership a bill?

Fifty years ago, a family would first join a synagogue and then look around to decide in which of the activities to participate. Today, it is exactly the opposite. With so many options in life, so many distractions and so many ways to spend our time, a Jew first has to see what he or she might want to do at a synagogue and then  decide if they want to join. This is why having many “entrances” to synagogue life is so important. What does your synagogue offer those who are looking for a place to express their Judaism? Do you have opportunities for involvement for Singles? For divorced parents? For men and women who work and commute long days? What does your synagogue do to “engage” newcomers in synagogue activities? Do you really want the first contact with someone new to be about “finances” or membership?

The goal is to create, from the time a person arrives in the synagogue parking lot, until they leave the kiddush/oneg Shabbat/collation after the service, the feeling that the stranger is welcome here. It should be easy to maneuver around the building. There should be plenty of people who are there to offer assistance and information. People sitting near the visitor should take a moment, when appropriate, to introduce themselves and perhaps make some introductions to others who may be sitting nearby. Visitors should be invited to have some small honor in the service and after the service, they should be able to meet other members, who will show them around, introduce them to the clergy and show them where there is information about other synagogue events. Making someone feel welcome is all about how you reach out and make them feel as if they are among friends.

The hard part of welcoming people in our congregation, is that there may be many strangers who attend on Shabbat who are guests of somebody who is celebrating a life cycle event at the synagogue and who may have little or no interest in becoming a member. There could be dozens of guests for an anniversary or a special birthday. There could be hundreds of guests invited to a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. How do you know if the stranger who arrives is a potential member or just the guest of the family who is celebrating? The answer is: It doesn't matter. When we cultivate a culture of welcoming, even to those who are there for reasons other than potential membership, they will remember how welcome they were made to feel and will carry that with them for a long time. If someone should ask them what to do when visiting your city, they will recommend the place where they were made to feel so welcome.

While the clergy and the ushers should be trained in how to make people feel welcome, it is important to foster a culture of welcoming in every member. When your members see a stranger, they should be able to step up and help that person feel welcome, and make sure that they did not slip past the usher and miss out on the information they were supposed to receive when they arrived. No system is perfect, but the goal is to make welcoming strangers the responsibility of every member every day.

Chapter Four: Growing A Synagogue: Part One – Welcoming- An Overview

Dr. Ron Wolfson, professor of Education at the American Jewish University and a major thinker at Synagogue 3000 has written a book about how synagogues can and should be more welcoming. [The Spirituality of Welcoming; Jewish Lights Press] I believe that every Rabbi, Synagogue Administrator and Membership Vice President should have this book and read it often. Dr. Wolfson does not break any new ground, but his method of visiting any place that has a successful membership culture and seeing what they are doing and asking why we can't do it, cannot be overlooked as we try to attract those who rarely if ever cross our doorsteps. Much of what I will have to say is affirmed and informed by his research.

A Welcoming Culture – Changing the Way Members Think

It is not an accident that Walmart, the large retailer has, as its signature position, the greeter who stands at the door of the store and has the duty to say to every customer “Welcome to Walmart”. The reason that this person is there is because people come back to the store that they remember as being welcoming and friendly. Churches and Synagogues are no different. Those who walk in the door will remember forever their first experience, for good or for bad.

You don't have to take my word for it. Just ask any of the involved members of your congregation why they chose your synagogue to join (assuming that yours is not the only synagogue in the area). Virtually every time, they will say that when they arrived, somebody met them, greeted them and made them feel welcome. I used to tell my congregation that if somebody came to our service, sat in a seat, had a cup of coffee and a piece of cake after the service and left the building and nobody said “hello” to them, greeted them or asked their name, they would never be back and we didn't deserve to have them join. I usually end services by asking those who are new to take a few moments to join us at the Kiddush after the service so we will get the chance to greet them. There is no reason that someone new in the service should have to be a stranger twice. Just asking a few questions to begin a conversation with a visitor can make a huge difference. Since my members come from all over the United States, when I meet someone new, I always ask where they are from, and then attempt to connect them with the “landsmen” from that town. It always leads to a bit of “Jewish Geography” and often is the beginning of real friendships.

I am not in favor of asking visitors to wear something to identify themselves. It is better, I believe, to have members identify themselves. One suggestion is to give your members a lapel pin so strangers will know who they can ask for more information. Welcoming guests should be made a part of our synagogue culture. ( I heard of a congregation in Ohio that had name badges made for every member of the synagogue to wear while they were at services, so that visitors would have an easier time getting to know the members' names.) There should be greeters at the front door of the synagogue just to say Shalom to all those entering. At the door of the sanctuary, there needs to be ushers who will help visitors find a tallit, whatever Siddurim/Humashim they will need and assist them to find seats.

It is “the Kiss of Death” for a congregation when members say to a visitor “you're sitting in my seat”, or when, at the kiddush, someone says, “that is our 'reserved' table”. As Clergy and synagogue leadership we need to teach our members to be welcoming and friendly. (I only allowed one exception. There was in one congregation a 100 year old man who sat in the same seat for over 30 years and regularly chased away anyone who dared to sit there. The kind people who sat around him often spoke to visitors, asking the visitor to join them in a different seat, that, after all, you have to be a bit more patient when someone is over 100!). Members need to know that strangers should be invited to join them, not shoo them away, so they can learn more about the service. Saying “Come sit with me” is much better than, “You can't sit here”. I don't want to spend more time on this but it is the number one complaint that visitors have when they come to a shul for the first time. Hasidic literature is filled with stories of how the prophet of miracles, Elijah, was turned away by uncaring and unkind Jews. Dr. Wolfson tells how he arrived early to services and was asked to move out of a seat when he was there as the Scholar in Residence; there were no more than a dozen people in a sanctuary that seated 700! We need to treat our visitors as honored guests if we hope to have them become a part of our community.

Chapter 3 Part Three: Political and Social Action

Responding To Demographic Changes: Part Three - Political and Social Action

I recently heard a political pundit explain a “moral compass” as having the values so that when one is confused by all the noise and commotion in the world, and is feeling dizzy and lost, it will always help a person find the right direction. If this is not the work that synagogues need to be doing, then I don't know what else is. Our congregations have social programs, dances, shows, dinners, breakfasts, card parties, poker nights, casino trips, dessert receptions, meetings, and a host of other gatherings that keep us busy but have little or no long term effect on the world around us. Conservative congregations have typically not been actively involved with issues relating to Social Action or Political Action. Often these are seen as the work for Federation or some other Jewish organization. I think that one of the reasons that the Reform movement has not declined as quickly as the Conservative movement is because it has a long history of Social Action programming.

Many congregations point to Mitzvah Day programs, where many people gather together on one day and work on a wide variety of social action projects. They also point to annual food drives, or other collections done in response to a call for action. These are fine, as far as they go. But what a modern synagogue needs is an active and ongoing connection to social action or political action. People don't want to just learn about Judaism, nor just to pray that things should be different. We want to get our hands “dirty” doing the work that will make a difference.

Doing it Right

I know congregations that regularly go out on “builds” for Habitat for Humanity. I know congregations that have a soup kitchen to feed the hungry or a food pantry that distributes food to the poor. I know of congregations that have a homeless shelter in their basement, a vegetable market in the parking lot for locally grown food and one congregation that actually sends people to work on an organic farm to help the farmer in exchange for a share of the crops when they ripen. There are congregations that organize job fairs for those out of work, mentor at risk children in the community, sent workers multiple times to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina and to Haiti after the earthquake to help rebuild, and who send teachers out to work with the children of migrant workers.

There are congregations who send members to their state capitals and to Washington DC to lobby representatives about issues that are important to the Jewish community or to the wider community of religious people. There are congregations with active chapters of AIPAC and J Street that advocate for Israel. Some work with other faiths to address, from a religious point of view, issues relating to health care, immigration, civil rights, and issues of religious freedom. While there are certainly issues on which different faiths disagree, there are more issues where there is great agreement and working together can make a very big difference. In Hollywood, Florida, when all the other surrounding cities were struggling to find a place for a homeless shelter, the Interfaith Council, working together, had a shelter built, furnished and occupied by a full compliment of residents in need. It was the religious organizations that gave the political cover to get the job done.

Many years ago, I had the privilege of hearing from a young man, about thirty years old, who was active in a Jewish philanthropic agency. He recounted that when he graduated college, he took a job at a big corporation, with a corner office, and went to work on his first day. He sat in the office, looked at the walls and the window and thought, “is this where I will sit for the next thirty years of my life? Is this all that I have to look forward to?” He didn't particularly like the answers to these questions, and decided he needed something more. Needless to say, he got involved in charity work to give his life meaning and depth. I think that just about everyone at every age has this feeling, though certainly there are plenty of people who are content with living lives of self interest and self indulgence. At a very young age, my children quickly understood the good feelings that come when one has made a difference in the life of someone else. To see the faces of gratitude when we take the time to care is its own reward. To know that life in this country or some other country is better because we got involved is a wonderful feeling. This needs to be one of the main foci of synagogue life.

There are some congregations who in fact do require every member to be involved in some social action project. They offer a wide range of projects in need of helping hands and hearts and expect everyone to pitch in. In many cases, it was involvement in the social action programs that led a family to join the synagogue and to participate in other programs with their new friends.

Getting Started

Like prayer, a Hesed [kindness] program, does not have to be“one size fits all”. Smaller committees could focus on the day to day planning and the congregation can get involved as needed. For example, a Habitat committee could plan for helping with a build and make the arrangements with the local organization. The rest of the members only need to show up on the appointed day. An Israel Affairs committee could report information about Israel to the congregation on a web page or by email and then call upon the congregation to respond with appropriate letters, emails and visits to political representatives to lobby in support of Israel. It could also coordinate lectures and educational programs on Israel for the synagogue and for the larger community. An ongoing food drive will bring in food from all the members of the synagogue but the committee would be responsible for bringing it to the food pantry or delivering it to needy families in the larger community. The entire community is thus involved in many different projects, but each member can focus attention on the program that gives him or her the most satisfaction.

When a person is engaged in this kind of community service, it can be an important entry point into the religious world. If synagogues become the place where people go to find meaning and fulfillment, then they will stay at the synagogue for learning and for services as well. There is evidence that involvement in social action projects will also bring greater donations to the synagogue as participants feel that the entire congregation is working on worthwhile and meaningful programs.

One of the ways that synagogue life has changed is that fifty years ago, a person joined a synagogue and then tried to find something with which to get involved. Today, before a person will join a synagogue, he or she will have to see that there are worthwhile things happening there before they make the commitment to join. Social and political action can be the portals to a lifetime of synagogue membership. It provides the entree for Singles in the congregation to get involved; a place to meet like minded singles who could potentially be future partners. It is important to remember that meeting future partners is not the only idea that drives the lives of singles. Many programs for singles fall apart after a short time as singles meet and no longer need a “meet and mix” program. Social action and political action are activities that singles can participate in regardless of their relationship status. Single parents can participate as a way to be personally involved in meaningful community service or they could use these programs for important and precious family activity. Socially, singles and couples often do not mix, but in social and political action committees, the good work may override the differences that usually keep them apart.

There may be many outside social and political action groups that rival the synagogue already involved in the community and we should partner with them where we can. We must remember, however, that the combination of community service, faith and Mitzvot found in synagogues can create strong connections between participants, congregations and God. It is this deeper meaning that makes social/political action an important part of what the modern synagogue is all about.

Responding To Demographic Changes: Summary

Synagogues based on these three core components, Learning, Prayer and Social/Political Action or as we say in Hebrew, Torah, Avoda and Gemilut Hasadim, are in a prime position to attract Jews of different ages, genders, marital status and backgrounds. All of these activities together under one roof, groups for serious learning, meaningful praying and social /political action involvement, provide many entryways into synagogue life and toward a future of synagogue leadership. This is the bedrock of what a modern synagogue must be to grow and thrive in today’s environment. The irony is that this is exactly what synagogues have been for centuries that have made them one of the most enduring organizations in Judaism. Implied here, I guess, is a criticism of the last fifty years of congregational life. In some ways, the idea of the synagogue got lost as the leadership planned social programs, education for children and services that were designed for spectators, not those wishing to pray. I don't think that American synagogues started out on the wrong path, but over time, the organization strayed from its roots and the damage has been significant. We need to get back on track and we will see that Jews will again recognize the importance of synagogues in their lives. Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, in his book, “Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life”(Jewish Lights Press) talks about synagogues as “market communities”. A market community is defined as “communities that exist because they promise concrete benefits, not because they are so central to people’s lives that their members cannot imagine belonging anywhere else.” Rabbi Hoffman talks about creating “Sacred Communities: Communities whose worth is measured in sacred acts and relationships, that connect us to one another and to God.” Clearly a synagogue based on Torah, Avoda and Gemilut Hasadim would be creating its community based on sacred acts, rather than “spectator” activities.

Can it really be that easy? If we wish to recreate the Synagogue, is all that we need to do - create adult learning, better services and social/political action programs? That's it? The short answer is: “Yes, that's all it takes.” But while the answer is short, taking action on the changes will challenge everything that already exists. I don't know why we should be surprised that the answer we seek can be found in our ancient tradition. Our Sages and teachers over and over surprise us in how they could see beyond their own time and create a timeless religion called Judaism. The difference is always in how we respond to this tri-headed call. We need to see new ways to apply it for the modern world.

Take learning. Every American congregation today has a program of Adult Studies. This has been going on for decades, and the program has grown smaller every year. We give away the classes for free and the rooms are still empty. We make a mistake when we gear our adult studies programs for beginners only and never offer advanced courses that reflect the higher education attained by many modern Jews. The reality is that young Jews today have advanced college degrees and massive amounts of basic information are available to them on the internet. Many current adult studies classes never get beyond the “introduction” level. Yet there is a great need, as I have noted above, for serious adult learning. This means hiring teachers, creating curriculum and setting aside a proper place to learn. It means diverting some of the resources set aside for the education of children and using those resources for Adult Education. I do not fool myself into thinking that such a change will be easy nor popular. I only maintain that it is necessary.

Take Avoda, worship. If anyone would like to cut right to the heart of a Rabbi's or Cantor's ego, try talking to them about changing the essence of the service. Try telling a man (so far these are still mostly men) who is 90 years old, that the way he has prayed his whole life now has to change. Cantor Linda Shivers once told me that a good cantor can't rest on what he or she knows, that a cantor needs to be constantly improving his or her voice and repertoire. It applies to rabbis as well. Rabbis who only glean the news looking for topics to speak about but never spend any time learning what Jews are looking for in their worship, may be successful in the short run, but will falter as times change. I am not going to sit here and declare that rabbis and cantors have gotten “fat and lazy.” Actually clergy work extraordinarily hard each and every day. I know that, in spite of my constant renewal of my rabbinate, I still missed this problem until I had a sabbatical where I met younger colleagues and had the time to really listen to their take on what was happening in the world.

Still, it will never be easy to start an alternative service if the Rabbi expects everyone to be present for his or her sermon. It will never be easy if the Cantor expects everyone to be in the main sanctuary for the Musaf service. As long as we have officers and board members who think that everyone should like the same service or else they are “tearing apart the community” alternative minyanim will be created not in our current buildings, but in the basements of churches and in the living rooms of young Jews. We need to embrace this movement of alternative minyanim, make room for them in our mostly empty buildings. Those who like the original service, will stay in the main sanctuary. Those who want change will gladly go to the alternatives. There will be times when people will move from one to the other as they try them out, but since they are all in the same building, it is easy to find the form of worship that makes the most difference in the member's life. What is wrong with that?

Rabbi Sharon Braus, of Los Angeles, when she asked about a social action program at a synagogue, was informed that “Social Action is what they do at the synagogue down the street. Here we do prayer.” It is my personal opinion that the reason Conservative Judaism has fallen so far so fast over the last fifty years is because we have had little or no social action. I believe that the reason Reform Judaism has not taken as big a hit as Conservative Judaism is because it has had a very extensive Social Action program. I don't know of any survey that shows this but it is still what I deeply believe.

When I talk about Torah, Avoda and Gemilut Hasadim, I am looking for new ways to apply these in our congregations and in our synagogue buildings. The mission is as ancient as our faith. The application needs to be as new as the latest smart phone. These are the basic building blocks of Synagogue renewal. It is in these areas that we must address our time and energy to turn our congregations around.

These basic components of Torah, Avoda and Gemilut Hasadim are the baseline activities that will bring in members and make them active participants in the community, But our world has changed over the last fifty year and there are other approaches to the way synagogues are run that must change if we are to be successful for both our long and short term goals. When it comes to changing synagogues, sometimes we lapse into poor habits and lazy thinking and we undermine our best ideas and programs. Synagogues did not get into the trouble we are in overnight. It has been years, decades, of neglect that has gotten us where we are today. It will take time to climb out of this hole. We need to think in terms of three to five years to really see the changes I propose to make a difference in the synagogue world. It could be a decade until we wake up one day and see that we have created something strong and meaningful in people's lives. I also need to remind those who espouse change that the changes I propose does NOT mean that we are going back to the way things used to be in the “good old days” - the heydays of our congregations from fifty years ago. What worked then will NOT work now. We really don't want to set the clock back fifty years, that would be a fiasco. We need to create a new standard of success and then focus all our energy to create it. In summation Torah, Avoda and Gemilut Hasadim may be the keys to success but we still will need to do more than just promote this program.. They certainly need to be the focus of our energies but we must remember that the playing field has changed and we need to address the new reality of life. Once we have addressed the main issues, there are still a number of “second tier” challenges. These are not the contents of our change, but the “bottle”, the “containers”, in which we need to hold them. We need to do new things in new ways if we wish to truly grow our synagogues.