vesm Tzedakah
Vision and Values, Building Social Connections,
Financial Transparency, B’nei Mitzvah Programs,
Social Justice Activism, and more. 13 Chicago
area congregations participating in the Measuring
Success survey project met together for a Cohort
meeting on October 9th to share best practices.
In attendance for Temple Chai were Deb Mattes,
Rabbi Hart, Rabbi Cohen, Deborah Greenswag,
Cathy Schwartz, Debbie Moore, Loren Elliot, Sandi
Firsel, and Laurie Azriel.
Each synagogue was asked to present on a subject
that the survey showed they did better than their
peers. Deb Mattes presented on the restructuring of
Kabbalat Shabbat Worship at Temple Chai. A few
key points were:
•
Worship Time: Now scheduled to always
begin at 6:30 p.m. This allows for a sense
of consistency and redirects the focus onto
Shabbat and not on the type of service.
•
Oneg Time: A Pre-Oneg was introduced for
5:45 p.m. to give congregants and guests time
to socialize before worship begins and to allow
for a relaxed transition from the work week
to Shabbat. This has also created time for
“synagogue families” to engage in after Shabbat
activities.
•
Oneg Activities: Enjoying Shabbat z’mirot
(songs), multiple candles available for anyone
wishing to light them, and cups of wine for
everyone to recite Kiddush.
•
Entering the Sanctuary: We enter the sanctuary
together while still singing, bringing the
kavanah (the spirit) we have created into the
room with us.
After the presentations we broke out into peer
groups: clergy, executive directors, lay leadership,
data champions, and more met together to share
details on their roles in their organizations and to
create networking opportunities.
The next Cohort meeting is scheduled for the spring
when we will report on the status of the things each
synagogue is working to improve. Temple Chai is
focusing on creating updated Mission and Vision
statements as well as relationship building through
Hineini/Social Action.
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