This article connects effective inreach and outreach in the process of community growth. Thinking about how to grow can help a congregation figure out how to better serve its current members as well.
Type: Article
Membership
Becoming a Reconstructionist Affiliate
Since 2001, Temple Beth Hatfiloh of Olympia, WA has been affiliated with the Reconstructionist Movement. This article chronicles their process and also the reasons for why their congregation overwhelmingly chose to join. This article is a great resource for prospective affiliates.
Topics: Congregational Development, Reconstructionism Today, Affiliation Process, Membership, Congregational and Organizational Life
Type: RT Article
Ways to Welcome New Members
A list of ways to warmly welcome new members into your community, from partnering new members with veteran members to running special programs for members' uninvolved partners and families.
Type: How to
Dues and Financial Policy: Our Tax for Jewish Citizenship
This article brings a historical perspective on biblical taxation, suggesting that synagogue dues are a tax for Jewish citizenship. It also introduces the idea of "fair share" dues, where individual members' dues vary based on their income.
Topics: Congregational Development, Money and Values, Synagogue Administration, Membership, Community Building
Type: Article
Resources on Community Building
A list of books and periodicals about congregational growth, outreach and inreach.
Type: Bibliography
Synagogue Membership As a Requirement For Religious School Enrollment
In 2001, there was discussion on the EdTalk listserv about whether families of religious school students should be required to be congregational members. This is a transcript of that conversation.
Type: Listserve Thread
A Jewish Approach to Obligatory Giving
This 2001 article explores our discomfort with money, offers some historical perspective and some contemporary solutions of how American congregations have set up their dues structure.
Topics: Congregational Development, Capital Campaigns, Fundraising, Money and Values, Synagogue Administration, Membership
Type: Article
A Group Discussion About Money (RT Winter 1999/2000)
This article from Reconstructionism Today contains a transcript of a conference call involving Rabbi Shawn Zevit, JRF board members and synagogue representatives from the West Coast Region about the Torah of Money workshops.
Topics: Congregational Development, Capital Campaigns, Fundraising, Money and Values, Synagogue Administration, Membership
Type: Article