CONGREGATIONAL LIFE
Although each congregation is unique, it is the shared values, common experiences, and movement-wide tools that help forge ties and ensure that congregations have the best means available to accomplish their holy work. The URJ provides hands-on learning and tools for lay leaders and clergy so that they can strengthen their communities and innovate and engage their own members. All this work is done through the lens of inclusion and building a welcoming community.
 Photo: Marilyn Milne, Temple Adat Shalom, Poway, CA |  Photo: Guershon Kwasniewski, Sibra, Porto Alegre, Brazil |  Photo: Suzanne Lyte, Temple Sholom, Scotch Plains, NJ |
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 Photo: Emma Koblick, Temple Israel of Boston, Boston, MA |
2017 Day of Learning: Embracing Change
In 2017, more than 600 people at 34 different sites tuned in to a nationwide videoconference to discuss embracing change in the life of a congregation.
“Keep doing these programs!
This program helped me think about small experiments – exactly what I need for new worship ideas.”
— Beth Schwartz
Temple Emanuel of South Hills, Pittsburgh, PA
Extending Audacious Hospitality
Launched in May of 2017, the Audacious Hospitality Toolkit provides a guidebook and hands-on practical ways for communities to be inclusive (with sections dedicated to welcoming LGBTQ Jews and Jews of Color) so that all who seek to join will feel welcomed. Additionally, the Disabilities Inclusion Center shared the case studies of dozens of congregations that have succeeded in extending a warm welcome to people with disabilities.
 Photo: Emma Koblick, Temple Israel of Boston, Boston, MA |  Photo: Meryl Alalof, Congregation Children of Israel, Augusta, GA |  Photo: Elizabeth Madsen, Temple Beth Am, Jupiter FL |
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 Photo: Lauren Wolcott, Rodef Shalom Congregation, Pittsburgh, PA |
Congregational Benchmarking and Assessment
Also launched in 2017, the Congregational Benchmarking and Assessment Project is designed to make the best use of the metrics that shape congregational life – membership, engagement, finances, and more. This initiative gives congregations the opportunity to look inward and to compare their efforts with other congregations. The URJ guides congregations through the data to help them plan for the future based on their unique communal priorities.
Communities of Practice and Active Learning Networks
Communities of Practice have enabled URJ congregations with similar concerns to work together intensively toward strategic goals. Nearly 100 congregations participated in such communities to share ideas and imagine new initiatives on a diverse range of topics:
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Engaging Baby Boomers
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Reimagining Congregational Education
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Engaging Congregants Through Small Groups with Meaning
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Full-Time Early Childhood Education
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Building a Brand with Your Early Childhood Center
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Creating Connected Communities of Families with Young Children
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Creating a Culture of Constructive Conflict
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Moving Justice to the Center of Your Congregation (with the RAC)
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Post-B’nei Mitzvah Innovators
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For communities seeking additional learning opportunities, the URJ creates and sustains “active learning networks” in such areas as millennial engagement, family education, small groups, and audacious hospitality. Congregations in these networks learn from and with each other – through online learning sessions and virtual meetings – to implement new ideas and initiatives.
 Photo: Marilyn Milne, Temple Adat Shalom, Poway, CA |  Photo: Joel Colman, Temple Sinai, New Orleans, LA |  Photo: Ruthe Swern, Temple Sinai Congregation of Toronto, Ontario |
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 Photo: Joan Blair, Temple Shir Tikva, Wayland, MA |
The Knowledge Network
The URJ Knowledge Network team works with a corps of experts, including representatives of Reform partner organizations, to provide personalized answers to questions from URJ congregations. The Knowledge Network team provides specific answers to questions about congregational life; offers resources that support and extend those answers; connects URJ member congregations – large and small – with outside experts, URJ staff, and other congregational leaders for additional insight; and offers access to the broader network of the Reform Movement through The Tent. In 2017, the URJ Knowledge Network team received a total of 1,264 inquiries from 534 congregations.
In 2017,
the Knowledge Network reached its nearly
7,000th
question
representing engagement with
63%
of all member congregations.
RJ Web Builder
The URJ’s powerful RJ Web Builder platform allows congregations to create cutting-edge, interactive, and dynamic congregational websites easily. This platform is free to URJ congregations. As a benefit of membership, the URJ provides custom themes, dedicated hosting, and technical support for congregational websites. In 2017 the underlying software running RJ Web Builder was upgraded to WordPress, an easier-to-use, mobile-friendly product, for the 300 RJ Web Builder congregations already on the platform.
