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The Board has been grappling with the idea of a
re-covenanting. Should we have a congregationwide
meeting to discuss these issues? Should we
hold a series of town-hall style meetings? Would we
need an outside facilitator? In the end, we came up
with a different approach. Rather than approaching
re-covenanting through talking, we decided to
approach it through doing. Here’s the plan: first,
we’ll need to recruit a number of people to serve as
"seeds." Each of these seed people will invite five
other families over to his or her house for a Shabbat
dinner (or dessert, or whatever is practical). The
group will eat, schmooze, the children will play, and
at some point in the evening, the group will come up
with an idea for a program that the group wants to
organize for the congregation. The program can be
anything that the group finds interesting and inspiring,
and can be as simple or elaborate as the group
desires. For example, a group might want to organize
a lay-led Shabbat service, a games night, an
evening of singing or dance, a lecture or slide show,
a party to make mishloach manot (baskets of Purim
goodies) for the sick and elderly, a play reading, a
series of Jewish films, a garden-planting afternoon,
or put together a fabulous Children’s Service for
one of the High Holidays. Our goal is to have one of
these group-organized events every month. Over
the course of two years, we hope that each and
every one of our members will be involved in one of
these groups.
How will these seed groups achieve the purpose
of re-covenanting? Well, rather than discussing our
goals and priorities for BAJC, let’s live them. Let’s
see where our groups choose to direct their time
and energy. By planting these seeds and seeing
what grows, we’ll discover who we are and what
kind of vision we have. My hope is that as we go
through this process we will all come to realize: we
have met our synagogue, and it is us.
This is a new project, and it may sound a little
overwhelming. So here’s a little FAQ to get things
started.
Q: What exactly does a seed person need to do?
A: A seed person needs to:
- Invite five other member units (individuals, couples,
or families) over to his or her house for Shabbat dinner – or Shabbat lunch, or dessert, or Havdalah, or
brunch, or whatever is most comfortable.
- Serve as facilitator for the group as the group
plans its program. (A group could also decide to
divide up the tasks, with one person serving as host
and another serving as the group facilitator.)
- Once your group has come up with its program
idea, check in with me. I’ll help you schedule it on
the synagogue calendar and help with publicizing
the event. •
- Serve as coordinator for putting on your group’s
program.
Q: I might be interested in serving as a seed person,
but how can I possibly cook for so many people?
A: Potluck? Desserts only or dessert potluck? Pizza
party? Bagel brunch? Picnic (summer will eventually
be here . . .)
Whatever works for you. This should
be a fun time to enjoy being with old friends and
making connections with new friends, not a source
of stress.
Q: I’m interested in serving as a seed person, but
my house isn’t big enough to invite over so many
people.
A: At some point in this process (God willing!), the
Greenleaf St building will become available, and
seed groups will be able to use it. In the summer,
you could also consider meeting at a park, on a
hike, at the Farmer’s Market . . .
Q: I want to participate in one of the first groups, but
I’m not able to serve as a seed person.
A: Give me a call. I’ll be able to hook you up with
one of the groups starting up this spring and summer.
What’s next?
So, what are the next steps? We need to find volunteer
seed people! If you are willing to be a seed
person, please give me a call. We would like to
have twelve seed groups this year. We already
have several seed volunteers, but we need more.
And then?
Our holiday of Chanukah celebrates the rededication
of the Temple in the time of the Maccabees.
This year, we would like to celebrate the rededication
and re-covenanting of our congregation as we
celebrate Chanukah. We’ll take the opportunity to
celebrate the groups and programs that we will be
creating this year . . . and we’ll do it again next year!
I’m excited about this new project, and I’m looking
forward to working with all of you. If you have any
questions about the project, or if you are ready to
volunteer, please give me a call!
B’shalom, Rachel
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