Can you handle the truth?

It’s a new year full of new beginnings.

It’s a time when lots of new people come into our lives offering us wonderful opportunities, if we are open to receiving them.

post high holiday survey

Indeed, this process of integration is being played out in all of our synagogues as each of us welcomes our new members and begins the work of transforming them from newcomers to insiders.

Last year, an article I wrote—What Will You Do with theJew in Your Pew?—opined on many integration ideas. (You can access it below.)

The inspiration for the article came when I observed how much effort we put into recruiting new members, but how little we did after delivering a welcome challah once they joined.

If this topic seems relevant to you, I invite you to save the date for an upcoming SLI program on Membership Integration on October 14 at the UJA NNJ offices in Paramus. (More info available at www.ujannj.org/sli.) Riffing on that theme, I began to think about how our synagogues might be evaluated on other offerings.

For a number of synagogues, the High Holy Days are their single largest event of the year. They expend months of planning, learning, and coordinating to offer a meaningful and satisfying experience for the biggest crowds of the year. We know this is a major and unique opportunity. We think long and hard about

what compelling messages we want to convey to make the

most out of the opportunity.

My question is: “How do you know if you have succeeded?” Many synagogues engage in High Holy Day post mortems to review all of the aspects of those intense days. How do we gather that information? Whose opinions are taken into consideration, or are we only considering anecdotal information and the opinions of those around the meeting table?

Can you handle the truth? This year, why not set about compiling real data to truly inform your discussion and decision making.

Consider asking questions from the mundane to the spiritual. Check out our excellent sample survey from Temple Emanu-El of Closter, NJ (shared with permission), located in the B.R.E.A.D. (Best, Replicable, Expandable, Adaptable, Doable programs that work) section of the SLI website at www.ujannj.org/sli.

In a world where choices abound I encourage you to embrace the truth and use it as a stepping stone for enhancement and change.

Wishing you a happy and healthy 5771.

Lisa

Lisa Harris Glass, FSA