Many of our members have told me they recently read a New York Times article entitled “The Pay What You Want Dues Experiment at Synagogues” (February 2, 2015.) Some even shared a certain sense of pride that we are in the forefront of synagogues that are exploring this model and its implementation.
The same day the Times story appeared Marc Chalom, John Lasiter and I attended a UJA Federation-NY workshop: Are Voluntary Dues Right for Your Synagogue? An Exploration and Training. The daylong workshop provided a comprehensive review of 26 synagogues that have implemented this model and many of the issues related to such an endeavor.
For me, one comment by facilitator Debbie Joseph, was particularly interesting––the model we are exploring is not about “doing something different. It is about the need to be something different.”
Synagogues across the country are recognizing that the synagogue model in use for the past century is no longer connecting with today’s young Jewish families, or for that matter current long time members.
Something new is required and that is why the concept of engaging our members as stakeholders in our community is so compelling. It challenges us to reinvent ourselves.
During the past several months Shomrei has conducted a number of community conversations where our members have had an opportunity to find out about what we on the board are exploring and to begin to explore it themselves.
One of the notable features about these conversations is that they actually begin the process of engagement that the new model seeks to create. When we ask the critical questions about our future, it provides for a level of partnership and connection that actually begins the process of becoming stakeholders.
This model, if adopted by the congregation, promises not only to revise the dues structure, but the very way in which we conceive of a synagogue. We begin to explore who we are and what we aspire to be together. We do this on a community level, actively engaging in creating our future.
This is what Fern Heinig and Andy Silver, Co-Chairs of the Sustaining Share Subcommittee and their committee members have been working towards. We now move to the next step of the process. Soon you will be contacted by a Shomrei member who will further explain the model and what needs to happen next in order for it to be adopted by the community. Please give the caller the opportunity to have a meaningful conversation with you. Shomrei’s future is at stake. Together we can create a more vibrant, responsive and rewarding synagogue.
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