|
What makes Oseh Shalom a Reconstructionist Congregation?
Since its founding more than thirty years ago as the Jewish Congregation of Laurel,
Oseh Shalom has seen several dramatic changes. Its membership located its first Rabbi,
joined the Reconstructionist Movement, designed and established a beautiful synagogue,
and, more recently, chose a successor to its first Rabbi.
In the past year or so, Rabbi Haifetz and the leadership reviewed various aspects of the synagogue. They developed a Mission Statement, which described Oseh Shalom as “a vibrant, inclusive Reconstructionist synagogue . . . dedicated to providing a supportive community for celebrating Jewish life through prayer, learning and social action.” Next, they held a series of “vision forums”. While each meeting had its own agenda with specific topics for discussion, two concerns arose repeatedly. One was quantitative: membership rolls and enrollment in the Religious School were decreasing, and not coincidentally, funding was down. The other was qualitative: Congregants felt that there was a distance within segments of the Congregation. Too few people seemed actively engaged, and Oseh Shalom’s status as a Reconstructionist synagogue had little or no meaning to all but a small minority. One person noted that, while people often declare how much they love the sense of community at Oseh Shalom, few are aware that Reconstructionism informs this atmosphere.
Read more...
To download a printable version, click
here |
|
