Dear Beth Jacob Community,

We are excited to present you with the final report from the Community Conversations project. This report highlights who we are and suggests ways that we can grow and strengthen as a shul community.

This is an amazing piece of work that we did as a community. And the number of people who participated in so many ways attests to how much we care about this shul.

Analyzing so many notes from so many conversations, our data team identified seven themes, the big ideas that we think are important for moving our shul community forward.

  1. Welcoming: Inclusion and Accessibility
  2. Education: We thrive on education across the lifespan
  3. Creating and Finding our Community: We want to connect more, both in and out of services
  4. How We Do Prayer and Services
  5. Stability and Growth
  6. Difficult Conversations: Israel, COVID Policy, Feeling Excluded, and Talking About Money
  7. It’s up to all of us to move forward in this difficult, beloved work

Below you will find links to three versions of this report that discuss each of these themes in various levels of detail. The reports also include the ideas and recommendations that community members shared, actions that could support working on those big-picture themes.

At this point, you are asking, “Now what? What will happen with all this great data about who we are and how we’d like to take our shul to the next level?”

The rabbis, board, and synagogue leadership are reviewing the documents to determine next steps. In the short term, you can expect to hear about:

  • Recommendations that have already been put into action
  • The next set of priorities and who will be working on them
  • Ways that you can get involved
  • How this project will inform and support the board’s planning for the shul.

Please take the time to read one or more of the reports. Think about what you learned, talk with fellow congregants, and keep the conversations going.

Executive Summary
Full Report
Full Report with Appendices

All the best,

Sharon Press, Leslie Morris, Sara Lynn Newberger and Barb Curchak

Leslie Morris – morri074@umn.edu

Sharon Press – sharon.press@mitchellhamline.edu

Sara Lynn Newberger – newlev2@comcast.net

Barb Curchack – bcurchack@gmail.com