Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 17, 1991 Page: 3 of 24
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
IN OUR45TH YEAR! —THURSDAY, JANUARY 17. 1991. TEXAS JEWISH POST 3 FQOtUFC
Reaching The
Unaffiliated
By Rabbi Alexander M.
Schindler
/’midrnt, l nlun of American
Hebrew ( ongrrgalurnt
An essential challenge
facing organized religion
today is how to reach out
to the unaffiliated—those
who see little or no value
in a congregational con-
nection. This dilemma is
not limited to Judaism. It
is common to all major
religions. Indeed,
although Reform Jewry is
now the largest branch of
organized Jewry, we arc
nevertheless outnumbered
by the largest and fastest
growing group in the
American Jewish com-
munity—the unaffiliated.
Half of all American Jews
are not synagogue mem-
bers.
“Enlarge the size of
your tent,” wrote Isaiah.
“Extend the size of your
dwelling, do not stint!”
Even so must our tent of
outreach be enlarged to
enfold intermarried
families as well as the
many Jcws-by-birth who
arc unaffiliated. It may be
hubris for us to say that
the absence of synagogue
affiliation indicates an ut-
ter lack of Jewish identity;
there arc many other
pathways of identification
open to American Jews:
philanthropic, communal,
literary, political, focus-
ing extensively though not
exclusively on Israel.
However, the fact
remains that not only arc
synagogue-affiliated Jews
more involved Jcwishly,
but they visit Israel more
oltcn, devote more volun-
teer time to other Jewish
organizations, give more
to Jewish causes, insist on
better Jewish education
for their children and, of
course, arc more likely to
participate in communal
worship and home obser-
vances. Ultimately, the
pathways to Jewish iden-
tification must lead to a
center—a center where
Jews can meet and form
community. I hat center is
the synagogue.
\ Revolutionary
New Program
To reach out to the
unalfiliated, to encourage
them to participate in
synagogue life, the
UAHC has launched a
revolutionary new
program. The idea came
from one of our lay
leaders—Melvin Merians
of Larchmont, N.Y., the
treasurer of UAHC who is
also the chairman of the
Commission on Reform
Jewish Outreach and its
Task Force on Reaching
the Unaffiliated. He pro-
posed a nationwide pro-
gram aimed at bringing
young people—those in
college and those under 30
who are now in the
business and professional
world — into the
synagogue. Once these
young men and women
have experienced the spiri-
tual and communal
benefits of congregational
affiliation, we believe,
many will want to con-
tinue to enjoy an en-
vironment enriched by the
religious, cultural, social
and educational heritage
that has sustained the
Jewish people for four
millennia.
Outreach is hardly a
new concern in Reform
Judaism. For longer than
I can remember, we have
stressed the importance of
establishing bonds with
those whose ties to
congregational life are
weak or non-existent.
A dozen years ago. for
example, we recognized
that the growing
phenomenon of inter-
marriage would have a
powerful impact on mat-
ters ot Jewish identity and
communal life. A Com-
mission on Reform Jewish
Outreach was established
to anticipate and deal with
issues arising from those
demographic changes and
to institute programs
welcoming intermarried
families and Jews-by-
choice into synagogue
life.
Through the North
American Federation of
Temple Youth, we
developed a formidable
agenda of programs for
youngsters that included a
network of summer cam-
ps and study-and-travel
tours to Israel, in the hope
and belief that ties
established in early youth
would remain securely in
place during maturity.
As we carefully review-
ed and debated the role of
the synagogue in contem-
porary Jewish life,
however, we discovered
an important “affiliation
gap.” It exists among
young adults, beginning
during the college years
and persisting through the
post-graduate period and
the onset of family life. In
many cases, this pattern
of non-affiliation lasts a
lifetime and carries into
the next generation, with
significant impact on
congregational member-
ship. Recognition of this
reality has impelled us to
develop a number of new
strategies to close the af-
filiation gap.
* College students away
from home are often
isolated from their local
Jewish communities. On-
ce j he connection is
severed for a period of
several years, there is a
strong likelihood that it
can be restored only with
difficulty and against
great odds. Accordingly,
we have introduced the
concept of an “Access
Card” for undergraduate
and graduate college
students to enable them to
enjoy cost-free or
reduced-cost membership
benefits, including atten-
dance at high holiday ser-
vices, at local Reform
synagogues. More than
200 congregations across
the United States and
Canada have already
agreed to participate in
this program, with ad-
ditional ones signing up
each week. We are curren-
tly distributing 15,000
“Access Cards” on
college campuses in the
belief that maintaining
this link will encourage
young people to become i
involved in Jewish life,
thus strengthening their
sense of Jewish identity.
• For those singles and
young people between the
ages of 22 and 30, we have
developed a “Privilege
Card," offering free or
low-cost membership
benefits at participating
Reform synagogues. The
individual congregation
sets the charges for card
holders. In many cases,
membership fees are
waived entirely; in others,
the dues are sharply re-
duced. One of the im-
pediments to synagogue
affiliation is the belief
among those starting on
their careers and raising
young families that
synagogue membership is
expensive. The purpose of
the Privilege Card is to in-
troduce them to the many
benefits of synagogue
membership—to demon-
The fact remains that nut only are
synagogue-affiliated Jews more involved
Jewishly, but they visit Israel more often,
devote more volunteer time to other Jewish
organizations, give more to Jewish causes,
insist on better Jewish education for their
children and, of course, are more likely to
participate in communal worship and
home observances.
W e discovered an important
' ‘affiliation gap. ’ ’ h exists among
young adults, beginning during the
college years and persisting through
the post-graduate period and the
onset of family life.
strate that affiliation is af-
fordable and deserves
high priority status on
their life’s agenda because
of the spiritual, cultural
and social dividends it
provides.
To simplify the process
of applying for these car-
ds, we have even prosided
a toll-free number: 1-800-
359-UAHC.
More Than Numbers
These initiatives are the
beginning of what we an-
ticipate will be a major
thrust by the Reform
movement to reach the
unaffiliated. But our goal
is not simply one of num-
bers, of devising ways and
means to bring more
MW i i ^ £4 K
■ Rabbi si hmilli-r
and social involvement
not only on behall of
religious causes but in
non-denominational ac-
tivities as well Religious
affiliation thus provides a
moral and ethical context
for society in general, not
just for the particular
faith involved.
The I980’s were a
decade when political and
business leaders sang the
virtues of self-interest and
material gain. The '90\
But our goal is not simply one of
numbers, of devising ways and means
to bring more families and individuals
into synagogues for its own sake. We
in the Reform movement are very
much aware of the relationship
between religious affiliation and
patterns of communal involvement.
' ---1
families and individuals
into synagogues for its
own sake. We in the
Reform movement are
very much aware of the
relationship between
religious affiliation and
patterns of communal in-
volvement. For example,
research by the Cohen
Center for Modern Jewish
Studies at Brandeis
University has found that
higher rates of church and
synagogue affiliation have
a direct impact on volun-
teerism, charitable con-
tributions and political
K
must be a time when
society once again cn
compasses the moral
precepts ol compassion,
generosity and communal
concern on which
human survival depends
in the long run. Religion
and religious affiliation
can help us find our way
back.
Ktshhi I h'wtulct W /i ’ t/h t
t% the /trcutfcni #»/ th* * 1 nnm uf
Antrtn un //iVtfrn ( oftffrg«/
t tuns. g/«•*/« <»/
Hr f w J utitstMti in \ tilth
4 met HU
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 17, 1991, newspaper, January 17, 1991; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth834638/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .