When my son was five years old, he played tee ball. This is beginners' baseball, where the kids hit the ball off a tee rather than risk facing a kindergarten pitcher's curve balls.
Our son practiced for his debut with his brothers in our back yard. He focused
on keeping his eye on the ball, maintaining the correct angle of the bat,
stepping forward at the precise moment before making contact. Let's just say he's a gifted
artist rather than a natural athlete, and we appreciated his willingness to
give this a try.
On the big day of the first game, he came up to bat, swung and
missed a couple of times. And then, finally - WHAM! The ball soared over
the first baseman's head and into right field! He seemed as surprised as his
father and I that he hit the thing, and when the shock wore off, he ran full
speed to first base. The coach waved him on while the other team scrambled to
pick up the ball. As soon as he got to second base, we all yelled, "Keep
going!" And he did - but instead of turning towards third
base, he continued straight into left field.
Here's what we realized, as his teammates and coaches tried to
stop him before he ran all the way back to our house: He
didn't know where third base was or how to get there from second. We spent a
lot of time on the mechanics of hitting the ball. We forgot to prepare him for what to do after he hit it.
This happens in synagogues, too. Loads of institutional energy and resources
are put into writing strategic plans, but they may sit on the shelf, (next to
two or three previously written ones), because no one is able to implement
them. Much thought and care is often put into assembling a rabbinic search committee,
but the new rabbi struggles in the critical first year because a transition
team is not put into place to help him or her succeed.
Over the next four years, 61 Conservative kehillot (communities) will get a chance to hit a home run with more than 10,000 young families as they offer the gift of Jewish books every month through PJ Library. This is a unique opportunity. Most of the million PJ Library subscriptions so far have been provided through organizational venues like Jewish Federations and Jewish Community Centers, but not synagogues. According to research by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, about half of the young families will be unaffiliated. The PJ Library program gives our synagogue communities a direct line of communication with young families, but they need to be able to get past first base.
Through our pilot PJ Library program with 33 New York area kehillot, called ReadNY!, we found that in some congregations, publicizing the opportunity and signing up families was as easy as learning how to keep your eye on the ball. But moving beyond that requires more planning and continual work. The “champions” for engaging young families need to be identified, and assigned the responsibility to reach out and sustain relationships in addition to designing programs that are the right match for what the families need.
Over the next four years, 61 Conservative kehillot (communities) will get a chance to hit a home run with more than 10,000 young families as they offer the gift of Jewish books every month through PJ Library. This is a unique opportunity. Most of the million PJ Library subscriptions so far have been provided through organizational venues like Jewish Federations and Jewish Community Centers, but not synagogues. According to research by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, about half of the young families will be unaffiliated. The PJ Library program gives our synagogue communities a direct line of communication with young families, but they need to be able to get past first base.
Through our pilot PJ Library program with 33 New York area kehillot, called ReadNY!, we found that in some congregations, publicizing the opportunity and signing up families was as easy as learning how to keep your eye on the ball. But moving beyond that requires more planning and continual work. The “champions” for engaging young families need to be identified, and assigned the responsibility to reach out and sustain relationships in addition to designing programs that are the right match for what the families need.
Volunteers and professionals alike are not necessarily naturals at
outreach and engagement, so they need help building the habits of relational
thinking, and looking for moments with relational potential, whether it’s through excellent formal
programming or during informal moments.
For these reasons, we’re setting in place the staff and structure
to create the USCJ-PJ Family Engagement Network. The Network will bring
together the professionals and volunteers whose focus will be engaging young
families in their communities, beginning with those who enter the door through
PJ Library. They'll receive resources from PJ Library, and special consultation, networking and services from United Synagogue's family engagement and early childhood staff. A special interfaith family network, InterAction, will begin meeting in a few weeks. We expect that what both networks learn and share will help all of our kehillot round the bases of family engagement.
Watch for upcoming newsletters and webinars, and the introduction in February of our new PJ Library Coordinator, Amy Schwartz, as she begins to help kehillot across the continent get to first base offering PJ Library books to children in their communities.
For more information about the USCJ-PJ Family Engagement Network, contact our Family Engagement Specialist, Rabbi Cara Weinstein Rosenthal. For advice and consultation about early childhood engagement, contact our Early Childhood Consultant, Maxine Handelman.
For more information about the USCJ-PJ Family Engagement Network, contact our Family Engagement Specialist, Rabbi Cara Weinstein Rosenthal. For advice and consultation about early childhood engagement, contact our Early Childhood Consultant, Maxine Handelman.
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