Who will turn out the lights?

Imagine being a member of a kehilla (sacred community) where:

• Half of the congregation comes every week to services.
• The synagogue budget is simple enough to be balanced by renting out space to a church.
• Religious services get continual injections of enthusiasm and optimism from a steady flow of student rabbis.
• Congregants are skilled service leaders, a couple even serving as cantorial soloists at the High Holidays.
• The rabbi is a talented carpenter who can construct a special space in the cemetery to hold yahrzeit plaques.
• Members have lifelong memories of supporting each other.

These were some of the enviable qualities of what it's like in very small congregations described by 32 people I met at the conference, "Congregations in a Changing Environment." Hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, in partnership with the Jewish Community Legacy Project, United Synagogue, Union for Reform Judaism and Jewish Federations of North America, this was one of the first communal conversations about the quality of Jewish life in areas where there are just very few Jews left.

More than two dozen small synagogues of all denominations are in the geographic area surrounding Pittsburgh, scattered throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and New York. They share common features: each has fewer than 75 households, their members' average age is over 65 years old, they have steadily declining affiliation, and no significant growth in Jewish communal numbers can be seen for the future.

The dedication of the leaders of the 12 congregations in the room was inspirational, coming across over and over in their personal stories of service to their communities.  In one congregation, three people have rotated as president - two years on and one year off - to give each other a break from the heavy time commitment. Marsha Storch, from Temple B'nai Israel in Olean, NY, had a story of wearing multiple hats for as long as she can remember:  "I've been president for I don't know how many years," she said. "I'm membership chair, too, and I know where all the toilet paper is."

But the real topic for the gathering was how to address the challenges of keeping such small kehillot alive in areas where the demographics are not in their favor.

As Richard Litman, president of Beth Israel in Washington, PA, said during the animated conversations at the tables, "The challenges come down to money, membership and minyan."

In very small congregations, money is an issue in a different way than in larger congregations. Most of the synagogues represented at the conference either have tiny religious schools or have closed them down. Five out of the 12 have full-time rabbis, but no other professionals. With steady reductions in revenue from membership, maintenance of the building and clergy salaries are major expenses. Fundraisers only go so far when there are limited numbers of volunteers to organize them. In at least one of the congregations, the deficit spending is almost exactly the amount they are paying for the services of a full time rabbi.

The importance of maintaining religious life was the focus of much of the conversation. Irene Rothschild, the president of a Reform congregation in Greensburg, WV, talked about how their rabbi helps them stay the only "full service congregation in Westmoreland County," and "offer a lot religiously, socially and culturally." But "distance is an issue in coming to things. Getting a minyan is hard."

The president of Tree of Life Synagogue described the growth and then decline of their community in Uniontown, PA, since the synagogue's founding in 1902. "We had 300 families, and now are down to 19. Only seven are husband and wife. But we get a minyan every Saturday." They hired a knowledgable teacher who came from New York to lead their weekly services because they can no longer sustain a salary for a rabbi. "Once we can't have a minyan, that's the death knell."

The death knell was discussed head on by the presidents of Temple Hadar Israel in Newcastle, PA, and Temple B'nai Israel in Olean, NY.  Their boards are working closely with the staff of the Jewish Community Legacy Project, David Sarnat and Noah Levine. (I wrote about JCLP in a previous post.)

David told the story of his first interview with the last few board members of a small community in the south who were spending down their synagogue's budget because they couldn't agree on whether or not to sell the building. "Who will be the last person to turn out the lights?" he asked. They said they were willing to let it be the last one who survived. "And how do you feel about it being the person you disagree with?" he replied.

David commented that often in small communities, it gets down to choosing between the building or the religious service. "Jewish Community Legacy Project is about finding those supports that can help you maximize your revenue to operate so you can maintain the quality of life in your community. It takes having the conversations now, not putting them off until it's too late."

With coaching from JCLP, a long range planning committee of nine people meet every five weeks in Newcastle, PA, to think strategically about how they will continue to serve the members they have. Their president, Sam, said, "I see our congregation as being early in the fourth quarter of a ballgame. We think there's a way to get into double and triple overtime and extend the game."

TBI in Olean is taking one step at a time, first making a legacy plan for caring for their cemetery. "As I told David," Marsha Storch said with a wink, "we move slowly and procrastinate a lot."

There were good ideas and good news to come out of this conference. There is interest in collaboration among the synagogues, especially in the area of religious services. One idea was to identify groups of people capable of leading services and rotate among buildings. Another is to share rabbinic support - the idea of a "circuit rabbi" who would be under contract to more than one community.

United Synagogue is dedicated to the partnership with JCLP, URJ and JFNA. Our new director of kehilla finance and operations, Barry Mael, will be working closely in the coming year with JCLP to serve these congregations. We have received a supportive message from the Rabbinical Assembly, as well, to work together to find innovative ways for Conservative rabbis to serve these communities.

Jeff Finkelstein, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, made the final remarks of the day. He admitted that he planned to welcome people in the morning but head out to another meeting right after that. Instead, he stayed all day because of the compelling stories and ground-breaking conversations among the participants. He said, "I walk away totally inspired by what you, as volunteers, do for your Jewish communities."