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Imagine

Yes that is the title of a John Lennon song.  But it is also what I am doing here in Lake Las Vegas over this Shabbat weekend. I am attending the Union for Reform Judaism Board of Trustees meeting.  We are imagining the future of Reform Judaism and the Union.  What might it look like in the 2050?  What is the vision that drives our movement? Our congregations? And how can we as a Union of congregational communities serve to enrich the spiritual lives of Jews?  How can the Union better serve congregations, its members of all ages and even what role we have to play in serving the unaffiliated?

These are big thoughts.  And there are many big and small ideas being floated around.  The visioning work here is complementing the Reform movement’s Think Tank project which brings together more than 20 people of very diverse backgrounds who have been talking and thinking about these ideas.  We had some presentations about it. And the first think tank presentation was in November at HUC/LA. You can watch the entire presentation here.

This work will continue beyond this weekend.  So if you have thoughts about the future of Progressive Judaism and where it ought to go and what it ought to look like please comment below!

I am very interested in how you think the Reform movement ought to move into the future given changes in demographics, intermarriage, inclusion, technology and social media impact and decreasing number of those bearing kids, economics, and aging populations.   How should the College-Institute (our seminary) work with the Rabbis (CCAR) and the Union (Congregations)?

How should we re-imagine ourselves?

What are your thoughts?