Engage@TI

Relationships

By Rabbi Jen Gubitz

I’m told it was a powerful scene as TI members gathered together to share their hopes, dreams, and excitement for building and deepening relational community at Temple Israel in the Spring of 2015. Conversation was rich and energy flowed as many themes emerged, but primary among them was the “strong desire for belonging.” It was a profound outcome and equally unsurprising. Certainly in a community 1,400 families strong, it can be quite difficult to know one another’s names much less to feel truly known by others in our community. New myself, I know this feeling all too well.

With a congregation that knows well community organizing’s 1:1 approach to building relationships, Rabbi Zecher sought a new relational platform through which those in TI’s orbit might connect more deeply to one another. Learning from faith communities in the ‘Mega-Church’ world, other large synagogues, and the URJ’s support – Rabbi Zecher began to develop Small Groups with Meaning. Small Groups (with meaning) is exactly what its name sounds like: small groups of people (defined by interest, age, or stage in life) who commit to gather together over an agreed upon period of time. (Small Groups) with Meaning is the essential aspect of these groups that helps bind people together. While groups can organize around anything — a book, cooking, hiking, singing, softball, Shabbat dinner, parenting, dating, aging — it is the investment in a meaningful guided conversation around life’s big questions that has the power to bind a group together.

Now called Engage@TI (and part of my role at Temple Israel), I’m grateful to partner with lay leaders Lis Keller, Liz Lyster, Sally Mechur, Carol Targum, and Valerie Zimber who are truly the spirit behind this initiative. In its pilot stage, we are launching 7 initial groups between January and July, including a Mussar group, a book group, a Riverway Project “Conversation was rich and energy flowed as many themes emerged, but primary

among them was the “strong desire for belonging.” It was a profound outcome and equally unsurprising. Certainly in a community 1,400 families strong, it can be quite difficult to know one another’s names much less to feel truly known by

others in our community.”

learning group, and groups focused on aging, parenting, and Families with Young Children. You can still join or you can create your own by contacting me at engage@tisrael. org. This project dovetails beautifully with the work of our Director of Membership and Engagement, Sara Schwindt, and our dedicated membership committee led by Sarah Minden.

Engage@TI is the answer to what we promised you at the conclusion of the Tent Talks. We heard you, and we can’t wait for you to join us!

For more information on Engage@TI, please contact Rabbi Gubitz at jgubitz@tisrael.org