Has the movement restructuring taken place?
Yes. The plenum of JRF constituents voted in favor of restructuring on June 3, 2012. As of that vote, the Reconstructionist movement has been restructured, and RRC has become the primary organization of the movement.
Where is the new office?
The new office is in RRC’s current space, 1299 Church Road, Wyncote, PA, 19095.
How do you determine what kind of program—including services, events and external partnerships—the unified organization offers?
Read here about programs and services we're currently offering to Reconstructionist communities.
Based on their conversations with affiliated communities, the Congregational Services Committee recommended several program priorities to the RRC board. Their recommendations were approved, and have now become the mandate for RRC’s Affiliate Services Department to carry out. The committee will continue to meet to discuss the best ways for the Affiliate Services Department to measure their success.
In addition, a strategic planning process is underway to determine our future program on a multi-year basis. We will do additional surveying as part of the strategic planning process.
Read the charge to Strategic Planning committee. Read about who is on the Strategic Planning committee.
See who is on the Congregational Services Committee.
In addition to programs that emerge from the process described above, which core services for the Reconstructionist community can we expect the unified organization definitely to offer?
• Camp JRF will offer all of its usual programming, uninterrupted. Planning for a new eco-village, which will expand camp capacity, continues.
• The No’ar Hadash trip to Israel will take place again this summer.
• The Reconstructionist placement office will continue to help connect organizations seeking services with qualified rabbis. Contact Rabbi Joel Alpert: [email protected]; 215.576.5210, ext. 304.
• The Reconstructionist Press will continue to offer all books currently sold through the same avenues.
• The ReconRabbi site (www.reconrabbi.net), an interactive resource for Reconstructionist rabbis, will continue in its current form.
• The Reconstructionist minyan in Jerusalem will continue as a mainstay of Reconstructionist Jewish practice in Israel, on its current schedule.
• All resources on www.jrf.org will be continue to be available. During the summer we launched a new, streamlined microsite, JewishRecon.org, featuring the most-used material; other materialis now housed in an archival site that also is publicly available.
• Other popular Reconstructionist resources include www.ritualwell.org, the premier Web site for creative Jewish ritual, which recently re-launched in expanded, more interactive form; and the Guide to Jewish Practice book series, which has published the first of three comprehensive volumes, uniting the material on everyday life into a single compendium.
• All of the materials on RRC.edu—from topical blogs to Reconstructionist historical resources—will continue to be available.
Will congregations pay dues in 2012-13?
Yes. Congregations received a mailing in August that explained dues and services.
For the 2012-13 year, with what organization are congregations affiliated, and where do their dues go?
Congregations are affiliated with the Jewish Reconstructionist movement, and dues go to RRC.
If I know of a congregation interested in affiliating, how should I direct its leadership to make the initial contact?
Interested congregations should contact [email protected] or 215.576.0800, ext. 144.
What is my first step if my congregation needs services from the Reconstructionist movement?
The central point for requests is [email protected] or 215.576.0800, ext. 144.
