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Movement Restructuring FAQs

When will the movement restructuring take place?

JRF has sent out material to its constituents to review; the group plans to vote on these items as a plenum on June 3. After that vote, we expect that the Reconstructionist movement will be restructured with RRC becoming the primary national organization of the movement.  

Where will the new office will be?

The new office will be in RRC’s current space, 1299 Church Road, Wyncote, PA, 19095. If additional space is needed we will utilize the space currently occupied by JRF, 101 Greenwood Ave., Jenkintown, PA, 19046.

How will you determine what kind of program—including services, events and external partnerships—the unified organization will offer?

Several processes are informing how we make these decisions. This past September, the 2012 Reconstructionist Program Task Force recommended program priorities to the RRC board. The Task Force used feedback from rabbis, congregational leadership and appropriate JRF and RRC staff members to help guide its recommendations. In March, a subcommittee of the Congregational Services Committee made recommendations to President Dan Ehrenkrantz for short-term program priorities. By August 31, the full Congregational Services Committee will recommend longer-term program priorities to the board.

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 the Program Task Force. Read about who is on the Task Force.
Read the charge to Strategic Planning committee.  Read about who is on the Strategic Planning 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; new in the 2011 season is Shemesh, a week-long program for children with developmental disabilities.
  • The Reconstructionist placement office will continue to help connect organizations seeking services with qualified rabbis. Contact Rabbi Joel Alpert: jalpert@reconplacement.org; 215.576.5210, ext. 304.
  • The Reconstructionist Press will continue to offer all books currently sold through the same avenues, for now.  After the organizations officially combine, we will communicate updated information.
  • 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.
  • Reconstructionist resources with new offerings this fall include www.ritualwell.org, the premier Web site for creative Jewish ritual, which will re-launch in expanded, more interactive form; and the Guide to Jewish Practice book series, which will be published in 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 there still be congregational dues calculated per household?

Yes. There will be no change in the dues system for Reconstructionist congregations in 2011-2012. As part of future planning that will begin after the legal combination occurs, the dues system will be examined. The current system may be reaffirmed or changes may be recommended. We will reach out to congregational leadership as part of any future planning process.

For the 2011–12 year, with what organization are congregations affiliated, and where do they pay dues?

Congregations are affiliated with the Jewish Reconstructionist movement. Congregations should pay dues to JRF unless they are notified otherwise.

If I know of a congregation interested in affiliating, should I still direct its leadership to contact the JRF director of outreach?

Yes.

Will there be a branch of the organization dedicated to congregational services, with a single point of contact, or will the contact depend on what kind of assistance is needed?  

Any changes in the way congregations make requests for services will be announced as soon as they’re decided. We are committed to making the request process simple and intuitive. For the present, congregations should look to current JRF staff members to provide the same services as in the past.