2007 - United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

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Members rely on The Bulletin as their primary source of information about the shul. Therefore accuracy is of paramount importance. Three lay members of the congregation, who volunteer in their respective capacities, edit Bulletin copy. One of our editors is proficient in Hebrew language and transliteration. Except in the cases of the rabbis, the directors of the Religious School, and Nursery School, all articles are written by lay members of the congregation, who either serve as chairs of various committees, affiliates, or projects of the synagogue, or who are asked to prepare articles on specific subjects. Volunteers, working on their home computers, also design and produce some of the display advertisements for Beth El events and take almost all of the photographs. Beth El is a multi-faceted synagogue, and we have many varied activities. We pride ourselves on being inclusive, and try to offer something for everyone. The Bulletin is our members’ source for news of what’s happening at their synagogue. GOLD AGUDATH ISRAEL 500-900 Ottawa, ON Submitted by Laurence Wall 613-728-3501 Agudath Israel has worked hard in recent years to make its Bulletin more content-rich with a more visually appealing layout. We focus not just on our clergy and executive, but on the interesting achievements of our members. In many cases, we find ordinary people doing some extraordinary things. We also keep our members up to date on synagogue and community activities and celebrate the holidays with helpful and interesting articles. We’re proud of the fact that the revamped Bulletin has been an in-house project. We don’t use outside companies to prepare each issue. We have a staff member in our shul office that lays out the paper. She has a terrific sense of what is eye-catching. And we print the Bulletin in-house. We’ve saved thousands of dollars in the process while sacrificing little in terms of quality. GOLD B’NAI SHALOM 250-500 West Orange, NJ Submitted by Adina Noveck Viezel 973-731-0160 B’nai Shalom of West Orange, New Jersey presents the Hayenu newsletter and the E-Happenings e-newsletter. Both of these publications are produced by the synagogue’s innovative and highly collaborative new Communications Team. Since its formation last summer, the Team has carefully analyzed the internal communication needs of the congregation including identifying problems related to the synagogue’s bulletins. Subsequently, not only were shortfalls corrected but both publications have moved to new creative heights serving as “one-stop-shopping” resources for all congregational information. The weekly E-Happenings includes summary, detail and link data for all events presented. The monthly Hayenu affords members in-depth coverage of synagogue life via professional, creative journalism. In both cases, new venues have been created for member participation such as the E-Happenings’ Community Postings section and the Hayenu’s “From Our Members” section. Reaction to these publications and other related projects of the Communications Team has been outstanding. GOLD BETH SHALOM CONGREGATION Under 100 Westminster, MD Submitted by Rabbi Amy Scheineman 410-875-2800 Joy Marlowe graciously took on the task of redesigning and editing our newsletter, The Chalutz, in January 2004. Our congregation is small (90 families) with limited staff. The newsletter helps everyone stay in touch and we need it to both disseminate important information and help create a sense of community. At the same time, printing and mailing the newsletter was costing an exorbitant amount and we needed to find a way to trim expenditures. The Chalutz was reconceived to provide:
• Information for readers to live a fuller Jewish life. This includes, but is not limited to: candle lighting times, Torah and Haftarah portions, and information about Jewish holidays and traditions. • Community news to help members feel more connected with one another, including information beyond the announcement of yahrzeits and donations. • A clean, neat, user-friendly, and professional looking format that is attractive and encourages people to read it cover to cover. • Information about USCJ and broader Jewish community concerns, which had not been included in previous newsletters, to reflect and convey the value of Klal Yisrael. • A newsletter in pdf format (as well as printed format) so that the congregation could preserve resources (paper, printing costs, and mailing costs) by e-mailing the newsletter to those members able to receive it by e- mail, who can then decide whether they wish to print it out or read it on-screen. Printed copies are mailed to those without access to the internet, and are available at the synagogue. These efforts have resulted in a new vastly improved newsletter that includes much more information than any previously and that creates a stronger sense of community by helping people connect with the congregation and the Jewish community beyond. More people are contributing to The Chalutz than ever before, and it contains more material worth reading. The Chalutz is becoming an educational organ and we have plans to increase its educational content in the future. GOLD with Distinction BETH EL OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY Over 900 Bethesda, MD Submitted by Marsha Rehns 301-652-2606 The monthly Scroll was redesigned and re-imagined in September 2006 by a committee of Beth El congregants, all of whom are professional editors and writers. The committee hired a professional designer, who created the design and lays out the issue each month. The designer introduced the use of color, which costs no more than the previous blackand-white bulletin. All assigning, writing, and editing are done by congregants as volunteers with the goal of making the bulletin more readable and compelling. It was determined that the Scroll be used in four ways: to educate about Judaism and the Jewish community, to inform about events, to create cohesiveness within the congregation, and to assist in development. The calendar insert, which replaces separate listings in different parts of the previous design, clearly and concisely informs about upcoming events. Each issue has a timely theme, which includes stories written by and about congregants, so the theme section both educates and unites the congregation. Each issue also has a section that relates to the congregation’s annual theme. Pages from the auxiliaries, such as Men’s Club and Sisterhood, reveal their breadth of programming. Special features, such as the Hebrew lesson and Ask the Clergy, offer a break from longer articles while providing nuggets of education about Judaism. The redesigned donation pages and attractive ads for synagogue and community events especially benefit from the use of color and have improved participation in all synagogue events and fund-raisers. As the Scroll was being redesigned, the Scroll committee conducted a writing and photography workshop for staff and synagogue committee chairmen to encourage them to write and depict more about synagogue events than just the event, date, and participants. From youth activities to Men’s Club, the improved writing and photography have offered usable information to people who missed an event and encouraged attendance at future programs. SILVER CONGREGATION BRITH SHOLOM Under 100 Erie, PA Submimtted by Doris Pinski 814-454-2431 Congregation Brith Sholom is celebrating its 110th Anniversary this year. Our Conservative congregation is the heart and soul of the Erie, Pennsylvania community which has unfortunately diminished in numbers over the last 40 years. From a synagogue of over 500 families in the 1950’s, we are now about 80. Nevertheless, Congregation Brith Sholom stands for something sacred and holy, and continues to have a unity of direction, a source of spiritual sustenance to feed the soul of its members, and continues to give educational
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2007 - United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

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