2007 - United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

even though they may not have children involved. Once a year there is a Melave Malka geared toward families with a
special guest speaker or family activity.
The remainder of our Family Education programs are planned according to season. In the Fall we have either a
Brunch & Learn or Temple BBQ that includes an educational aspect and attracts 75% of our members; this is followed
a short time later by a family oriented speaker. Chanukah programming includes a Congregational dinner, a concert of
Jewish music by a college a capella group, and Family Bingo on Christmas Eve to address “The December Dilemma.”
In the middle of winter we plan a fun Ethnic Shabbat involving a themed dinner and dynamic speaker who involves
everyone in learning about Jews from far-off places. Finally, in the Spring we plan a program with a guest speaker or
unusual entertainer in conjunction with Purim, Yom Hashoah or Shavuot that attracts individuals of all ages. Our year
culminates with a Congregational bike ride for young and old.
HONORABLE MENTION
CONGREGATION ETZ HAYIM
100-250 Arlington, VA
Submitted by Michelle Weiss 703-979-4466
For the past two years, Congregation Etz Hayim has enjoyed tremendous success with its Family Minyan program. This
program consists of a Shacharit service held on Sunday mornings for the first half hour of the religious school program
in which families are encouraged to participate together in an age appropriate, informal environment. During this
service a variety of activities may occur — there may be a close look at one of the prayers said during the service, a
discussion of current events from a Jewish perspective, or a celebration within the community.
Some of the expected and achieved goals of the program include:
• To have parents and children pray together to help both strengthen their tefillah skills
• To give students an opportunity to showcase the prayers they have learned, and new ideas they have come to
understand
• To create a community feeling through families coming together
We have measured the success of this program through parent and student
feedback, hearing the improved abilities of the students’ tefillah skills as they now have a more tangible goal to work
towards, and monitoring attendance, which has remained consistently high. We have also had parents bring their
parents, cousins, aunts and uncles, friends and relations to family minyan.
In the initial year of the program, the service was held bi-weekly, with a structure that kept focus exclusively
on the prayers recited. In the second year, we increased the program to be every week of religious school, and increased
the diversity of the program to include:
• “Ask the Rabbi” segment where Rabbi Bass answers questions submitted by students and parents. Rabbi Bass
has answered questions about Kashrut, cloning, etymology, theology, and ethics to name a few.
• A “Jewish Moment In History” covering a notable (and preferably positive) moment in Jewish history, the
anniversary of which is within the week of the service. The information is collected from the History Channel
and the Jerusalem Post.
• Holiday celebrations both secular and religious. This year, we enjoyed a special program for Super Bowl
Sunday to teach students and parents that good sportsmanship is a Jewish Value.
It is our plan to continue this program in future years, improving it each year as lessons are learned, and new
families join our school. Specifically, next year we hope to include guest speakers, and find more creative ways to
incorporate current events.
HONORABLE MENTION
CONGREGATION ETZ CHAIM
500-900 Marietta, GA
Submitted by Linda H. Weinroth 770-973-0137
For the past six years we have offered special programming to involve families in learning together about some aspect
of Judaism. The university programs that have been held thus far are Shabbat University, Passover University, Tefillah