blogs/brentspodek

 An update from the Atid team:

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended all of our lives but not the Atid listening campaign.  Yes, the pandemic has slowed our progress a little but not by much.  Thanks to the efforts of Rabbi Brent and a dedicated and persistent team of volunteers and to the many participants who gave of their time and attention, we achieved what we set out to do - which was to engage as many people as possible in this campaign and to learn as much as we could about the hopes, dreams, frustrations and successes for and about BHA.  

Here’s what’s been happening to date:

In Spring of 2019, the Board charged the Atid Committee with conducting a synagogue-wide listening campaign to inform planning for BHA’s future.  In this process, the five-member Atid Committee engaged a dozen Atid Ambassadors who conducted 63 conversations with BHA community members and 15 MASA students. In addition, 168 BHA community members responded to a community survey.  Twenty-two current and former board members, committee chairs, clergy and senior staff members were interviewed, and 24 staff and lay leaders completed an online survey.  Data was collected from September 2019 - January 2020. 

Since January 2020, the Atid team and Rabbi Brent have met frequently to review and digest the vast amount of information gleaned from the one-on-one conversations and the surveys.  We identified twelve key themes, ranging from foundational questions about who we are and how we function to how we educate our children and use our space.  The team’s findings were presented to the Board in early April.  Starting on April 13, the Atid team together with the rest of the Board, Rabbi Brent and Cantor Ellen conducted an online retreat via Zoom to consider some of the themes.  BHA member Dara Silverman acted as our most able facilitator.  The retreat continued over two more online sessions. 

In coming months, the Board will address each of the themes identified by the Atid team and will begin to chart paths forward.  The process will almost certainly engage the Board’s attention in one way or another throughout the remainder of 2020 and 2021. Our goal is to present a more comprehensive written report of our findings to the entire community in Fall 2020.  

It is a testament to the commitment and love that members have for BHA that we are as far along in the process as we are despite the pandemic.  Special thanks to each and every person who contributed their time and attention to this process.  Without each of you, none of this would be possible. We look forward to joining with you to realize your dreams for BHA. 

Please feel free to be in touch with any of the Atid team if you have questions.

Rabbi Brent Spodek 

Sarah From

Jesse Lunin-Pack

Karen Mayer

Rusty Stahl