From the KAMII Monthly Bulletin, June/July 2007

Many congregants responded to the Religious Practices Committee’s request for input on crafting a policy regarding participation of our non-Jewish members in worship and Life Cycle events. The committee was acting on the decision of the Board to follow the advice of last year’s Strategic Planning Committee report. The Strategic Planning Committee held a series of focus groups with congregants and conducted a survey, all of which identified the need for clarity regarding our policy on these matters. We were also charged with developing a policy that would recognize and address the diversity in our congregation. Your generous and excellent help made it possible for the committee to develop such a policy for KAMII. What follows is the new policy adopted by the Board at its May 14, 2007 meeting:

KAMII is a much more diverse congregation than ever before in our history. In addition to members who are Jewish by birth or choice, we have members who were not born Jewish and who, although they have not chosen to convert, are helping to raise Jewish children and to keep Jewish households. The Religious Practices Committee has received considerable input from the congregation reflecting congregants’ wishes to trust, respect, and honor these members for their important contribution to our community. We have come to see that our challenge is to achieve that respect for our non-Jewish members while also respecting our tradition.

The Religious Practices Committee is presenting a policy to you that is a culmination of a journey of a year and a half. During that time we have studied Reform Responsa with Rabbi Sandmel and we have read the entire CCAR Journal (Spring 2006) devoted to the subject of Interfaith Marriage and Outreach. In addition, we searched out members of the congregation who could share their thoughts and experience with us. We held five meetings with congregants and we received numerous letters and emails in response to a letter to the entire congregation inviting input. The Committee used methods of qualitative analysis to sift through detailed notes of meetings with congregants and letters from congregants; an exhaustive list of all concepts mentioned verbally and in writing was created and the concepts were clustered.

We were then able to discuss the range of concerns that are important to our congregation and to integrate that with what we learned both with the Rabbi and from the CCAR Journal. Our qualitative analysis revealed that we had to make a choice between two different approaches to deciding who may serve as sheliach tzibur (a representative of the community who leads prayers from the bimah): one approach is to have a specific policy regarding who may lead worship; the other approach is to provide our members with the knowledge and understanding with which they can make an informed decision about the nature of their participation. Despite their differences, the two approaches agree on the importance of knowing and respecting our tradition, and also on the centrality of the Rabbi’s role. The committee is basing our recommendation on the learning based approach.

We affirm that learning is one of the most important pursuits we must undertake as Jews. We invite and encourage all members of our congregation to join in our continuing effort to learn our traditions and the meaning of our worship. Members of the congregation, whether Jewish or non-Jewish, who have little or no experience leading worship from the bimah and are celebrating major life-cycle events such as b'nei mitzvah, and/or who wish to participate in leading worship at KAMII, shall meet with the Rabbi in order to study and learn about the role of sheliach tzibur in Jewish worship. We believe that studying and conferring with the Rabbi will enable each person to make an educated and principled decision about the nature of his/her participation in leading the congregation during worship services. Having completed this study, the decision of the individual and his/her family will be respected. We believe this policy honors what is meaningful in our tradition: the importance of teaching and learning, the meaning of the worship experience for everyone, the role of the person who serves as sheliach tzibur, respect for the Jewish tradition, and respect for each member of our congregation. We believe that by having a shared understanding of the concepts on which Jewish worship is based, we will develop an increased involvement with Judaism, heightened awareness of the ideals of our community, and an atmosphere of mutual respect throughout the congregation.