Rabbinical Placement Commission Rabbi Cindy Enger Director of Placement 212.972.3636 cenger@ccarnet.org 355 Lexington Avenue 18 th Floor New York, NY 10017 Return electronically as an attachment to nblagman@ccarnet.org Interim Rabbi Application Length of Position: One year Type of Position: (select one) Full-Time / Part-Time In keeping with the highest ideals of Reform Judaism our congregation agrees: 1. To abide by our teaching that each individual is created b tzelem Elohim, in the image of God, so that we will include in our search all candidates regardless of age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or marital status; 2. To follow the rules, policies and procedures of the Handbook of Placement Procedures ; 3. To take into consideration the principles of The Guidelines for Rabbinical-Congregational Relationships ; 4. To conduct our search solely through the Reform Movement s Rabbinical Placement Commission. President Steve Simon Date 5/17/2018 Please type in the president s name; doing so indicates the president approved this document and authorized this search. Date of Application: 5/17/18 Date Position is Available: 7/1/2018 Congregation: Judea Reform Congregation Street Address: 1933 West Cornwallis Road City/State/Zip: Durham, NC 27705 Email: Telephone: 919-489-7062 Website: www.judeareform.org President: Steve Simon Email/Telephone: president@judeareform.org Current Rabbi: vacant Length of Tenure: Chair/Co-Chairs of Search Committee: Marc Joseph Chair Email: RabbiSearch@gmail.com Chair Telephone: 919-449-4720 Co-Chair Email: Co-Chair Telephone: Number of members on the search committee: 6
Professional Staff Please list the names, tenure (length of service) and status (part-time or full-time) of the professional staff. Position Name P/F Tenure Rabbi Emeritus John Friedman 34 years Congregational Services Lois Price F 10 years Manager Music Director Allan Friedman P 6 years Business Manager Doug Campbell F 1 year Executive Director Jennifer Rudinger F 2 years Interim Director of Rena Fraade F 1 year Congregational Learning Office Manager Loni Hudson P 4.5 years Development Manager Aviv Sheetrit F 2.5 years Program Associate Juliet Jensen P 1 year Youth Group Advisor Nikki Michaelson P 2 years Custodian Anthony Green P 6.5 years Custodian Gene Sharpe P 3.5 years Web/Tech Coordinator Heidi Aycock P 3 years Building Manager Ray Jones F 11 years Congregation Identity Number of member units today: 628 Number of member units five years ago: 624 Families: 391 Single Members: 237 Age Distribution: Youngest is 23 and oldest 104. Date congregation founded: 1961 Is there a building? Yes Date built: 2003 Congregation Facilities Permanent seats in sanctuary: 323 Sanctuary Seating Expandable to: Can accommodate roughly 100 folding chairs. Number of classrooms: 10 Number of offices: 8 Social hall/auditorium: 1,200 for worship, 330 for dinner Library: Yes Rabbi s study: Yes Chapel: No Other: Youth lounge: Yes Religious Services Please indicate the prayer books used for: Sabbaths and Festivals: Mishkan T filah High Holidays: Mishkan HaNefesh Lifelong Learning Does your congregation have an early childhood center? No Number of students: Number of classes: Does your congregation have a day school? No Number of students: Number of classes: Grades:
Does your congregation have a supplemental religious school? Yes Number of students: 175 Number of classes: 11 Grades: Pre-K thru 7th, plus Gesher program for ages 6 months 3 years old How many bar or bat mitzvah ceremonies did you have: This year: 29 Five years ago: 25 Does your congregation offer post Bar/Bat Mitzvah or Confirmation programs? Yes Number of students: 11 Number of classes: 1 Grades: 10 Does your congregation have an adult learning program? Yes How many classes per year? N/A Informal Learning Does your congregation have a Middle School youth group? No Number of participants: Does your congregation have a High School youth group? Yes Number of participants: 15 Is your program affiliated with NFTY? Yes Do you have a summer day camp? No Number of participants: How many students in your congregation attend a residential Jewish summer camp? 10 Does your congregation have a school-year retreat for supplemental school students? No How many attend? Does your congregation offer adult weekend retreats? No How many attend? Community Profile Other Jewish agencies and facilities: Jewish Home for the Aged: No Jewish Community Relations Council: No Federation and Welfare Fund: Yes Day school: Yes, The Lerner School (Pre-K 5 th grade) Other congregations: Conservative: Beth El in Durham Reconstructionist: Kehillah Synagogue in Chapel Hill Orthodox: Durham Orthodox Kehillah Other: Kol Haskahah: Humanistic Jewish Congregation, Chabad Other major institutions in the community: We share a Jewish Community Campus with a JCC, Federation and The Lerner School (Pre-K 5 th grade) Colleges and universities in the area: Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Duke, North Carolina Central, NC State, Meredith College, William Peace University, Shaw University, St. Augustine s Univ., Durham Tech Finances
Size of the congregational budget: $1.6M Percent of the budget covered by dues: 59% Average member dues: $1,532 Other sources of revenue: Fundraising: $123k Endowment: $1M Other: Remuneration - We ask that you indicate a specific figure or a specific range Proposed base compensation (salary and parsonage)*: $110,000-$150,000 annualized Percentage of pension in addition to salary: 12% Standard benefits of a rabbi in addition to salary (not included above) Health insurance*: Medical 100% paid by JRC Income-Disability insurance: Long-term disability offered. JRC to pay for first $250 of the annual premium. Convention allowance: see Other Sabbatical: None Car allowance: None Professional Expenses: see Other Organizational Dues: paid for by JRC Life insurance: None Books and periodicals: None Social Security Reimbursement: None Family Leave Policy: maximum of 12 weeks; unpaid leave in a 12-month period for covered family and medical care reasons Housing: None Other: Professional development $3,000, Relocation stipend provided on a reimbursement basis (to be negotiated)s Cell Phone reimbursed at 50% of actual monthly expenses Vacation - 3 weeks
Important Considerations Why is your congregation seeking to engage an interim rabbi at this time? Our previous Rabbi resigned after his second CCAR ethics violation. The first ethics violation occurred prior to his being hired at Judea Reform Congregation. We are looking for an interim Rabbi for one year to help bridge the gap between our previous FT Rabbi and the next FT Rabbi. What three qualities are the most important to your congregation in your interim rabbi? 1. Ability to help the congregation heal after the resignation of their Rabbi and provide pastoral care to aged and those in need. 2. Must have collaborative people skills to foster engagement with congregants, lay leadership and staff. 3. Ability to elevate Jewish context into compassionate guidance of the congregation. The three most important priorities of our interim rabbi should be: 1. Help the congregation work through the healing process after the resignation of their Rabbi and be a calming and grounding force in uniting the congregation through all aspects of this transition. 2. Officiate life cycle events in collaboration with community wishes: Shabbat services and B nai Mitzvahs, etc, 3. Assist community in identifying and finding a new permanent Rabbi who will be well suited to the needs and priorities of the congregation. The single most important thing an interim rabbi needs to know about our congregation is: We are a strong and vibrant congregation who is feeling fragile and is looking for a way to come out of this transition stronger and with a defined vision. What are the three primary goals of your congregation during this transitional year? 1. Find a permanent Rabbi. 2. Heal the trauma caused by the resignation. 3. Manage through any possible change to our financial position. What are your congregation s strengths? Lay leadership, diversity of backgrounds, strong volunteerism, inter-faith involvement in congregational activities, social action, staff and participation of a large portion of our congregation in non-worship related events like activism in the community. High participation of membership in strategic decisions. Stable financial position. What are your congregation s greatest challenges? 1. Finding a new permanent Rabbi well suited to the history, composition, culture and priorities of our congregation. 2. Maintaining the stability of the congregation through engagement and healing. 3. Serving congregant s core needs of worship, clergy support for life cycles, pastoral care and being a regular presence at JRC s religious school.
What are three activities you least want the rabbi to be involved with during the year? 1. Local community outreach. 2. Representing JRC at local, regional, statewide, and national meetings of clergy. 3. Fundraising and financial management. Please provide your congregation s Mission Statement. (https://images.shulcloud.com/1276/uploads/documentlibrary/judeareformmissionstatement.pdf) Judea Reform Congregation is a vibrant, welcoming community where Jews in the greater Durham-Chapel Hill area and beyond gather to worship, learn, serve, and actively engage in the sacred traditions of our shared heritage. We are inspired by Jewish history, the wisdom of our sacred texts, and the tenets of Reform Judaism. We use these in order to nurture our souls and our connection to God, to educate our children as well as ourselves, to cultivate leadership among all congregants, to celebrate our joys, to comfort those among us who are suffering, to serve our community and the world at large, and to promote peace and understanding. We preserve the great traditions of Judaism, respond to the current concerns of our community, and plan for a future of sacred engagement for generations to come. * The best practice is to specify on this form the compensation range and the nature of the health insurance. If that is impractical, these issues should be discussed prior to or during the onsite visit. Briefly describe the financial condition of the congregation. Please provide a history of your congregation if it is not located on your website. Over the past several years we have enjoyed financial growth after a period of very high expenses from the replacement of our building roofs. Revenue has grown, membership has grown, we have built up reserves to a level not seen in many years, conducted a campaign that resulted in an endowment of $1M, and have positioned to pay off remaining building debt by June 2020. Long term health depends on sustaining current membership and keeping to a schedule of capital replacement (HVAC, carpet, et al). Please provide a copy of your congregation s Bylaws if they are not located on your website. https://images.shulcloud.com/1276/uploads/documentlibrary/jrc-constitution-2018.pdf Length of Service as Interim Rabbi: The term for an interim rabbi shall start on the hire date and end on June 30, 2019. A congregation may submit a request to the Commission that an interim rabbi serve an additional year based on the needs of the congregation in its transition. Interim Rabbi s Eligibility for the Permanent Rabbinical Position: In rare and extreme circumstances a congregation may petition the RPC for the interim to become the settled rabbi. A congregation that has completed a search unsuccessfully and wishes to consider the interim for a permanent position may do so only if either one of the two following processes has taken place.
A. The congregation has completed a full search and has not found a candidate that it can recommend for the position of rabbi. B. The congregation has completed a full search and no candidate has accepted the congregation s offer to become rabbi of that congregation. In order to make the interim candidate eligible to be a candidate, the congregation must petition the Placement Commission in writing to seek a waiver from the rule that an interim is not to be considered for the permanent position. In considering the waiver, the Commission, through its Director and Chairman, will ascertain whether A or B above has taken place, and will determine further whether it is in the best interest of the congregation, the interim rabbi and the integrity of the placement process. 2012 Central Conference of American Rabbis