Waching daily Dec 25 2017

sometimes you have an experience that changes everything

spending summers weekend's Shabbat semesters school breaks and Sunday

afternoons together gives our youth the opportunity to become more engaged and

educated Reform Jews these are tools they need to be leaders

in our congregations role models for their peers an advocate for our causes

the foundation of our movement when it comes to inspiring our kids teens and

young adults URJ youth is invested in developing the future wiki all-in we win

this is where they begin to see themselves as Jewish leaders and become

resilient empowered individuals that give back our new research shows that

the impact URJ youth programs have on our children is long lasting

far-reaching and life-changing so how do we increase our reach to more than

21,000 youth each year when we are all in we win put youth programs on the

topic for congregational agenda deepen the connection with the future that

begins in your congregation noting enthusiasm for reform Jewish life dream

with us to innovate more specialty opinions where skill and frat are honed

alongside Jewish tradition empower your young people to take charge of their

world and congregational youth groups and NFTY programs

find the change makers in your synagogue and lead them to Mitzvah core where we

fire a team's passion for advancing social justice inspire epic journeys for

teens to experience nifty in Israel or a semester at hell or high exploring

progressive Jewish views and create a connection to Israel together we are

building a world of wholeness justice and compassion

engage youth are the leaders we want for our community to connect with our future

to lead our synagogues and our movement all in we win

For more infomation >> Youth Video - Biennial 2017 - Duration: 2:35.

-------------------------------------------

Action Theme Video - Biennial 2017 - Duration: 5:19.

in the book of Deuteronomy God charges the Jewish people justice justice shall

you pursue for more than 50 years the religious Action Center has embodied the

reformed Jewish movements aspiration to fulfill that commandment from civil

rights to health care from protecting our environment to confronting bigotry

the rack inspires and supports reformed synagogues to be champions of justice

launched at the racks consultation on conscience the urgency of now initiative

is the newest way that we are moving social justice to the center of reform

Jewish life since spring 2017 more than 100 congregations and Counting have

signed the racks breach alone making a covenant to protect the most vulnerable

and dedicating themselves to making lasting structural change on key issues

that affect our communities

by doing what they're doing with all the immigration raids and detentions of

deportations they're not gonna make our borders safer they're not gonna bring

jobs back 36 times in the Torah we are commanded

in different ways to treat the stranger with justice compassion with equality we

are commanded to love the stranger and to remember that we ourselves for one

strangers the urgency of now immigrant justice campaign provides different ways

for congregations to be involved in fair immigration practices or reform it's

enabled us to be able to act powerfully with other reform synagogues not only in

California but nationally to be able to speak together in a stronger united

voice as a sanctuary synagogue what are we saying we're saying we're gonna

shield those people who are the oppressed we're going to give them

sanctuary in order to make sure that they get the Equality criminal justice

reform is one of the most urgent issues facing our nation criminal justice

reform is an issue for the faith community because the importance of

loving your neighbor as yourself if we're going to preach it from our

congregations from our pulpits we have to make sure we live it out in the world

with our neighbors we have more young black men incarcerated at this moment

than we ever had in slaves in this country I would encourage leaders in

other cities to seek opportunities to work together it's one thing if I say

that there's racism it's something else if he says and if we both say it

together it's much more powerful the urgency of now stress is that the status

quo is unacceptable

I got involved with the issue of transgender rights in large part because

of my own need for transgender rights for me it was really because I knew what

it was like to feel like you were out of place in the world the reform movement

has dedicated itself to LGBT inclusion the urgency of now transgender rights

campaign is the reform movements current pursuit to push back against harassment

and against discrimination against transgender people we have so many ideas

in our tradition about the ways that we refuse to shame people both ways that we

choose to recognize their basic humanity the spark of the divine that lives

within them it is an obligation upon us to ensure human dignity and that is why

this is our issue.

For more infomation >> Action Theme Video - Biennial 2017 - Duration: 5:19.

-------------------------------------------

Innovation Theme Video - Biennial 2017 - Duration: 3:03.

(Music playing.)

>> Judaism is an adaptive tradition.

The status quo is never good enough.

Our mission at the URJ is to strengthen communities to connect people to Jewish life and we help

congregations innovate to make sure that Judaism speaks to people's lives.

The URJ partners with congregations to build their capacity to make change happen.

>> I feel so privileged to be part of the Reform Movement, to be able to learn from

both professional staff and from other lay leaders across North America.

I was part of the seminar where a cohort about 80 new temple presidents met together for

four days in Atlanta and learned from some of the leading visionaries in our Movement.

From that I took away such a strong base of knowledge that absent being part of the URJ

and the Reform Movement I wouldn't have had I we network congregations and their leaders

who are experimenting by providing them a space to share and learn.

The B'Nai Mitzvah Revolution enabled the members of Congregation Sinai in Milwaukee to put

ideas into practice.

>> I think that the work of the B'Nai Mitzvah Revolution influenced our Shabbat Shanalanu

program.

Which we do not just have our connections on Sundays, at Sunday school, but we have

programs on Friday night for the Friday night service, Saturday morning, and then the Hub

Dalah service.

>> Going to the synagogue there's a sense of community that isn't that same way in other

places.

>> As a Movement we are innovating in creative ways to ensure that anyone anywhere can connect

and bring Reformed Judaism into their lives.

>> Jew V'Nation, a fellowship and project incubator for visionary Jewish leaders, is

creating community around interfaith and intersectional identities.

And the URJ will launch a Jews of Color Jew V'Nation cohort in 2018.

We are innovating in the camping world as well.

Two new specialty camps will open this summer: Six Points Psi Tech West and Six Points Creative

Arts Academy.

>> And new online courses for introduction to Judaism launched this past spring.

>> One of the amazing things that I think that this class was able to do was to bring

people together that were from all over the country.

>> I didn't know about a lot about Judaism when I started.

This really offered a comprehensive view of what it means to be Jewish and about the history.

>> The URJ continually creates and refines tools that empower congregations to stay innovative

now and in the future.

You are the URJ.