Monday, Day 1 at the PDRJ Conference

Today was a great day!
It's really something to put faces to names, to connect in person with people I've spent the past year emailing with, to bond over our shared work of building community within our congregations. I am one of 18 members of PDRJ (Program Directors of Reform Judaism) fortunate enough to convene with one another during this 2-day conference prior to the 4-day URJ Biennial. Though the annual meeting usually draws about 25-40 members (out of more than 100 in the PDRJ), the 18 is working just fine for me, figuratively and literally.
Some Highlights of the Day:
-Keynote Speech from the URJ Director of Programming. Rabbi Elliot Kleinman guided us in articulating the skills and resources we use and the networks of connections we create, both personally and professionally in our congregations.
-Discussion of Dr. Ron Wolfson's book, The Spirituality of Welcoming. How well does our Temple embody a welcoming home for our members and visitors? What was your experience the first time you walked into Temple? How about the first time you called, emailed, or checked us out on the website? What is your worst customer service memory? What about your best? Do either of these sound like our Temple?
-Text study. Both this week's (Lech L'cha) and this coming week's (Vayeira) Torah portions are loaded with inspiring messages -- to do what is asked of us (even if it is mundane), to find inspiration in the undesirable; to hurriedly and happily welcome visitors, guests, each other!; to create and maintain peace in our homes.
-Lunch & Dinner. I don't even remember eating. Fortunately, the tables were spacious enough to accommodate our notepads, because we never stopped sharing programming and membership ideas with one another.
-Mitzvah Project. Of course Program Directors organizing a group project plan well enough to bring enough scissors for everyone. We huddled together on the meeting room floor, cutting bolts of fleece to fashion warm and cozy scarves for the homeless in Toronto. And then I donned my own scarf to catch the subway back to my sister's home for the night.
Good Night :)