Synagogue Collaboration and Mergers: The Upside

By Kathy Elias

I like data. I am easily distracted by practical articles with comparison data, like this one on housing prices, (sorry about the continued downturn, Europe). I can also get hooked on peculiar websites, like this one with the scariest data that I can’t understand, or one that just makes me smile from knowing that, unlike the Twitter world, I am much happier today than I was in 2009.

I have another source that I regularly monitor – United Synagogue’s client relationship management system (CRM). Our staff and volunteers record significant contacts and conversations in our CRM so that we can inform one another of issues, make assignments and track follow up. And some of this year’s numbers caught my attention.

From July 2012 until June 2013, our kehilla relationship managers had 219 conversations with leaders from 75 synagogues about collaborations, alliances, and mergers.

I don’t view data as telling the whole story, but as pointing to where I might find a story. So before trying to figure out the story, here’s a closer look:

• 12 of the 75 synagogues have fewer than 100 member households.
• 8 of the 75 have more than 500 member households.
• Most of the congregations – 31 total – fall within the 200-500 member range.
• 20 of the congregations are in the corridor from New York to Baltimore.
• 15 of the congregations are in Florida.
• 14 of the congregations are in New England.
• 13 of the congregations are in California.
• Most of the conversations were about collaboration, sharing resources or merging components of the communities, like religious schools, not selling buildings or a larger congregation absorbing a smaller one.

I’m not surprised about where these conversations are happening. United Synagogue has high concentrations of its affiliated synagogues along the east coast, and reflects the generational history of Conservative Jews, creating communities in the early 20th Century in the northeast, and then in Florida in the mid to late 20th Century.

Before my friends who wish to point out that this also shows the decrease in numbers in the Conservative movement jump in, I’ll say, “Point taken,” and I’ll ask that we move on. Collaboration and merger have the potential to change the dynamics, if not the demographics, of Conservative communities, particularly when mid-sized congregations combine forces.

Some of the most innovative collaboration and merger strategies are happening among mid-sized congregations in New England. For example, three synagogues in the Boston area – Mishkan Tefilla, Beth Emeth and Temple Reyim – are formally working towards creating a merged religious school with an innovative approach to formal and informal learning. Three other synagogues in the area were recently discussing creating one large community on the south shore.

Not every merger story is about synagogues on the decline or one synagogue “absorbing” another. Florida has areas where large congregations of primarily older members are situated near small and growing congregations, made up of mostly young families. Discussions of alliance come from trying to create complementarity and continuity.

If I looked no further than the data I’m finding in our system, the numbers point towards the story that today’s synagogue leaders are more open than ever to the idea of creating a strong community rather than clinging to their separate structures, and there are many potential collaborations and mergers on the immediate horizon. However, I’m not sure it will be that easy.

In the last month, the merger of the three synagogues in the Boston area changed course as Ahavath Torah in Stoughton, MA, pulled out of the talks. Another formal initiative in New Jersey between Beth Judah in Ventnor and Beth El in Margate stopped when the Beth El community voted against it.

In an eJewish Philanthropy article last week, Debra Brosan and Rabbi Hayim Herring describe their quick check on the landscape of collaboration and merger:

“The bottom line is that the leaders with whom we spoke saw the opportunity for greater synagogue collaboration and, in some cases, mergers, but were cautious about the prospect of congregational leaders taking a proactive stance.”

Brosan and Herring discuss the hesitance:

“…synagogues resist collaboration even when it makes sense because they fear a loss of their own identity and a loss of members.”

I believe that more than ever, this generation of leaders understands the benefits of working together towards creating strong, vibrant community. They are willing to discuss many options with our kehilla relationship managers, and sometimes begin a conversation with someone in the synagogue nearby. But as the details of the give and take of cooperation move from theoretical to real, synagogue leaders navigate complicated territory with no single “right” roadmap.

The majority of USCJ affiliated congregations – more than 65% – are in areas that do not have a local Federation bureau or program that supports synagogue strengthening and transformation. Until recently, United Synagogue had few resources to help congregations with mergers or collaboration. We began with sharing Tzemed Chemed, a helpful overview of the landscape written by Rabbi Paul Drazen, and often referred congregations to consultants, volunteers or other synagogue leaders who experienced it themselves. Our new resources, particularly on strategic planning, and our kehilla strengthening team approach are the beginning of our response to work with our affiliated kehillot more closely. We are gearing up for more services in this area over the next three years. I believe that with support, we will see more collaboration and alliances than ever, with the possibility of new communal structures that replace the traditional concept of merger.

The data in our system tells me that there is a new story ready to be written.

Kathy Elias is Chief Kehilla Officer of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.