August 16, 2021

Rabbinic Search – Congregation Survey Report

We would like to thank those of you in our congregation who took the time to fill out the Rabbinic Search Congregation Survey.  The information gleaned will help to inform the Search Committee’s work as we move through this important process.

There will be many other opportunities in the coming months for KI congregants to meet with members of the Rabbinic Search Committee to discuss these questions and answers more fully, and to review any additional questions you may have.  We realize that the selection of the next Rabbi and the resulting transition are critical times for our congregation, and we want to make sure we are respectful of the broad range of individual emotions and perspectives generated by the retirement of Rabbi Sussman and the welcoming of our next Rabbi. 

Below are the survey results, as well as a summary of the trends that are reflected in our disaggregated data. Please note: The survey data has been broken down by detailed sub-categories, in this case by age cohorts.

Comments or Questions: please feel free to email us:

Sincerely,

Janice Schwartz Donahue  jschwartzdonahue@gmail.com

Karen Sirota klsirota@gmail.com

Rabbinic Search Committee Co-chairs kirabbisearch@kenesethisrael.org

Rabbinic Search Survey Results:

Question #1

What qualities in our next Rabbi are most important to you?

While we know all of these categories are important, the trends showed that Pastor, Relational Leader and Visionary were our top three choices.

Pastor:  Caring pastoral presence, sensitive, attentive, and approachable, sharing joyful times, and offering comfort and support to congregants regardless of age, gender, race or socio-economic status

Relational leader:   Approachable, and has easy rapport with adults, children and young families

Visionary:   Committed to a vibrant, engaged, spiritual community willing to explore changes that move KI in healthy, new directions that deepen connections and encourage new members to join KI

There was a difference in the age group 18-34 who chose Relational Leader, Social Justice Advocate and Visionary as very important characteristics slightly ahead of Pastor

Relational leader:  Approachable, and has easy rapport with adults, children and young families

Social Justice Advocate:  Passionate about issues of social justice, and committed to social action by engaging the congregation in the work of advocacy

Visionary:  Committed to a vibrant, engaged, spiritual community willing to explore changes that move KI in healthy, new directions that deepen connections and encourage new members to join KI

Question # 2

What are the most important things our next Rabbi needs to know about our congregation?

We are an inclusive congregation, demographics changing and proud of our music & arts program

Our inclusive congregation welcomes all who are interested in a connection to Jewish life. Our rabbi officiates at life cycle events including interfaith and LGBTQ weddings

KI’s demographics are changing: We are an aging congregation in a neighborhood with unaffiliated Jews whom we seek to bring into our congregation

KI is proud of its beautiful music, art, and culture which are reflected in its rich programming

Question # 3

What are the most important issues confronting KI in the next 5 years?

Attracting members, Changing demographics and Transition of a new(next) Rabbi are the three most important and crucial issues regarding our growth over the next 5 years. 

Attracting new members in all age demographics, especially younger members, in order to remain relevant, vibrant and financially sound

Changing demographics, an aging membership, declining Jewish population, and local unaffiliated Jews to cultivate for membership

Transition of next Rabbi

Question # 4

We turned your answers into a Word Cloud with the larger printed words those words that were found most often.

Question # 5

What else do you want us to know as we begin our search for our next Rabbi?

Thanks for all of your interesting comments.  

We plan on hearing from the rest of our congregation in the months ahead.

Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-W2RHDZQD9/