Testimonials

“We gave to the Clergy Team Expansion Campaign because it is important to us for every Judea member to have a meaningful personal relationship with our clergy. We also believe our clergy needs to have the schedule flexibility to ‘show up’ in our support of the Durham / Chapel Hill community whenever they need us and to have the relationships with local community clergy when we need them.”

“We believe that an additional Rabbi will create more opportunities for engagement both within our congregation and in the larger community. JRC will be able to have more robust educational, spiritual, and justice centered opportunities for our congregants. Our youth will receive the attention they deserve. The pastoral needs of our membership will be more completely addressed. Additionally, we will have a stronger Jewish voice in the interfaith spaces of our community. We enthusiastically support the Campaign to Expand the Clergy Team.”

“We have been active and engaged congregants for decades. When our kids were young and our parents aging, Rabbi John Friedman was an invaluable confidant and resource for us, and we will always be grateful to him and to the congregation for that. Our clergy and staff are wonderful, but we know we need additional clergy for Judea to be all that it can be for our many congregants given how much the congregation has grown. So, we are delighted to support this campaign.”

“We have been members of Judea Reform since 1985 and have deep connections within its community. We have been acutely aware of the congregation’s need for a permanent, second rabbi for over twenty years. This is an important major step in not only meeting the needs of our existing 630+ congregants, but in the continuing growth and well-being of the congregation – ethically, spiritually, socially and numerically. We are excited by the ongoing activities of the congregation, especially with regard to social justice, education and music, and do not want limitations on our rabbinic leadership to compromise these many valuable programs. We look forward to what we know will be the beginning of Judea Reform’s wonderful partnership with Rabbi Hannah Bender come July. Bill and I ask you to please join us in contributing to the strong and transformative Rabbinic leadership that this Campaign will provide for generations to come. From Strength to Strength!”

“As members of Judea Reform for almost 45 years, we have seen the tremendous growth – in members, in activities, in worship and music and social consciousness. Judea Reform has been a major part of our lives. We have seen the benefits to all of us from having a second full time rabbi, and are excited about the future with the leadership that the endowment fund will allow us to enjoy.”

“Our congregation is a wonderful place filled with members from all stages of life and from many varied backgrounds. Most of us cite our relationship with the Rabbi as an important aspect of congregational life but as the congregation grows, the ability to form that relationship is lessened. For several years we have not had the financial resources to hire a second rabbi despite the large size of our congregation. The Clergy Team Expansion Campaign will provide Judea Reform with the opportunity to bring a second rabbi to our community and, equally importantly, will allow us to fund this rabbi into the future. We are happy to support this important campaign and hope you will join us.”

“We have an active, talented, and committed congregation and a great rabbi. However, it is a large congregation. Rabbi Soffer is strained to serve so many people in so many different ways. He needs help! That is what the Chazak Chazak Campaign will provide, and we are happy to be a part of that.”

“Judea Reform Congregation has become a trusted partner to The Leon Levine Foundation in recent years. Building a strong sense of community for hundreds of families requires the collective efforts of clergy, professional staff and lay leaders. In a time when relationships are critical to connection, meaning and purpose, forward-thinking congregations must continue to invest in their ‘human’ capital.”

“We have delighted in seeing our beloved Judea Reform Congregation grow both in size and diversity. And, we have long admired the extensiveness of the religious, spiritual, intellectual, and social justice oriented programming, in addition to the personal care that we have received as a family from our Senior Rabbi. To sustain and continue the existing programs and services, we see it as vital to have a skilled Rabbinical team rather than leaning so heavily and exclusively on one Rabbi, no matter how amazing he and his staff are! We were thus honored to contribute early and meaningfully to the Chazak Chazak Campaign, and we have pledged continued support for many years to come.”