Reform Union Cuts Outreach Staff
Citing a $2 million budget deficit, the Reform movement’s synagogue body is eliminating the positions of its 13 regional outreach coordinators, the staffers charged with making Reform congregations welcoming to interfaith families.
The Union of American Hebrew Congregations must eliminate more than 30 positions to make up the shortfall, which represents about 10% of its budget and was caused by a drop in endowment income, said UAHC spokeswoman Emily Grotta. The outreach functions will be consolidated at the union’s New York headquarters, Grotta said.
“When outreach began, no congregation was welcoming to interfaith families, but at this time, there’s practically no congregation not practicing outreach as part of their beliefs,” Grotta said. “A lot of what it does has been accomplished. Other areas need more help at this point.”
“Obviously this has been a painful process,” she added.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30