Among the most cherished values of our Reform Movement is the idea of sacred partnership between clergy and lay leaders. While a sacred relationship of trust, transparency, and collaboration is our highest ideal, there can be challenges that affect these relationships, especially during this time of pandemic crisis.
We want you to know how the North American Commission on Rabbinic Congregational Relationships (NCRCR) can provide support and healing to lay leadership and rabbis alike.
The NCRCR is a joint commission of the URJ and CCAR whose mission is to advise, support and nurture sacred partnerships and healthy relationships among lay leadership and rabbis. Ideally, we are called early enough to help repair these relationships, so that a resolution results in the rabbis maintaining their positions in the congregation.
At other times, the NCRCR process will clarify that a rabbi and the congregation would both be healthier in parting ways. In that case, NCRCR can assist a congregation and its rabbi with an honorable and healthy parting.
The NCRCR provides three types of services: consultation, conciliation and mediation. All conversations and services provided by the NCRCR are highly confidential.
For consultation services, either the congregation’s president or rabbi, separately or together, can reach out directly to Rabbi David Fine or Ms. Robin Kosberg (contact information below), co-chairs of the NCRCR, for a confidential discussion by telephone, email or video conference.
When a president and rabbi together request an NCRCR conciliation case, we utilize volunteers from the North American Board of the URJ and members of the CCAR in our work. A trained volunteer team of one URJ lay leader and one CCAR rabbi travel to the congregation for two days of intensive meetings with all of the key stakeholders of the congregation: clergy, lay leadership, and staff.
Soon thereafter, the team and the NCRCR provide a report to the congregation and rabbi with detailed findings and recommendations. There is no charge to congregations or clergy for our services. Because we understand the sensitivity of the information we learn about a congregation and its clergy and staff, all members of the NCRCR, chairs and team members rigorously maintain the confidentiality of information shared with them.
The NCRCR can also facilitate a mediation process by referring the case to a member of the URJ or CCAR trained in mediation services. The goal is to obviate the need for arbitration, although occasionally the rabbi or lay leadership may find it unavoidable.
Contact earlier is always better than later in any given situation. The chairs of the NCRCR are available to talk to congregational leadership or clergy, together or separately. If a rabbi or congregational leader perceives a pattern of issues in the congregation affecting the rabbinic-lay relationship, it is time to reach out.
The NCRCR is chaired by Rabbi David Fine, on behalf of the CCAR, and Ms. Robin Kosberg, on behalf of the URJ. Reach out to Rabbi Fine at david.jb.fine@gmail.com. Robin can be reached at: robinkosberg@gmail.com.