The Roadmap is a living, forward-looking framework intended to guide Temple Micah’s future choices and decisions. It is both reflective of who we are and who we want to be.
The Roadmap is rooted in the voices and vision of the Temple Micah community. In 2019, we convened small group and one-on-one conversations with a cross-section of Micah members. Other members posted reflections in the temple’s lobby. In keeping with the temple’s culture, these conversations were open to all Micah members, and every effort was made to engage all members in the Roadmap conversations.
We partnered with The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, led by Rich Harwood, a Micah member and president of the Institute, who designed and guided us through the process. A core team, made up of clergy and staff, board leadership, and members, led the initiative, sorted through and made meaning of what was being learned from the engagement conversations, and built the Roadmap.
"Treat it like a piece of art. Take in the whole poster at first; let the Roadmap overwhelm you. Then approach it piece by piece."
- Rielle Miller Gabriel, Our Roadmap
At the heart of the Roadmap are five levers that define Micah and will help us become an even stronger home:
We offer a hopeful, inclusive narrative that gives people a greater sense of coherence, meaning, and possibility about where we’ve come from as Jews and the journey that we’re on together. The Human Project, outlined below, sits at the heart of this new narrative.
We discuss what it means to be a good person, our relationships, our passion for truth, our shared humanity, our responsibilities to each other, our community, the world, and our past and future. We ground people with a sense of what we hold to be valuable as we make our journey, and we act on the belief that we are here not simply to take up space – life is a journey and exploration to grow into, mature into, and give back to.
Learn More: Seven Aspects of the Human ProjectWe enable people to have a greater sense of agency, ownership, and capability to shape their faith and lives. There are three realms in which we must work proactively and simultaneously:
We provide the spaces and conditions that people need to sort out what they think and believe on difficult issues, including race and racism, economic inequalities, the health of American democracy, antisemitism, and Israel. People are wrestling with complex, knotty questions in their individual and shared lives, and Micah must help create the right spaces and conditions for these hard conversations.
Learn More: Do’s and Don’ts for Tackling Tough Conversations.We engage with people to deepen both our connections to the world around us and our own learning and understanding of Judaism. We do this, for example, by:
With thanks to artists Enid Romanek and Micah member Jessie Regunberg for sharing their watercolor artwork with us.
When we gather within the embrace of Micah's walls, we celebrate Shabbat, worship, study, pursue social justice, and impart to our children the wisdom of our heritage. Yet, in the spaces beyond Micah, be it our homes or elsewhere, how do we cultivate our Jewish identity?
When we speak of “co-creating” our Jewish lives, our intention is that alongside communal learning, celebrations, and engagement, each of us has agency and responsibility to direct our own Jewish journeys.
How do we infuse our lives with Jewish resonance? What more can we aspire to undertake when we’re away from Micah, at home or elsewhere, to create this meaning? How can our experiences, insights, and learnings–nurtured in the larger world–enrich and shape our vibrant community?
1. What Happens at Micah: We strive to create a vibrant and inclusive community. This includes offering a range of community-wide events and services, worship and study opportunities, and social justice endeavors. We celebrate together and support each other through all stages of life.
We want Micah to be a place where everyone can confidently explore who they are, a place that inspires and informs our Jewish path.
2. What You Can Do Intentionally Away from Micah: We encourage everyone to create Jewish meaning in their life away from Micah. Whether it's creating personal blessings, exploring new ideas or practices, or more intentionally approaching daily activities through a Jewish lens, we seek to provide the foundation and resources to support this exploration. Our intention is to foster personal growth beyond the walls of Temple Micah.
3. What You’re Already Doing: We recognize and rejoice in the ways we already find meaning in our Jewish lives. Whether through holiday celebrations, personal rituals, the foods we eat, the causes we engage in and support, the values we hold, or the stories we pass down, we believe everyone's path is unique. We value the diverse experiences that each person contributes from their own life journey.
