Shaping Our Future

What is SoF & Why Are We Doing It?

The Shaping our Future at Temple Isaiah (SOF@TI) initiative, launched in early 2021, is focused on creating our congregational Future Vision and ultimately drafting a new Strategic Plan.

For more than 60 years, Temple Isaiah has been a thriving and relevant presence in the Jewish community. SOF@TI represents our commitment to ensuring this presence continues for decades to come. Even before the pandemic, big societal shifts were being felt across the American Jewish landscape. From changing demographics and the location of Jewish households to evolving perspectives on religion, it has become abundantly clear that we must reimagine both temple life and Jewish community in response.

Where are We in the Process?

SOF@TI has now completed the first phase of its mission: together we have crafted a Future Vision statement for Temple Isaiah. The statement, which was unanimously approved by the Temple Isaiah Board of Trustees in January, belongs to, and comes from, the congregation. It is a distillation of what we heard from the hundreds of congregants who contributed their voices to this effort.

• View our Temple Isaiah Future Vision here.

• Watch a recording of the Vision reveal presentation here.

• Watch a four minute overview of the Vision here.

How Did We Get Here?

Our Future Vision was crafted with an 11-month process built on listening and transparency. Every congregant and staff member had opportunities to contribute and learn about the process along the way. Here are some of the highlights:

• The visioning team was spearheaded by congregants representing a cross-section of backgrounds, life stages and demographics.

• Sixty of you were interviewed in one-on-one or small group conversations

• Dozens of you brainstormed hundreds of ideas.

• Over 300 of you responded to our survey.

• We interviewed clergy and senior staff multiple times.

• We involved our Board at every step with multiple presentations, conversations and opportunities for input.

• We drafted multiple Vision versions with feedback from clergy, staff and congregants.

• We made every project output available to congregants through multiple channels. If you want to refresh your memory, previous communications about the initiative are available through the links below:

Project announcement
Kick-off presentation
Short video summarizing themes from Discover phase
Full Discovery phase presentation
Congregational online brainstorming results