Families with young children can often face a barrier to entry when it comes to synagogue life. During the summer months especially, Shabbat services can go past bedtimes and many young children struggle to sit through traditional programming.
Lacking a preschool program, Baltimore’s Bolton Street Synagogue wanted to find a way to include families with young ones. “People who are raising young children, they’re often looking for community. We have this community mentality when raising our kids, especially in the Jewish community,” said Cory Hermann, the synagogue’s director of education.
For the past three years, Bolton Street has removed the barrier to entry through the Jewish Education Enhancement Project, a grant of the Charles Crane Family Foundation and the Associated, facilitated by Jewish Educational Services. The funds have allowed the congregation to hold events such as Baby Brood, a monthly program for families with kids 2 years old and under, and Tot Shabbats.
“It really has enhanced the things that we do in the congregation, and has brought people into the congregation,” said Hermann. “We’ve had people become members. We’ve had people who have enrolled in religious school, and we have people who come to multiple programs.”
The grant funds the synagogue’s Young Family Connections program, which provides free programming for families with children ages zero to 6 years old. New this year is the Young Family Connections WhatsApp and additional Shabbat programing on Saturday mornings.
Hermann explained that the messaging app has allowed families to stay linked outside of synagogue walls and reminds members of what Young Family Connections has coming up.
“We’re using WhatsApp as a vehicle to reach out to people and to keep connected and market our program,” she explained.
As for the actual programming, Hermann said it has enabled families to meet one another and find community.
“We’re looking for ways to be intentional in helping people build those connections, and because of these programs we’ve been running for the past few years, we’ve had people join the synagogue because of the relationships they built,” added Hermann. “We have people who’ve enrolled their kids in religious school because they did the Tot Time program and made connections with our rabbi and with me.”
Hermann explained the synagogue is intentional about building connections. During the synagogue’s Tot Time program, she has everyone introduce themselves and say where they are from. “I ask people to share ‘what neighborhood do you live in?’ so we can see if there are some connections geographically. Or I might say, ‘share whether or not you grew up here in Baltimore [or] you grew up somewhere else.”
In addition to having family-friendly services, Tot Shabbats also include a meal, making it more easier for families to participate during mealtimes.
Hermann said that since Bolton Street received the Jewish Education Enhancement Projects grant, “we’ve been able to purchase materials that help to enhance the experiences and increase the amount of programming provided. … We’ve had non-member families who attend our High Holiday services, our Tot Shabbat services, and also our Tot Time program. It’s given me a way to really get to know these families before they even come into the synagogue.”
Hermann said the goal is to eventually build programing for families with young children into the synagogue’s budget. She also recognizes that “people are looking to be engaged in the Jewish community, more so than ever before. We feel like it’s given people [a] low-barrier entry way into our community, and whether they find it here or just by being here, they’re figuring out what they’re looking for.”
Hermann added that she hopes that families can look back in six, seven or 10 years and say “I remember walking into Bolton [Street] Synagogue and not knowing anyone, and finding this other person, this other family, this group of people that welcomed me in and made me feel like this is where I belong.”
