Tools for Sisterhoods → Sisterhood Sharing → Strategies
Strategies for Success
From Rachel Jurisz at Department of Service to Sisterhood and Districts
Every sisterhood should have a mission statement. A mission statement describes your sisterhood's purpose or reason for existence.
Having a mission statement is extremely valuable as it guides the actions of your sisterhood, helps in decision making, provides you with a sense of direction, and inspires ongoing commitment and support from both your temple and sisterhood members.
Even if your sisterhood already has a mission statement, if it's more than five years old, now is a great time to review it and make revisions or even rewrite it, if necessary.
A well-written mission statement should include the following three elements:
- Purpose – Why does your sisterhood exist? What are the needs that your sisterhood addresses?
- Business – What is your sisterhood doing to address those needs?
- Values – What are the values and principles that guide your work?
So how do you go about writing a mission statement? Below are some guidelines:
- Form a small committee to work on the mission statement
- Review the sisterhood's constitution or by-laws and any other materials to understand your sisterhood's goals, concerns, and stated purposes
- Speak with your rabbi, other clergy, and lay leaders to see how they view the role of sisterhood
- Answer the following questions:
- What does your sisterhood hope to accomplish?
- Who is your sisterhood's constituency?
- What values do your sisterhood members share?
- What are the issues or concerns your sisterhood wishes to address?
- What is the approach sisterhood will take to accomplish the mission?
- Write a mission statement, incorporating the answers from above.
- Share the mission statement with your sisterhood board and ask for feedback. Incorporate suggestions as needed.
Remember, a mission statement is a "living, breathing document". It is more than just words that you put on a brochure or website. A mission statement should guide everything your sisterhood does including how you engage your members, what events you hold, and how you support the temple and the broader community.
Of course, if you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions about sisterhood mission statements, I encourage you to send a message to the listserv at wrjsp@womenofreformjudaism.org. You may also e-mail me directly at rjurisz@urj.org.
Rachel Jurisz
Manager, Department of Service to Sisterhood and Districts
212-650-4063
