By Leyna Krow, Assistant Editor, JTNews
Leyna Krow
Assistant Editor, JTNews
For the first time in its almost 100-year history, the Women of Reform Judaism’s Pacific district will host its biannual convention in Seattle.
As the women’s arm of the Union of Reform Judaism, the WRJ provides advocacy training, educational opportunities and fundraising support for sisterhoods at URJ-affiliated synagogues. The Pacific district, which is made up of sisterhoods throughout 12 western states, British Columbia and Alberta, meets once every two years to welcome new leadership and to provide members with new and innovative ideas to take back to their home congregations.
“The goal is for education and leadership training. It’s a time when we say goodbye to old board members and install new,” said Robin Peterson, the publicity chairperson for the convention and a member of the WRJ sisterhood at the Bet Chaverim Community Synagogue of South King County.
The convention is slated to take place Nov. 6-9 at the SeaTac Marriott Hotel.
Along with welcoming of new board members, the convention will also see the swearing-in of the WRJ’s new president, Sandy Gatlin of Bonney Lake.
“This is the first time the president has been from Seattle. That’s why this is such a big deal,” Peterson said.
Each year, the convention is held in the region in which the incoming president resides. Volunteer organizers, mostly from the ranks of Bet Chaverim’s sisterhood of which Gatlin is a member, have been working for almost two years to prepare for the event. The conference’s theme is “L’Dor v’Dor: Leading Through the Years from Generation to Generation.”
Gatlin said she hopes this theme will carry beyond just the scope of the three-day conference.
“We’re hoping it will help energize the younger women in our sisterhoods as well as those who have been with us for several decades, and also to create continuity between those generations,” Gatlin said.
Bet Chaverim volunteers have planned a variety of events in keeping with that vision, including workshops on promoting diversity and intergenerational teamwork, with topics like “Who Will Take Your Place? How Do We Find and Nurture the Leaders of Tomorrow?” and “Moving Your Sisterhood’s Image Into the Next Generation.” Presenters and speakers for the convention include a number of members of the local community, including representatives of Temple B’nai Torah, Temple De Hirsch Sinai and Jewish Family Service.
Peterson said that although much of the convention’s emphasis is geared toward those in leadership positions, she hopes the event will draw women with various degrees of sisterhood involvement and not just those at the top. She added that Bet Chaverim has had the highest attendance at WRJ conferences for the last three years and that 15 of its 18 current members will be attending the one in Seattle. As of the end of October, organizers were expecting about 150 women from throughout the district to make the trip to attend the convention.
Gatlin noted that having a president from the Pacific Northwest is an exciting development for a region that is not always recognized as a hotbed for Jewish cultural activity.
“We’re a growing region, so it will be nice to bring [the presidency] up here,” she said. “Most of the previous presidents have been from California.”
As president, Gatlin will oversee the organization’s board of directors as well as 58 WRJ sisterhoods throughout the district.
Over the course of the past decade, Gatlin has been involved as WRJ leader on several levels, first as the president of the Bet Chaverim sisterhood, then as the area director for six local sisterhoods. For the past two years, she has served as vice president for the Pacific district. She said she is looking forward to continuing her work with the WRJ in this new capacity and in helping to expand the WRJ’s programs like their Women’s Torah commentary, and the YES Fund, a scholarship program for female rabbinical and cantorial students.
Her first duty as president, however, is to make sure her city hosts a fun and meaningful convention. With the help of her fellow sisters at Bet Chaverim, Gatlin is certain the event will be a success.
“It’s something I’m really looking forward to,” she said. “Being with the women from all over the district and praying together and studying together — those are just such incredible things to share with each other.”