Like so many people around the world, I became caught up in the drama of Pope Francis's election last month. The process was a fascinating and, at times, deeply moving opportunity to witness the evolution of Roman Catholic identity world-wide. For a church that has suffered so many wounds (too many of them self-inflicted) in recent years, it was lovely to witness all the excitement and hope engendered by the opening of this potential new chapter.
Perhaps, for some of us, there also was a brief moment of envy. I doubt we were longing for a Jewish Pope. But we may have envied that sense of being part of a global religious community which, for all its complexity, diversity and imperfection, shares a powerful identity. Yes, we know there are Jews all over the world and many of us may have a strong, generalized sense of identification with the Jewish people. But do we have a powerful sense of identification with our own, global religious movement and its central symbols?
Our congregation belongs to the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), a movement of almost 900 American Reform congregations across the country. Since its founding in 1873, the American Reform movement has distinguished itself through its longstanding commitment to social justice, its youth, camping and Israel programs and its ongoing creativity in reconciling the rich tension between ancient tradition and contemporary experience.
The URJ partners with our seminary, the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), to train leaders for our movement and to shape the vision of our own, evolving religious community (www.huc.edu). Along with our affiliates (e.g., the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the American Conference of Cantors, the National Association of Temple Educators, the Women of Reform Judaism, the Men of Reform Judaism, the North American Federation of Temple Youth--yes, each one has its own acronym!) and wonderful institutions like our Religious Action Center (RAC) in Washington, D.C. we have grown into the largest Jewish religious movement in the United States (www.rac.org). Did you know, for example, that both the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act were drafted in the RAC's conference room by Jewish, African-American, and other civil rights leaders?
And perhaps you didn't realize that ours is also an international movement. The URJ is part of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) the international, umbrella organization for 1,200 Reform, Liberal, Progressive and Reconstructionist congregations around the world (1.8 million members in more than 45 countries). Among others, we have WUPJ congregations in Russia and Hong Kong, in Africa and Australia, in China, Cuba and Curacao, in Jerusalem, Poland and Surinam and, yes, also in Pope Francis's homeland of Argentina (www.wupj.org).
Don't feel personally connected to any of those communities, organizations or institutions? Just as in our congregation, opportunities for connection with our movement abound if only you make the effort to get involved and to start creating relationships. At each of these websites, you can read about our conventions and trips and interesting projects or issues that would benefit from your involvement and help you to connect. And if you can't go to these places, there are on-line communities of progressive Jews to join and more than a few publications to read. But most importantly, there is a dynamic community of progressive Jews in Boston, throughout our country and all over the world which is your international religious community if you choose to claim it.
No, we don't have a Pope and I seriously doubt that we ever will. But if you make even a small effort, you'll quickly discover that we are part of a global religious movement of which you can feel proud to be a member.
- Rabbi Jonathan Kraus
