By Emily Andes
We may still be 5 months away from the start of Summer 2012 but things have been busy around the GFC offices. Most recently the staff traveled to Washington D.C. to the URJ Biennial. Joined by many members of the GFC family from the Texas/Oklahoma region, Biennial was a gathering for more than 5,000 Jews from across the country to come together and explore their faith. Michelle Renfrow, youth director at Houston’s Congregation Beth Israel and former GFC staff member, attended Biennial and reported her observations to the Jewish Herald Voice. This year a big focus was placed on youth engagement initiatives and Michelle caught up with former GFC Avodah and current NFTY-TOR President Evan Traylor for his opinion on the efforts.
Enjoy an excerpt below and you can find the entire article on the Jewish Herald Voice’s website here.
Evan Traylor is president of NFTY-TOR, (Texas-Oklahoma Region). “My part in the Campaign for Youth Engagement was definitely a new learning experience,” said Traylor, a member of Oklahoma City’s Congregation B’nai Israel.
Traylor got involved in the campaign while working as a counselor-in-training at the URJ Greene Family Camp in Bruceville, Texas, last summer.
“After leading focus groups for teens at GFC about their thoughts on what successful Jewish life should be, the importance of meaningful relationships in their congregation life seemed to thrive through all of their stories,” Traylor said.
“These campers revealed [that] the importance of meaningful engagement lies in the strong sense of community brought to them at Greene Family Camp. These reflections gave the Campaign for Youth Engagement a great perspective on where the importance of [the] future of Reform Judaism should be focused,” he said.
