Membership
Become a member of HCRJ
Anyone may worship, learn and gather with us without joining, and we mean that. Membership is the step you take when this stops being a place you visit and becomes a place that is yours.
You do not have to be a member to be here.
Anyone who wants to join us for worship, learning and community gatherings may do so without becoming a member. Please take advantage of that, whatever you decide about joining. The rest of this page is for when you are ready.
Why become a member
Membership is understood to be a mitzvah
Every congregation depends on the financial support of its members in order to sustain what it offers. At HCRJ we recognize that support as a sacred gift rather than a transaction, and it is what keeps the doors open for everyone, members and not.
Some things, though, belong to members:
Sunday mornings, kindergarten through twelfth grade, with b’nai mitzvah preparation built in.
Members decide how this congregation is run, and every trustee is a member who volunteered.
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are included in membership rather than ticketed separately.
B’nai mitzvah, weddings, baby namings, funerals, and the personal moments in between.
What it costs
Membership categories
Annual support runs on our fiscal year, July 1 to June 30. Every figure below is a starting point for a conversation, not a gate.
Sustaining member
$2,600
per year, family household. $1,500 for a single household.
Our full membership, set against what it actually costs to run the congregation: the building, the staff, the school and the programs.
Religious school enrollment
Vote and serve on the board
High Holy Day services included
The rabbi for life cycle events
Sustaining member, under 35
$1,200
per year, per household.
For individuals or couples where the older partner is under 35. The same privileges as a sustaining membership, and no building fund pledge is required.
Every sustaining member privilege
No building fund pledge
We talk again at 36
Associate membership
$600
per year.
For people who are already full members in good standing at another synagogue. Take part in everything HCRJ does at member rates.
Member rates on all activities
No building fund pledge
Voting, board service and religious school enrollment are not included
If the amount does not work for your household, say so.
Our Fair Share policy is a kind of tzedakah plan, designed to make membership affordable to everyone by letting members give according to their ability. If extenuating circumstances exist, discuss them with us. That conversation is private, it happens with a member of staff rather than a committee, and no one is turned away over money.
The details
The rest of the numbers, in plain language
Nothing here should be a surprise on an invoice, so it is all on this page.
Building fund
For new sustaining members only
New sustaining members pledge one and a half times their first annual commitment to the building fund, which pays for major repairs, facility improvements and new equipment. Payments begin in the second year of membership and are spread over four years. On a $2,600 commitment that is a $3,900 pledge, billed at $975 a year.
Application payment
$36, once
A one time application payment, made when you submit your application, and applied to your membership rather than added on top of it.
Security fee
Included on your annual invoice
A modest annual security fee appears on every member invoice. It pays for keeping the building and the people in it safe, which is not optional for a synagogue in 2026.
The membership year
July 1 to June 30
Annual support is payable on the congregational fiscal year. If you join partway through the year, the office will prorate it rather than charge you for months you were not here.
How to join
Three steps, and the first one is a conversation
Keeping a personal connection with everyone who joins matters to us, so this does not begin with a form.
Meet with a member of staff
You will sit down with Mike Kahn, our Membership and Engagement Director, or another member of staff, to work out how you want to affiliate. We try to be as accommodating as we can while being straight with you about what the congregation needs.
Choose your category and your commitment
Each membership category is described on the application, along with the building fund and anything else that applies. Ask about any of it. That is what the meeting is for.
Complete the application online
The application lives in ShulCloud, our member portal, and takes about fifteen minutes. There is a $36 application payment, which is applied to your membership.
Ready when you are.
Start the application, or write to Mike Kahn and begin with a conversation instead. Either is a perfectly normal way to start.
New here?
You are welcome long before you are a member
If you are still working out whether HCRJ is your congregation, this is the part of the page for you. None of it requires joining, and none of it requires telling us you are coming.
Start here
Come to a Friday serviceErev Shabbat at 6:30 pm, every week. No ticket, no reservation, no membership. Sit anywhere and stay for the oneg afterward.
See service timesFrom home
Watch a service onlineEvery Friday service is streamed live and stays available afterward. No login and no password. Look us over from your sofa first.
Open the livestreamAsk anything
Talk to a personCost, kids, interfaith families, what to wear, whether you will know anyone. Mike Kahn answers all of it without a sales pitch.
Email Mike KahnOur unwavering commitment
Whether you are a member or someone who enjoys being here in a non membership capacity, HCRJ is committed to being open and available to you. Our doors are open to anyone who wishes to join us for Shabbat worship, learning and community events.
Questions
What people ask before they join
Can I come to services without joining?
Yes, always, and to most of our learning and community events too. The only things reserved for members are religious school enrollment, voting and board service, High Holy Day services, and the rabbi’s presence at life cycle events.
What if I cannot afford the sustaining amount?
Then we talk. Fair Share exists precisely for this, the conversation is private, and it has never ended with someone being turned away.
When do I start paying the building fund?
In your second year of membership, spread over four years. Members over 67 are not asked for a pledge, though a donation is always appreciated.
I already belong to another synagogue.
Associate membership is designed for exactly that, at $600 a year. We will ask for proof of your membership at your primary congregation when you apply.
Do you take interfaith families?
Yes, wholeheartedly. Partners of other faiths are part of this community, not guests in it, and that is true of membership as well as of everything else.
What happens after I apply?
You will hear from the office, your account will be set up in ShulCloud for billing and directory, and someone will make sure you are actually introduced to people rather than left to find your own way in.
Become a member of HCRJ.
Fifteen minutes for the application, and a conversation before it if you would like one. Mike Kahn is at mike@hcrj.org and the office is at 713 782 4162.