FORWARD
In LA, a high-profile merger prompts questions over the future of the synagogue
by Ryan Torok
November 29, 2020

In one of the biggest consolidations of recent years, University Synagogue, a Reform congregation with declining membership in the West Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood, struck a deal this month with Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a historic congregation of 2,000 families and two campuses that has been seeking added space for its early childhood and elementary schools. The merger comes about as synagogues everywhere have been forced to move religious services, class lessons, adult programming and camping activities to Zoom and other online platforms…That has left many synagogues large and small exploring mergers and other strategies to stay in operation. READ MORE