Conventional wisdom dismisses synagogues as outdated, out of touch and incapable of change. Sacred Strategies: Transforming Congregations from Functional to Visionary, a study co-authored by Isa Aron, Steven M. Cohen, Lawrence Hoffman, and Ari Y. Kelman, and winner of the 2010 National Jewish Book Award, challenges this assumption. The eight congregations profiled in the book demonstrate that synagogues can and do change, and that they have the potential to be of central importance in people's lives, deepending their Jewish connections and commitments. The session will focus on the six characteristics of the visionary congregation, and on the paths synagogues took to transform themselves from "good to great."