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Central Jersey member congregations of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, which were previously split between two regions, are now under the same geographic jurisdiction as part of the umbrella organization's new Mid-Atlantic District.

Formed Jan. 14, the new district, which brings together the 108 synagogues of the former New Jersey and Mid-Atlantic regions, is part of USCJ's consolidation of 15 regions into six districts, approved back in September in response to the organization's budget crisis and ongoing losses of member synagogues.

The New Jersey Region, consisting of 58 synagogues, included all of New Jersey except Atlantic, Cape May, Camden, and parts of Mercer counties, while the Mid-Atlantic Region, with 50 synagogues and formerly based in Jenkintown, Pa., included parts of New Jersey north of the Delaware River until and including Trenton, Princeton, and Lawrenceville (as well as parts of Pennsylvania and all of Delaware).

Four sub-districts will also exist within the new district, with the exact boundaries not yet determined. Richard Fishbane, former president of the Mid-Atlantic Region and a trustee of The Jewish Center in Princeton, said the merger is particularly encouraging for Mercer County congregations in Princeton and Lawrenceville, because they have more in common with congregations in Middlesex or Monmouth counties than those in Philadelphia, which they were grouped with in the old Mid-Atlantic Region.

"It's going to give us a chance to meet as a central New Jersey sub-region and exchange best practices," Fishbane said of the new district. "Before we were sort of artificially divided at that Princeton line, at the Mercer County line."

Lisa Harris Glass, previously executive director of the New Jersey Region, is the director of the new district, which will be initially headquartered at the New Jersey Region office in Edison. USCJ plans to open up a second office for the district in the Philadelphia area, with Harris Glass responsible for both offices.

USCJ's new district directors are expected to not only guide their own districts, but to use their areas of expertise to assist others across the country. Harris Glass, who specializes in budget, fundraising, and finance, said she has already been available to colleagues beyond the New Jersey Region by giving synagogue budget consultations and an international teleconference last year on managing financial hardship. On Jan. 27, she is running another teleconference called "10 Ways to Raise $10,000."

"For me, I would say it's not new, but it's formalized," Harris Glass said of having responsibilities beyond her region.

Fishbane said district directors have new duties because "what United Synagogue's goal is at this point is to say that we want to get you the best expertise, even if that expertise is 3,000 miles away." In a world that is increasingly dependent on technology, "I don't think geography matters nearly as much as it used to," Harris Glass said.

Harvey Rosen, former president of the New Jersey Region, said USCJ's new district model calls for the hiring of outside consultants to help synagogues in areas like fundraising, membership, marketing, and Web development; the fact that more people will be working from "virtual offices" cuts costs for USCJ, he said. The point of having four sub-districts within Mid-Atlantic, Rosen said, is to engage local rabbis, cantors, educators, and lay leaders.

"The goal is to bring a much broader Conservative community into the discussion," Rosen said.

Sub-district boundaries haven't been decided yet because "we just need to work out which congregations will fit into which groups," Rosen said.

Michelle Rich, former New Jersey Region director of education and youth, will serve as assistant director for the new district and continue to specialize in youth programming. The district will also have an associate director in the Philadelphia area, a position yet to be filled, and four or five committee chairpersons.

Previous United Synagogue Youth (USY) regions, called Hagalil for New Jersey and Hagesher for the old Mid-Atlantic Region, will remain the same, Fishbane said. As the Conservative movement continues to get older, programs for teens as well as 20-30 year olds are more important than ever, Fishbane said.

Bringing all of Central Jersey's USCJ member synagogues under the same district gives local congregations better ability to run joint programs, Harris Glass said. Besides for member congregations in East Windsor and the Princeton/Lawrenceville area that were previously under different regions, that will also benefit synagogues in Toms River and Brick (previously New Jersey Region) and Margate (previously Mid-Atlantic), she said.

The new district president hasn't yet been decided, but Rosen and Fishbane said they will work together regardless of who is chosen. Since Rosen's specialty is in North Jersey, and Fishbane's is Philadelphia and its suburbs, they "need each other," Rosen said.

While the board of the New Jersey Region used to meet once a month, the new district's board will probably meet two or three times a year in person, but much more frequently via teleconference, Rosen said.

Though there are still a number of details to be worked out, since the boards of the old regions haven't yet had a joint meeting, Rosen is encouraged by USCJ's progress.

"We are all quite optimistic about where the organization is going," Rosen said.