First time going to a Conservative Egalitarian synagogue. Help?

I grew up in an (passively)Egaltarian Conservative synogogue.

assuming its similar, you are not required to cover your head, but likely nobody would look at you too strangely if you did wear a kippah. as I remember, most married women wear one of the little lacy things, but its not crucial, as far as I know.

you could probably even wear a tallis if you liked. if they have a female rabbi they may even have smaller, narrower womens tallit that you could use.

at my synogogue, most of the service was indeed in hebrew, but there were a few prayers in english.

the book we used had transliterations and translations, so if you didn't know hebrew, you could read along and such in english in your head, or "sing" with it at the applicable parts from the transliteration.

in short, from the sound of it, I would suggest not worrying about a kippah or tallis, follow along the best you can, sit and stand when everyone else does. and enjoy yourself.

Not being in the USA, I don't know what a Conservative Egalitarian synagogue would be like, but certainly the Conservative synagogue I attended with a cousin in New York did not expect women to cover their head. Truly, I wouldn't worry about it - just wear something reasonably smart, ordinary but presentable. It's a bit late to phone ahead, but if when you go in you say to someone who looks 'official' (there's often a warden or someone on the door) that it's your first time, they'll sort you out with some help from a regular so that you can follow the service. There may be quite a lot of Hebrew, but you'll just need to stand when others stand, face whichever way they're facing etc. And the rabbi's sermon will be in English.

I hope it goes well for you - you might even enjoy it in some ways!

"I was quite surprised to learn that my neighborhood synagogue requires a minimum donation of over $2000 dollars per year. " That would surprise me, as well. The membership fees are most certainly not the same everywhere, I can tell you that! But, there are a number of reasons why shuls (synagogues) have these membership fees: 1.) A typical shul has סדורים (Siddurim - prayer books). The money to purchase, maintain, and replace these must come from somewhere. 2.) A typical shul also serves a קידוש (Kiddush - kiddush) meal. The food costs money, which -- quite obviously -- doesn't come out of nowhere. 3.) A typical shul owns the building in which it is located, which means heating, cooling, electricity, and other maintanence costs. Even if the shul rented its space from some other organization, there would still be the rental fee. 4.) Lastly, there are fees required for paying the staff. Maybe there are some shuls where the Rabbi is payed an inordinate amount of money, but I can assure you that this is generally not the case (as far as I'm aware).

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I agree that its problematic and the sad part is that many Jewish families avoid joining a community, or they join only long enough to get a bar/bat mitzvah for their kids, then they quit. This problem is most apparent in Conservative and Reform synagogues. You don't say where you live, but in many areas there are alternatives that don't require any dues, such as Chabad and various independent minyanim. Of course, there are significant expenses when it comes to running programs, building maintainence, insurance, utilities etc. I think the better model is for people to donate what they wish, and not be compelled to pay annual dues. Some years ago I used to belong to a large Conservative synagogue and pay heavy membership dues, around $1900/year. Some independent rabbis opened up a small "outreach" minyan right in my neighborhood, and I really like them a lot. Although Orthdox, they are non-judgemental and very welcoming. So I quit paying dues. I do give donations to our organization, however its purely voluntary. Best thing I ever did.

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First time going to a Conservative Egalitarian synagogue. Help?

I was raised in a non-practicing Jewish family, only ever stepped foot into a temple once for a friend's Bat Mitzvah in 6th grade (I'm in my late 20s now), and am largely clueless about the finer points of Jewish worship (particularly with all of the different types of Judaism).

My...