September 2022   Keeping Connecte

Hi friends,

It’s hard to believe it’s September already, although I think we say this every year…  The summer just goes by way too fast.  I hope you all had a chance to enjoy some vacation time this summer with your families and are feeling energized to begin the new year.

September at Congregation Shalom is a very busy time and if you just look at the on-line calendar on our web site, you will see the amazing amount of activity.  School is beginning, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs are happening, Sisterhood & Brotherhood events are scheduled, and of course, high holiday season begins.  I have been amazed each year that I have been President on how high holidays come together, the amount of planning needed, and the generous number of volunteers we have to make it happen behind the scenes.More

June 2022   Keeping Connected

Hi friends,

It’s the last month of our fiscal year and we are busy getting ready for Annual Meeting. I do hope you will attend and help us get through some important business. But it’s also time to start providing more opportunities for FUN in our community. We are always working hard to keep our temple running, develop creative programming, attend school, teach our students, and much more. How about some pure fun?

June 18, 2022, Our 2^nd Annual Parking Lot Party  This will be a fun gathering of our community with food, music, activities for the kids, an ice cream truck, and a celebration of our Congregants of the Year, Tim Miranda and Noah Ablove. We will end the evening with a Havdalah service. If you have not RSVP’d, please consider doing so. Click here for the evite!

July 3 and 4, 2022, Chelmsford July 4^th Fair  Congregation Shalom will have a booth in the town center. We will be selling popcorn, giving out dreidels, and just having a bigger presence in our community. There will be a sign-up genius coming out soon as we will want volunteers to work the booth. Please consider hanging out with us on July 3 and 4. It will be fun…

We have a FUN COMMITTEE!!  This is a committee devoted to just fun. They will be planning fun activities throughout the year and will strive for at least one a month. There was a night out at Kimball Farm on May 25, and they have planned an upcoming outing for a Woo Sox baseball game in Worcester in July. Stay tuned for more announcements in our weekly update. If you have some ideas or want to be part of this committee, e-mail fun@congregationshalom.org.

I hope to see you at Annual Meeting on June 7 at 6:30 PM.  The meeting will be held at the temple with a Zoom option (details coming out prior to the meeting).  If I do not see you, please have a restful, safe, and FUN summer!!

L’Shalom,

April 2022  Keeping Connected

Hi friends,

I will get right to it. We need volunteers… I know you probably hear this a lot but for us to be a successful organization, we rely on our members to step up and help. We have limited staff and volunteers are needed so we can maintain our programming, our building, and our connectivity; we all need to participate and help out. My article this month will focus on some of our current needs for volunteers, with most of them being short-term commitments. If you see something that resonates with you, PLEASE let me know.

• Capital Projects Committees: We are in the process of establishing two separate committees for two very specific and very important capital projects. Each of these committees will have a few meetings to discuss and research the needs, develop a Request for Proposal (RFP), possibly meet with contractors (although the entire committee would not have to be part of this), evaluate bids, and bring a recommendation to the Board of Trustees. If you are interested in assisting with either or both of the following short-term committees, please let me know.
  -Exterior Siding
  -Painting & CarpetingMore

March 2022   Keeping Connected

Hi friends,

Well, it is March and the temple is opening up, reducing COVID restrictions, and dare I say “getting back to normal.”  I surely hope so and I am also hopeful I will start to see more temple members and more activity happening in our congregational home.

Recently, I sent out an e-mail about the idea of Congregation Shalom selling our current land/building and moving to a new space, somewhere that would still be accessible to the current Congregation Shalom demographics.  As I stated, before we start making more large capital investments in our current building, we want to do our due diligence and see if a move is even feasible or practical.  I promised to keep you informed as the process has begun.

Well, the process has begun, we have a diverse committee led by Stephen Rodman.  We had our first meeting and I want to pass along a few pieces of information.More

February 2022   Keeping Connected

Hi Friends,

We are through January, and COVID numbers are dropping. I’m looking forward to possibly resuming some sort of normalcy. This month I want to talk about security.

Although we have invested quite a bit in security over the last two years, recent events in Colleyville, Texas made us once again re-think about our security system and processes we have in place.

In the week following the event, many of us on the security committee attended various webinars offered by URJ, ADL, SCN, and other organizations, pretty much summarizing what happened, who was involved, and who assisted, and providing some basics that we need to have in place. Our security committee also held a meeting two days following the event. Although we have done quite a bit in upgrading our security system over the past year or so, there is more that we need to do.

One of the biggest lessons learned we heard about from the Texas event was that the rabbi and some of the congregants had hands-on, in-person practice in these types of scenarios, role-playing, and they practiced different types of drills. My impression is that Rabbi Charlie believes this really and truly helped and was one of the #1 reasons they survived. He knew to immediately try and distract and talk to this person, to subtly move toward the exit, he knew to move chairs in front of them, and many other tactics.

More

December 2021   Keeping Conneected

Dear Friends,

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful. It was so great to be with the larger family again, like the before times. And now we are already celebrating Hanukkah!! So with that, I thought I would tell you what I would like for each night of Hanukkah and maybe you can help fulfill my wishes.

	2 Volunteers to be on the Membership Committee
	3 Volunteers to be on a Capital Campaign Committee (more information coming soon)
	1 Volunteer to Manage our Plots at Temple Beth El Cemetery
	1 Volunteer to Assist with Applying for a Security Grant
	2 Volunteers to be on the Fun Committee (planning some social events)
	3 Volunteers to Help with a Spring Outdoor Yard Sale Fundraiser
	2 Volunteers to Plan our Second Annual Parking Lot Party in June
	Health and Happiness for my extended family at Congregation Shalom.  Happy Hanukkah!!

We are a healthy, thriving organization but we are constantly in need of volunteers and we need our members to step up and help! Being part of these committees is a fun way to meet people, establish new friendships, and give back to our community. I hope you will consider helping out!!

Have a great month!!