If you have not seen the Cedar Village Bell Choir perform, you are missing something special.  Our bell choir is comprised of residents, who live in our Health Care Center, and who practice regularly and perform several times a year.  The concerts are incredibly moving and inspiring and it is such a joy to see individuals express themselves through music.  Wednesday's concert was highlighted by a new "high tech" feature.  The choir members, under the direction of our incomparable music therapist, Jude Jones, determine the theme for each of their programs.  For this one they decided to do "places" which included places they were familiar with and places they had visited.  One of our Resident Life staff, Kim Ellerhorst, found pictures for each location chosen and then Jude and Kim put together an amazing DVD which included the scenic photos interspersed with photos of the bell choir members practicing.  It was incredible!  Our bell choir is now up to 18 members and yesterday they were also joined by several singers from the Cedar Village Choir.  It was a joyous event and we hope you will join us for the next one!

Our Western Wall replica, that has been installed outside the Wilbur and Mary Jean Cohen Religious and Cultural Center, is beginning to fill with slips of paper that folks have written on and placed in the crevices. All of those notes and prayers will be collected and transported to Israel with our upcoming Mission, Building Bridges at Any Age, which begins October 24.  We will have residents and staff place those notes into the actual Western Wall and are pleased to have that opportunity.  If you would like to participate in this effort, stop by Cedar Village at any time and either bring your note or use the paper we've provided.  We'd be delighted to include your prayer in those that we take with us.

We're in the process of making some significant changes to some of our long term care units, reconfiguring to better meet the needs of our residents both now and in the future.  There are both physical changes and programmatic changes in the works and you'll see sign of the first physical changes on the Cherry unit. We're in the process of modifying and updating the dining rooms and activity spaces and this week we even had an "extreme makeover" day in the Spa!  We repainted, put in new cabinets, mirrors and fixtures and have created a much more soothing and welcoming environment for our residents.

Every summer Cedar Village is privileged to have a Workum intern on our campus. The Workum program matches college students with Jewish community agencies and we always have a wonderful experience with the students.  Each student does a project, and we tailor their project to their individual preferences and abilities. This year our student was Peter Hull, who did a great project called "Windows to the Soul."  He interviewed residents, specifically focusing on "what their eyes had seen" during their lifetimes.  And he photographed their eyes, putting together posters with some of these wonderful, expressive photos.  If you are visiting Cedar Village, make sure you check out the "Windows to the Soul" poster in the lobby.  It is truly beautiful and very moving.

Holidays are upon us!  We'd love to have you join us for any or all of our holiday services, either in the Temple or the Synagogue.  Our Cedar Village family truly comes together at these times and we're always happy to add a few more!

All the best,  

carol@cedarvillage.org