Congregation Shalom is a Reform Jewish community committed to education, spiritual growth, and Tikkun
Olam (healing the world). We are proud to be an extended family of equals - welcoming, caring, and inclusive.
Together, we engage in religious observance, enjoy social activities, and pursue life-long learning.
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From our President
Our Mission and You
Over 50% of all temple members participated just a few years ago in focus groups designed to figure out the Congregation Shalom mission. Together, we came up with a mission statement to answer the question "what is it that we want to bind us together?" That statement is placed atop every board agenda and atop each of our newsletters. What's more, each temple committee is asked to report on how it applies the mission statement. To close the loop, I ask you to consider what it means to you, as our mission statement's words can only make us the community we want to be when each of us puts some skin in the game. Note that if people didn't join in our events, from Megillah readings to Tapas events to Mitzvah Day, or enrich our services by playing their instruments (trumpet, vocal, or other), or patiently tutor our children, or give rides, or bring food for families in need or for oneg, we would not be the wonderful community that we are and strive to be. Put another way, if people didn't show up and actively participate, making our mission statement live, what would we have? Well, at a small level, no minyan ... and, at a larger level, no community.
As a practical matter, beyond the enormous contributions of our Rabbi and our Education Director and our temple staff, our community runs by the work of our committees. If you're not already doing so, I encourage you to explore how you can participate through one or more of them. I've highlighted below those committees that are especially seeking members this fall. And if you're already contributing that little (or not so little) extra, here's a public THANK YOU. Thanks for helping make this a community. And thanks for your contributions of effort and money and time that enable us to remain a vibrant Jewish community.
Please continue to ensure that the doors of our congregation are open and welcoming... with your efforts.
Tamar
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High Holiday Schedule
Rosh Hashanah
Sunday, September 13
8:00 pm Erev Rosh Hashanah Service
Monday, September 14 Day 1
9:00 - 10:20 am Family Service
11:00 - 1:00 pm Adult Service
2:45 pm Children's Service
4:00 pm Tashlich -- Freeman Lake, North Chelmsford
Tuesday, September 15 Day 2
10:00 - 12:00 noon Adult Service
Yom Kippur
Tuesday, September 22
7:30 pm Kol Nidre
Wednesday, September 23
9:00 - 10:20 am Family Service
11:00 - 1:00 pm Adult Service
1:45 pm Children's Service
2:45 pm Dicussion - Topic TBD
4:00 - 4:45 pm Teshuvah Through Music and Meditation
4:45 pm Yizkor/Neilah/Havdallah
Approx. 6:30 pm Congregational Break-Fast follows the conclusion of services. All are invited to attend.
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High Holiday Assistance
If you are in need of special assistance for seating at the High Holidays please contact Marilyn Frank by phone or at [email protected] . You need to be specific as to which day or evening you will be at services and how many family members will be sitting with you. You will be seated by an usher and are expected to be at the temple to be seated earlier than the service is scheduled. In fairness to the Congregation membership, these seats will not be held when it becomes 15 minutes before the service. Thank you for understanding these arrangements.
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High Holiday Services at Congregation Shalom
Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Sunday, September 13. We offer several services and encourage you to choose the services that are best for your family. Please see the schedule for all service times. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].
The Adult Services on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur morning begin at 11 a.m. and last 1 � - 2 hours. Services on the seciond day of Rosh Hashanah begin at 10 a.m.. Please note: We appreciate that families want to save seats for one another for services. However, the Board of Trustees requests that fifteen minutes before services begin, you relinquish any empty seats to those who are coming in.
The Family Service is held on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur. Each one begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at approximately 10:20. It is geared to meet the needs of families with children in the second to sixth grades. (This service is distinct from the children's service in the afternoon, which is designed as a service for younger children.) We use a beautiful High Holiday prayer book that is written to meet the needs of children ages 8-12. Rabbi Perry leads this service with our soloist and the traditional High Holiday melodies are used. There is a shorter sermon geared to this population. For many, this service will be a substitute for the later service, although some adults may choose to attend both. In fact some adults without children may choose this service. The service is designed to maintain a sense of sacredness and seriousness. We remind all of our members that this is not a service for young children.
The Young Children's Service is held at 2:45 on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and at 1:45 on Yom Kippur. Itis for children from toddler to age 7 and is about 45 minutes.
We would like to review information regarding flow of traffic, timing, and seating. The Family Service will end at 10:20 a.m. and the Adult service will begin at 11 a.m. This will give our community a 40-minute window to have the sanctuary clear out, be picked up, and to have people get seated for the next service. When the Family Service is over we will ask all those who are in attendance to exit through the doors to the side of the building and the back of the sanctuary. People will not be able to exit into the lobby. If people have used the coatroom it will mean that they need to circle back to the lobby to pick up their coats. Meanwhile people who are coming to the 11 a.m. service will not be able to enter the sanctuary until the early service is finished, all the people have left, and the sanctuary is "picked up"..
**If you or someone you are bringing to services has a disability and needs special seating, please call Marilyn Frank or email her at [email protected]. Please note we have several infrared hearing devices. Please contact Marilyn if you would like to use one. If you will need handicapped parking, please contact Janet at [email protected].
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Social Action Committee
Help care for our Chelmsford Community Garden plot!
Since we planted our plot at the first annual "Sneaker Shabbat" on Friday, May 29, our garden has started to grow. The garden is located on Robin Hill Road in Chelmsford, and we are looking for volunteers to sign up online to help weed and water our crops until they are ready to harvest and donate to those in need. If you sign up for a slot you'll get an email reminder two days in advance. If you have any questions about how to water the garden feel free to contact [email protected] .
Please sign up by clicking here.
Monthly Food Donations for Middlesex Transitional Living
Center
Congregation Shalom is collecting food for the Lowell Transitional Living Center (LTLC). It is easy to help out with this mitzvah. Donations of meatloaf, and/or brownies and/or salad are accepted each month. There will be a cooler chest located by the doors of Congregation Shalom. Simply place your donation in the cooler and know that you have done a good deed! The food will be collected and brought to the Lowell Transitional Living Center in Lowell, where our donations are greatly appreciated each month. You can leave your donations in the cooler beginning on
Wednesday, August 19 through Thursday, August 20. September dates will be Wednesday, September 16 and Thursday, September 17 - mark your calendar now.
Volunteer at Table of Plenty in Chelmsford
Congregation Shalom is part of a team of volunteers at the Table of Plenty in Chelmsford, an organization that serves a free meal to all, no questions asked, every Tuesday from 5-6 p.m. at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Chelmsford Center. Our team serves every other month on the third Tuesday, and will next serve on September 15. If you have time to volunteer during the afternoon on Tuesdays and would like to take part, please send an email to [email protected] and put Linda Newhard's name in the subject line.
Questions? Need more information? Please contact [email protected].
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Fundraising Committee
Summer Fundraising
Looking for a few good people who like to play games, watch Jeopardy, and try to answer the questions. By now you know that we are putting together our own version of Jeopardy, called Jewpardy. We have the questions and, hopefully, you have the answers. We need volunteers to help us put the afternoon together and make it a very successful event. Prizes for all age categories but more about that later.
Recycle Your Old Clothes
Now is the time to go through your closets and pull out what hasn't been worn in two years. Also, grab those items that you were hoping to get back into for the past 5 years.
According to the EPA, the average US citizen throws away 70 pounds of clothing.
Environmental Impact: Recycling textiles helps reduce greenhouse gasses. Last quarter Recycle That community partners collected 747 TONS of materials; the equivalent of removing 412 cars from our highways!
Remember to put all manner of clothing, no matter whether torn or stained, into our Recyle That container - good for the environment, good for our treasury.
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Save the Date
Aug 20 Adult Ed Committee Meeting
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Quick Links
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Links to Our Website
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Submit Your Receipts
This note is for all members who have spent their own funds on temple business and would like to be reimbursed. Receipts should be given to the temple bookkeeper, Bonnie Nojeim. You can email them to [email protected]. All receipts for the past fiscal year (which ended June 30) must be received by August 15.
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Prayer Books - Looking for Donations
Our new High Holiday prayer books are in! This past week we have received a shipment of approximately fifty boxes containing our 800 prayer books. We are now working on plans to store the new books during the "offseason." Equally impressive with the quantity of new prayer books is the amount of money we have raised to pay for the books. Through the immense generosity of our membership, we have been able to raise funds without adding to our underlying operating budget. We are now within $1,000 of our total goal! The High Holidays are quickly approaching (not to rush your summer or anything...) and this is the perfect time to purchase bookplates (or make a directed donation) to help defray the cost of the books. Please contact Laura Rodman at [email protected] and help us reach our goal!
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Help! We need a projector!
Our temple is in desperate need of a replacement projector. Our current one is very old, and cannot support the new computer technology. If you can help us by donating one, we would be very grateful! Please contact Yael at [email protected] or Tamar at [email protected].
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Come Make a Joyous Noise
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I would like to thank the Temple Board, Brotherhood, Sisterhood and the larger temple community for all the gifts, donations and support you gave me when I became a Bar Mitzvah in June. Your kindness and generosity was greatly appreciated. I'm really glad to be part of Congregation Shalom.
Thank you,
Nathan Morrissey
Thanks to my Congregation Shalom family for their warm wishes and prayers During my recent illness.
Laurie Fidler
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Welcome New Members
We welcome the following families to our Congregation Shalom community. Please reach out and help make them feel welcome.
Joshua and Talita Feuerstein and their son, Eli
Debra Miller
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August Yahrzeits
8/7/15
Emily Fischler, Steven Silverman, Al Silverstein
8/14/15
Leon Fox, Saul Hirschel, William Kurzman, Goldie (Strasberg) Lasky, Carole Myers, Rose Pasternack, Eli Segal, Lillian Spiegler. Irving Weisberger
8/21/15
Esther Gilmore, Shirley Heckel Hodes, Louis Laider, Benjamin Orringer, Shirley Shurdut
8/28/15
Samuel Coshnear, Wilma Ecker, Isador William Friedlander, Harry Gross, Anne Levi, John Truitt
9/4/15
Albert Aronson, Sarah Brown, Jerome Degen, Marilyn Fields, Mary Finkelstein, Kenneth Green, Itzhak Kamien, Harry M. Ried, Herman Schaevitz, Clara Shamesman, Ernest Snyder, Adelaide Wexler
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Newsletter Ads and You!
We are always looking for advertisers for the Temple newsletter. Ads can be placed at any time with special pricing for members. Ads need not be for a year so if you want to try us, we take ads for 3 months as well as six months. If you decide to continue your ad for a full year, we do pro-rate the price. As the saying goes, "Try us, you'll like us!"
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Youth Scholarships
Throughout the year, there are many enriching Jewish experiences available to our youth through our synagogue or the community. These include, but aren't limited to, summer camps and trips to Washington, New York, and Israel. Fortunately, there is some scholarship money available through the temple to those families in need of financial assistance for these opportunities. Please contact Margie Berenson at [email protected] with any questions and/or for an application form.
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Changed Your Address?
Notify us at [email protected] and we'll make sure all the right organizations at the Temple are informed. Please include your full name in your request.
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Sisterhood News
Even though it's summer, Sisterhood hasn't been completely on vacation. We had a somewhat impromptu beach day on July 6. Four ocean lovers took advantage of the beautiful, sunny day and relaxed at Salisbury Beach. We hope to have another beach trip in August. On July 13, about fourteen "sisters" spent the evening at Debbie Arthur's lovely pool. Dinner, social time, and even some swimming made it a lovely summer get together. Thank you to John and Debbie for hosting.
Please be on the lookout for a registration form for the New Year's Greeting and Memory Book, our 2015-2016 event calendar, and membership renewal in the mail in mid August. Our first event will be the Kick Off Dinner on Thursday, September 10.
Everyone is welcome to join us at our next meeting on Tuesday, August 4 at the temple at 7 p.m.
Wishing you all peace and sunshine,
Toby Sedgwick and the Sisterhood Board
[email protected]
Click here to view the Sisterhood calendar at our Congregation Shalom website.
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Brotherhood News
As of this newsletter, we will have completed a Brotherhood day on July 19 building for "Habitat for Humanity." On July 25 at 11:00 a.m. Brotherhood will be sponsoring a "Family Hike" at Halibut State Park in Rockport. This will be about a 1 hour hike, not too strenuous. The Brotherhood will be providing drinks and ice cream. See Brotherhood update for additional information, contact [email protected] .
On Thursday, August 6 at 6:30 at David Penn's home in Chelmsford, David will be hosting the 2nd annual smoked barbeque and band jam session. Last year's event was a highlight experience for me personally. The music and the range of instruments of the "Usual Suspects Band" was phenomenal. The food was to die for. Dinner starts at 6:30 and the band will start jamming around 8:00. David's basement can hold up to 14 so contact [email protected]to reserve your spot.
Are you a biker? Sunday August 9at 11:00 a.m. Brotherhood will ride the picturesque Bruce Freeman bike trail through Lowell, Chelmsford, and Westford. An easy ride. At the end of the ride enjoy refreshments with the guys. For more information, contact Bob Schneider at [email protected] .
As the saying goes - The Sun Never Sets on Brotherhood Events.
Remember you do not have to be a Brotherhood member to join in a Brotherhood event.
David Brother
Brotherhood
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Shalomites
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Donation Acknowledgments
The following donations were received from March - June, 2015:
GENERAL DEVELOPMENT FUND
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MUSIC FUND
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six general donations
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In memory of
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In memory of
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Deborah Notinger's mother, Elizabeth Burke
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Ilene Order's mother, two donations
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Vera & Gil Aronow's mother
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Max Rombach
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MARTIN AMES SOCIAL ACTION LECTURE
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HESSIE GOLDSTEIN MEMORIAL LIBRARY
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FUND
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FUND
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In memory of
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In memory of
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Shurdut family's grandfather
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Joanne Hyatt's mother
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Eunice
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Ilene Order's mother, two donations
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Martin Ames
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RABBI PERRY'S DISCRETIONARY FUND
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EDUCATION FUND
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In memory of
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In honor of
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Carolyn F. Salus
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Caitlin Curry becoming a bat mitzvah
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The accomplishments of the entire
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SHALOMITE SCHOLARSHIP FUND
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Kitah Hey class
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In honor of
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Joey Penn's election to NFTY Board
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ENHANCED JEWISH EXPERIENCE FOR
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Hannah Muhlfelder's election as NFTY
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YOUTHS FUND
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President
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one general donation
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SUSAN MURRAY YOUTH SCHOLARSHIP FUND
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LEAVES ON TREE OF LIFE
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In memory of
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In honor of
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Margaret Denly
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Devin M. Bernstein's bar mitzvah
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Daniel H. Bernstein's bar mitzvah
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Maximilian S. Hirschel's birth
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Pick Your Oneg!! Yes, You Choose the Date!
- Want a Sunset Oneg?
- Want to host the same night as your father's Yarzheit?
- How 'bout hosting the same night as your child's class dinner?
- Away all winter?
Just let us know, and we'll make it happen. Every member is expected to host two Onegs. However, if you volunteer to be the coordinator, one Oneg will fulfill your obligation.
There is always a need for those of you willing to host some special services for Erev Rosh Hashana, Rosh Hashana children's service, and Simchat Torah service.
Please send an email to [email protected] with requests, as well as stating whether you are willing to be a Coordinator or not. Requests may contain any/all of the following:
Service type: Tot, Family, Adult, MOCA, Adult Sunset, or any 8 p.m.
Event: Holiday or Special Shabbat (e.g., Brotherhood, Grade 3 Shabbat Dinner, or a friend's Bar/t Mitzvah weekend)
Unavailable dates, such as vacation or snowbird schedule: "we're in Florida from December 1 - May 31" or "not during tax season", so we'll schedule you for a better time.
Specific date: such as December Family Service or November 6 at 8 p.m.
The final schedule for services/special Shabbats is not available until August. Assignments are made during August and published in the September newsletter. Therefore, requests can be made during July and early August.
If you do not request specific dates, you will be assigned to ones that we hope are appropriate; however, the best way to ensure that the assignment is correct is to let us know your preferences before being assigned. Once the assignment has been made, you are responsible for swapping your date, if necessary, with another member.
Thank you for your part in making our congregational Oneg program successful; it's yet another part of Congregation Shalom's tradition that we feel is special and unique.
The Oneg Committee - Caren Boroshok, scheduler
- Pat & Rick Karpeles, letter senders
[email protected]
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Thank You For a Great Grocery Card Year I would like to thank to all the families who are sustaining monthly regulars and all the people who bought grocery cards during Sunday school. Together, we've raised more than $3400 for the temple for this past fiscal year. This money is essential to the temple budget and helps keep our programs strong. Thank you for taking the one extra step before you shop. As we head into the next fiscal year, starting July 1, please consider joining the monthly program. If you shop at Hannaford, Stop & Shop or Donelan's, I can send you a card once a month and you will be helping the temple every month, with no out-of-pocket money from you! The stores have these programs to help support non-profits and we get 7% back for every purchase. Just email Judy Beningson at [email protected] and I will get you a card in whatever denomination you need: $25-$500! Thank you. |
iGive for Congregation Shalom
Have you ever thought how great it would be to be able to shop online at 783 different well-known stores and still donate money to Congregation Shalom? Well, you can do that! It's free and easy so join those of us who have been sending donations to the synagogue for years simply by shopping by first going to the iGive website once you have established the link. Click here to register for Congregation Shalom to automatically be the recipient cause. If you make a purchase through iGive within 45 days of signing up, an extra $5.00 will go to Congregation Shalom. If you have any questions, please contact Laura at [email protected]. |
Extended Community
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Table of Plenty in Chelmsford
Free Dinner Served
Every Tuesday from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Chelmsford Center
All are welcome. No questions asked.
Also, if you know of someone who cannot get out,
but would benefit from a dinner being delivered to them, please contact us.
For more information contact:
[email protected]
www.tableofplentyinchelmsford.org
978-710-8328
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From the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston & Affiliates... VNA Hospice Care needs volunteers! Hospice volunteers play a key role in helping to provide caring and compassion to patients and families facing life-limiting illness and loss. A volunteer may provide patients with company and emotional support, give the spouse, partner or other caregiver a needed break from care giving, and/or help caregivers run errands or get to and from appointments. A strong need exists for volunteers who can visit on weekdays. We also seek: musicians who would like to sing or play music quietly at the bedside of nursing home residents; Reiki practitioners who would like to offer Reiki to patients and/or caregivers; and people interested in visiting with their therapy dog. Volunteers who speak both English and a second language are also helpful. We provide volunteer training and ongoing support. Call 781-569-2888 and ask to speak to a Volunteer Coordinator for more information. Or email [email protected].
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Spiritual Poetry Journal
"Soul-Lit" is a new on-line spiritual poetry journal. A number of entries have been from Jews and have Jewish content. Writers are encouraged to submit their own poems which have a level of spiritual content to them. Two volumes have already been published.
To check out the website, please click here.
Please spread the word to members of the community who are writers / poets, and who may wish to submit their own writings.
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