Fundraising:  Make a tax-deductible donation to Nahalat Shalom.  Do you have a friend/relative who "has everything"?  Please consider a gift to Nahalat Shalom in his/her honor.  Those wishing to donate by credit card may visit www.nahalatshalom.org and use the Donate button.  Mailed donations should be sent to 3606 Rio Grande Blvd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107.  Questions? Call the office at 343-8227 or send an email to office@nahalatshalom.org.

Front of House Committee

The Front of Committee needs volunteers for various events throughout the year. We need people to help:

• Setup and bring out food,
• Cleanup/break down tables and chairs, sweep crumbs, bring trash to bins,
• Greet and escort guests, and
• Help guide cars for parking.

If you are interested please contact:  Ellen Light, 505-243-7333 or ellenlight@aol.com.

Want to Help:  If you would like to help with special projects, please email the office (office@nahalatshalom.org) with your name, phone number, and your area of interest. From time to time, we need help with building/property maintenance (like planting, weeding, shoveling, and painting), parking, greeting, BB kitchen cleaning, and other stuff that is fun to do as a group and helps build and nurture our community.  Thank you!

A genetics conference will explore the presence in New Mexico of breast and ovarian cancer and of numerous other genetic conditions found here among Hispanic families of Sephardic/converso ancestry and non-Eastern European Jewish communities. The all-day event will run from 9.30am-4pm, Sunday, April 3, 2016, at Congregation Albert, 3800 Louisiana Blvd NE (just south of Montgomery), in Albuquerque. The conference is open to all. Lunch is included in the conference fee of $25. The registration form (including lunch selection) is at http://congregationalbert.org. Please complete the form and return it with a check for $25 payable to Congregation Albert. The deadline for lunch selection has been extended until March 30. For more information, email jgsnm@tracingthetribe.com. For more information: Schelly Dardashti: 505-994-1554, Maria Apodaca: 505-235-8252.

An abbreviated presentation will take place that afternoon at Holy Rosary (5415 Fortuna Rd NW) from 1:30-4pm. The seminars are led by the New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice with featured presentation of photos and stories by Investigative Reporter/Photographer Joseph Sorrentino who has documented stories of Central American refugees journeying the 1500 miles up Mexico to reach the Rio Grande. Other topics will include family detention centers, the theology of accompaniment and the sharing of personal stories by immigrants. Snacks will be offered. $10 donation.  Scholarships available if needed. RSVP to Luis at 505-343-9491 / LCuautle@aol.com.

The New Mexico Jewish Historical Society is seeking a part time Office Administrator to begin May 15, 2016. The position is estimated to be 15 hours per week, on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule.  The Office Administrator serves as a liaison among members, the Board of Directors (BOD), the NMJS and others who have business with the NMJHS.  The Administrator maintains membership records, provides administrative support for conferences, programs, publications and other social activities. He/she attends regularly scheduled Board meetings, bringing updated materials as directed by the president and treasurer and performs other duties as assigned.  Applicants are encouraged to submit an application to both Linda Goff and Rae Siporin at lagoff@hotmail.com and raesiporin@hotmail.com by March 31, 2016.  Interviews are planned during the third week of April.

The JCC Jewish Care Program is starting a small Holiday Outreach Basket program for our Holocaust survivors and isolated Jewish seniors.  They will be delivering baskets for Passover and Rosh Hashanah. Hadassah members will be putting the baskets together and delivering the baskets to the seniors.

Can you help?? This is a "wish list" for anyone who would like to contribute items:

• 1 lb matzoh (any brand),
• Kedem or Gefen grape juice,
• Macaroons (any flavor),
• Dried fruits,
• peanuts and/or walnuts
• can of Manischewitz condensed Matzo Balls in Chicken Broth.

Items may be dropped off at the JCC for the Jewish Care Program or call Jeri Horwitz at 559-281-1104 or jhorwitz3@aol.com.

View the trip itinerary and registration information here: https://aleph.org/interfaith-pilgrimage.

The Robyn Helzner Trio, will present a concert of World Jewish Music at the Cathedral Church of St. John (318 Silver Ave SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. Sunday, April 10, 3 pm. This concert is part of the Friends of Cathedral Music series. Mastering a repertoire of authentic Jewish music in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino and English, the Robyn Helzner Trio deliver performances with warmth, humor, and commanding energy. Come and hear the leading interpreters of World Jewish Music in the beautiful acoustic of the cathedral sanctuary.

Chai was a member of the Nahalat Shalom community in his younger days, a vibrant part of the Cheder back when stilt-walking and paper-mache puppets were the thing. He left us unexpectedly. Please join us for an event filled with photos and music on a Sunday afternoon in April to remember this remarkable young man.

The Holocaust & Intolerance Museum of New Mexico, the Jewish Federation of New Mexico, and the Jewish Community Center, invites you to join us on Sunday, May 1, 2016 for two free community events to remember and honor the six million Jews who perished during the Holocaust. WHERE:  CONGREGATION B'NAI ISRAEL (Indian School & Washington). WHEN:  Sunday, May 1, 2016 @ 2 P.M. WHAT:   "Suicide Run" an original play written by Raye Cohen performed by local actors where a Holocaust survivor meets a troubled teenage boy. OPENING RECEPTION for our new exhibit In Memoriam follows from 4 - 7 P.M. After the production, please join us @ the Holocaust & Intolerance Museum of New Mexico, 616 Central SW (downtown between 6th & 7th) for the opening of our new exhibit titled In Memoriam which includes Raye Cohen's sculptural installation, Kiddish, and Claire Lissance's print series remembering her family's Holocaust survivors.

The Jewish practice of Devekut inspires us to open to the vastness of the Infinite, while releasing the content of thought, moment to moment. During this week of chant and silence we will connect to the Divine through the Earth, Water, Fire and Air in the glorious setting of the Jemez Mountains. Easily accessible from both Albuquerque and Santa Fe. All participants will enjoy private accommodations. Location: thefitzgeraldcenter.org, Jemez Springs, New Mexico. Price: $972 for a private suite. Questions? For a week of Hebrew chant and deep silence, contact ALEPH for details and to register online: https://aleph.org/programs/ecstatic-meditation

Kallah 2016 Pre-Registration is now officially open. Kallah offers 50 week long classes, new and exciting workshops, outdoor experiences, prayer, song, shabbat celebration, and so much more! For more details, see https://aleph.org/kallah.

Our featured teachers will be: Loui Tucker teaching line and couple dances from Israel, Hardeep Sahota teaching Bhangra from the Punjab, and Nicolle Jensen (of the Santa Fe Balkan band, Rumelia) teaching Balkan and Middle Eastern drumming. Dorm housing, four hours of dance classes plus one hour of percussion per day, extra-curricular specialty dance sessions, theme parties and our own home-grown costume bazaar. Plus a full program for kids ages 4-12. All are welcome - novice and experienced alike. See our web site at swifdi.org for detailed information and registration, or contact co-directors Becky Gordon 967-8208 / beckygordon1@gmail.com, or Terry Jordan-Culler 440-6767 / tjculller@mssn.com.

Lessons from the River: A Rafting Trip down the San Juan River in wondrous SE Utah with Rabbi Shefa Gold and Rabbi Eli Herb. $1295, for more info and to register: elisha.herb@gmail.com

Will be held in conjunction with the exhibit "Fractured Faiths: Spanish Judaism, the Inquisition, and New World Identities" at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe on Nov. 12 & 13, 2016.

Effective April 1st, the HUD waiting list will be open to receive new applications.  Anyone who is 62+ that is interested in living at Shalom House should come by and fill out an application to secure a place on the waiting list.  This is no guarantee that an apartment will be available at a specific time, just a guarantee that one's place on the waiting list is secured and that sooner or later, everyone's name rises to the top. HUD housing is for people whose annual income is low.  Those who qualify have either "Very Low Income" of up to $20,800 annually or "Extra Low income" of up to $12,500 annually. Contact: Brittany Coats, 505 823 1433. David Specter Shalom House Property Manager, 5500 Wyoming NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109.

Member Announcements Guidelines: Nahalat Shalom aims to provide a 'big tent' for members, who hold a wide range of political views and are involved in many activities.   As a courtesy to all members, we offer an opportunity to post brief announcements.  Inclusion in the newsletter is not an endorsement by Nahalat Shalom.  Any member is welcome to submit items to office@nahalatshalom.org.  In the interest of available space, items will run once, and they may be edited.

The Jewish Care Program at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque provides limited financial aid to Jewish individuals and families in crisis. If in need, please call (505) 348-4451. The Jewish Care Program receives a large number of calls and is not always able to respond to all requests for emergency assistance. Here's what they offer:

• General Financial Assistance: The Miriam's Well Fund provides one-time, short-term emergency financial assistance to Jewish Women in crisis.
• Utility Assistance: The Jewish Women's Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of New Mexico (JCFNM) provides one-time utility assistance to Jewish women and children in crisis.
• Rental Assistance: The Ziegler Fund of the JCFNM provides one-time emergency rental assistance to Jewish men and women in crisis.
• Indigent Burial Assistance: the Carole Beckhoff Indigent Burial Fund of the JCFNM provides assistance with burial costs of Jewish individuals.

About Tikkun Olam Club:  Please email any project ideas or questions about current projects to nstikkunolam@gmail.com. We are looking for projects where we can work together.  It has been suggested that we adopt a trail or median near Nahalat Shalom. This would require meeting monthly to pick up trash.  Interested?  If you wish to be on the Tikkun Olam mailing list, please send an email request to nstikkunolam@gmail.com.

As a Renewal Congregation we are a member of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. Click to read blog.

Your membership dues, financial contributions, and volunteering keep Nahalat Shalom's doors open and our community thriving. If you have already renewed your membership to Nahalat Shalom and/or signed up to volunteer on a committee, thank you! If you have not, please complete a membership form today (see our website) and make your pledge for the year, 5776. And, let us know if you would like to be part of one of our committees (AKA, fun working groups.)

Here's how to make payments:

• You may setup automatic or one-time payments by using the Donate button (PayPal) on our website or
• by using the bill payer service from your financial institution (creating a bank check to be mailed to NS). Of course, we also accept personal checks! Please indicate in the memo field if your payment is for dues or a donation; if a donation, you can specify "For General Operations" or another category/fund. If donating to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund, please write the check to (or indicate in the online/PayPal memo field) "Rabbi's Discretionary Fund".

Please let us know if you have changes to your contact information or any yahrzeit additions. (Yahrzeits and contact info can be emailed to office@nahalatshalom.org.)

The NS E-News is usually a weekly publication.  Changes will be announced.  Look for it in your email box on Thursdays. If you want to include any items, please email office@nahalatshalom.org by 8 am each Tuesday. Special announcement emails (other than the regular e-news) require prior approval of the Va'ad President or Rabbi Brin. If you are not currently receiving the e-news, but would like to do so, you can sign-up on our website.

Rabbi Brin's High Holy Days Sermons can be found on our website's Home page (http://www.nahalatshalom.org), lower left corner, under the section called, Rabbi's Reflections.

Did you know that shopping at Albertson's and using a swipe card (available at NS in the copier room) earns dividends for Nahalat Shalom? Also true for Smith's, and we will soon have a Smith's swipe card, too. It's an easy way to help NS, especially if you already shop there.

You can increase our donation potential by spreading the word about AmazonSmile, an alternative for shopping at Amazon.com.

Sign in to http://smile.amazon.com/ch/85-0352779 and your AmazonSmile shopping can support Nahalat Shalom.

Share this link: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/85-0352779 and ask your friends to bookmark this link so all their eligible shopping will benefit Nahalat Shalom. Thank you!

Please keep our buildings free of perfumes/fragrances in consideration of our members who are chemically sensitive. This is a serious medical issue for some, and completely preventable. Leaders, please announce at all meetings that "this is a fragrance-free zone".