News from Farmington Valley Jewish Congregation-Emek Shalom

This Week at FVJC-Emek Shalom:

Thank You!

To the more than 20 congregants who helped in last week's temple cleanup, especially our Mens Club and the assistance of our 7th Grade Class.

Music Shabbat this Friday

On Friday, May 8 at 6:30 p.m. our Klezmer Band will join us for Kabbalat Shabbat this Friday. Singing together around the Shabbat table to the sounds of the Klezmer Band will add to the "freilichkeit" , the joyousness of our celebrating Shabbat. Bring your picnic dinner and please join us! And, they will be back again on June 12th for another Klezmer Kabbalat Shabbat experience.

Congregational Information Meeting

All congregants are invited to attend our annual Congregational meeting to discuss the upcoming year's budget and approve Board nominations on Sunday, May 17 at 9:30 AM. Information about proposed new policies were dicussed in the President's Message of the May Shofar, click here to see that article. This article has been updated to include the draft budget.

Shabbat Morning Worship

Our inaugural Shabbat Morning Worship Service was a great success. Our diverse attendance made for a very interesting discussion of "The Different Ways We Celebrate". The Morning Shabbat Service provides an opportunity for a close-knit spiritual experience, a time to say Kaddish for a loved one, and an extra chance for B'nai Mitzvah students and their families to attend services.

Our next Shabbat Morning Worship Service will be on June 6, at 9:00 am, in the Multi-purpose Room. Each month, we will have a different topic for discussion. If you have suggestions for topics that spark your interest, please contact Adrienne Cohen at 651-8730, or jaim4@aol.com.

Online Goods and Services Auction

We are pleased to announce that our first ever onlin Goods and Services Auction will begin soon. We have already obtained a number of exciting items. We will provide a full list of these opportunities and instructions on how to participate soon. If you have vacation properties, sports or event tickets, business services or other items which may be attractive to potential bidders, please contact Jonathan Worobow, Fundraising Chair.

Fundraising events such as this will go a long way to help us meet our budget gaps. Your participation will only make this event more successful.

Yeah! It's Time for the Annual FVJC Progressive Dinner.

Please join us on June 6, 2009, for FVJC’s annual Progressive Dinner! The fun-filled event is open to both current and prospective members. Appetizers begin at 6:30 at a location to be announced, guests are then divided among several members’ homes for dinner, then we all reconvene for dessert. We are looking for members to volunteer their homes for dinner (food and wine is provided). The cost is $20 per person to cover the dinner, and guests are asked to contribute an appetizer or dessert. Please use this form to RSVP. Questions? Please call Lori (658-0769), Marianne (658-1100) or Johanne (658-7470). Thank you and hope to see everyone on June 6th!

Lori Kase, Marianne Berman and Johanne Bach, The Progressive Dinner Planning Committee

Sisterhood Book Club

The next Sisterhood Book Group will meet at the home of Judi Cohen on Thursday, June 4th at 7:30 PM (4 Smokey Ridge Road, Simsbury) The book to be discussed is Ester and Ruzya: How My Grandmothers Survived Hitler's War and Stalin's Peace by Masha Gessen. "This extraordinary family memoir...will remind you of how much life, history and emotional and moral complexity the genre can convey in the hands of a wonderful writer." (New York Times Book Review)

Please join us for a stimulating discussion of this fascination book and help us plan ahead for next year. New faces and voices are always welcome! RSVP to Judi at 658-1820 or jcreads@hotmail.com

To view this message as a webpage, visit www.fvjc.org/news/May07-09.html