Shabbat Potluck - Friday, January 13, 6:30 pm

Please join us for a community potluck dinner prior to services on Friday, January 13  , at 6:30 pm. Shabbat will follow at 7:30 pm with Valerie Rosenson chanting from the Torah.  Please bring a vegetarian dish to share with old and new friends and families prior to services. We look forward to sharing a Shabbat dinner with you.  Please let us know how many will attend, and what you will bring. Email Russ Robbins, Chair Ritual Committee at ritual@templebnaichaim.org. 

Valerie and Russell are sponsoring the oneg in honor of Valerie's chanting the Torah! 

From Tents To Temples, Tuesday, January 17, 7 pm

What makes houses of worship evoke a sense of mystery and awe? How have beautiful synagogues, temples, churches and cathedrals evolved from the desert Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle) d escribed in the Torah?

Led by TBC member Judson Scruton, this presentation (updated from an original lecture given at the Wilton Library in 2008), will explore the remarkable evolution of the Tabernacle described in the Book of Exodus to a variety of unique places of worship. 

 

Calling All Torah Chanters!!

We will be chanting Torah on the following dates: March 24, April 21, and May 12. The readers or chanters will be given ample time to learn the verses. Don't worry, it won't be as long as your Bar or Bat Mitzvah! If it was your parsha, and you want to do it again, this is a great chance for you. If you have never read from the Torah and have always wanted to, please recognize that this is your chance to do so with your community. Please contact Russ Robbins, Chair of the Ritual Committee at ritual@templebnaichaim.org. 

Share Your Simcha - Sponsor a Preneg, Oneg or Flowers!

Share Your Simcha - Sponsor a Shabbat, Oneg, Preneg or the Flowers! A wonderful way of celebrating special simchas, such as birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, the birth of a child or grandchild, is sharing your nachas with the entire congregation by sponsoring the Shabbat Oneg, Preneg or Flowers for the Friday of your special week. No special occasion? You can still sponsor a Shabbat! We will arrange for the flowers, food and set-up, all you do for your family to sponsor is make a minimum donation of $125 for an Oneg, $180 for a Preneg or $250 for the flowers at http://bit.ly/tbconpns.

Great Articles on Our Wi-ACT Refugee Family

A number of TBC members have been participating in the Wi-ACT initiative to help and support a Syrian refugee family in Wilton.  Two excellent articles came out giving updates on the family and how they've been faring.  (Spoiler alert: well!)

•  "Life as a Refugee: 'There, No Family. Now I have Family,'" in Good Morning Wilton, by TBC member Heather Borden Herve
   
• "Free of war, family feels 'good' here," in the Wilton Bulletin, by Kendra Baker

2017 Activities at the Schoke Jewish Family Service
of Fairfield County

The Jewish Family Service of Fairfield County is now the Elayne and James Schoke Jewish Family Service of Fairfield County. Information about their 2017 programs and services is available here.

Volunteer information for Jewish Senior Services

Please call or email Ellen Ashkins if you are interested in volunteering at JSS.  There are many wonderful volunteering opportunities including one-to- one visits, writing letters, transporting residents to activities, and hospice care.  At JSS, giving back to the community is not just a cliché, but a way of life. 

New Hospice Training Program!  The goal is to have trained Hospice volunteers in clusters all over Fairfield County so that when the need presents itself, volunteers do not have to travel far.  Chaifetz Family Hospice will be holding a two day Hospice Volunteer Training Program for anyone interested in giving their time and compassion to terminally ill patients and their loved ones. Training will be held at Jewish Senior Services, 4200 Park Avenue, Bridgeport, CT on Sunday, February 5th and Sunday, February 12th from 9:00 am-4:30 pm.  Training materials and meals will be provided free of charge.  If you would like to sign up or to learn more about hospice training, please contact Ellen Ashkins at (203) 365-6417 or by email at eashkins@jseniors.org .