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

From Tents To Temples, Tuesday, January 17, 7:3 0 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)described 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.

Stop Hunger Now - 167,000 Meals Went to Haiti!

Thanks to lots of good work by TBC volunteers, along with the rest of the community, we packed 167,000 meals in October. These were sent to Haiti, as expected. They shipped out within a month of our event and filled well more than half of an entire ocean-going shipping container!

Hurricane Matthew, at the beginning of October, left approximately 750,000 in need of immediate assistance and 25,000 in critical need.  This container is one of 10 going to Haiti with a total of 2.5 million meals.  The meals are distributed in schools and school means hope for kids and their families. For many, the meals they get at school are the only food these kids get all day. These meals give them the energy to study and focus, and grades rise as a result.

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.

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.

Jewish Senior Services 

Film Screening.  There will be a screening of the file "Being Mortal," along with a panel discussion, on Wednesday, January 25, from 6:00-8:00 pm. This is a PBS/Frontline film based on the book by Dr. Atul Gawande.  RSVP to Rose DeVellis at (203) 206-9188. More information here.

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 .