Dear Friends:
As part of our cautious attempt to rebuild our in-person activities we have had a Kiddush every Shabbat this calendar year so far. In doing so we face two challenges: paying for them and making sure we know how many people to expect and prepare food for.
I apologize for sounding like a broken record but it’s really helpful for you to sign up for the current week’s Shabbat morning service by late morning on Friday. I do so every week and it literally takes less than 30 seconds. The link to do so for tomorrow’s service is https://forms.gle/osZdwt1QwZ843UHi7. If you have not signed up and are planning to attend, please do so right now. Then you can read the rest of this message. If you have not registered and decide at the last minute to attend, you will of course still be joyfully welcomed. However, advance registration helps us to determine how much food to prepare for Kiddush without being wasteful.
Secondarily, we need people to sponsor the Kiddush. As an incentive to get things rolling I sponsored Kiddush for four weeks from the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund -- so if you have been a donor to that fund, you have a share in the Kiddush sponsorship as well. In addition we have had sponsorship from Gail Lieberman and Bill Hanson, from Charlotte and Terry Strauss, and tomorrow from Wendy Schneider-Levinson. If you would like to sponsor a Kiddush please be in touch with the office or Tom Loggie. A variety of different packages and price ranges are available, the cost is quite reasonable and you are helping your shul remain a place “where friends become family.”
As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoon from 2 to 4 at the shul. You do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building.
As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org or 301-977-0768 rather than through the synagogue office. I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment. I have been spending more time in the synagogue recently but if you want to speak with me it’s best to make an appointment rather than assuming I will be there when you stop by.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Charles L. Arian
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