Dear Friends:
Mazal tov to Calvin Friend, his parents Brian and Karen, his brother Andrew, and all his friends and relatives on his Bar Mitzvah tomorrow morning. You are invited to join us for the service and for the kiddush immediately afterward sponsored by Karen and Brian Friend in Calvin’s honor.
Please note that as of this coming Sunday we will be saying both Mincha and Maariv for weekly minyan. Please plan accordingly and note that evening meetings and classes will start at around 8:15 rather than 8 pm. If you are attending an evening meeting or class, it’s always good form to attend minyan beforehand -- and you might make the difference as to whether someone can say Mourner’s Kaddish or not.
We have been working on being able to insure reliable Zoom access from the Sanctuary during Shabbat morning “hybrid” services. It takes some time, both because we do not have a dedicated IT department and because we have to eliminate potential causes of the problem one at a time so we can figure out what is really going on. This week we hard wired the security monitor in the Sanctuary rather than depending on wifi, and we have updated both laptops we use as well as the Zoom clients on those laptops. Please note that due to the Bar Mitzvah this Shabbat, we will not be enabling those on Zoom to say names aloud during the Mi-Sheberach prayer or ask questions during my drasha. We are planning to make Zoom available during the service but if it goes down, we will not be attempting to restore it during the service since it interferes with the flow of what is happening in the Sanctuary.
As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons 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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