The month of December carries many seasonal images for those of us living in Connecticut. Thanksgiving has passed and so, this year, has Chanukah! (That’s a little hard to accept!) I hope that you had a chance to share some holiday festivities with family and friends, from near and far. The warmth and glow that emanates from such gatherings can keep our hearts and souls warm for months to come.
We are definitely into the Winter season, and the weather has changed to bring us freezing temperature. A blanket of snow is more and more likely to decorate the earth.
All the more reason to gather our coats and blankets around us and try to capture the warmth that emanates from our bodies and our surroundings.
When our “blood relatives” have concluded their holiday visits and returned to their homes, we know we can rely on our “Temple Emanuel Family” to continue to provide some of the comfort and warmth that we all relish in life. You can feel it at weekly services, whether Family focused ones or “standard” ones. The music of the TE Band can change a stress-filled week into a relaxing weekend! The beautiful sound of TE voices singing in harmony creates a warmth of its own. You can feel that same warmth when you attend a Torah Study class, a Sisterhood Event, a TE Fun-raiser, or simply read the Shofar or Shofar Blast. Our listings of “Mitzvahs & Memorials”, and “Person to Personals” are an indication of the sources of warmth emanating from the congregation’s members. Whether you are celebrating the birth of a child or grandchild, a marriage, Bar / Bat Mitzvah, or experiencing a death in the family, the TE congregation is here to help warm your soul.
As the secular year comes to an end, it provides another opportunity to reflect on the TE experience that you have had thus far and ask yourself how you can enhance that experience for yourself, your family and your community. Did you get to the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service? Did you help wrap gift baskets for others around Chanukah? Did you experience the Magevet Concert at TE? Did you participate in a TE Committee or Event Planning group? Share the TE “hearth” in the coming year and spread the warmth in as many ways as you can experience. Involve your entire family when possible. Smile at a new member family and introduce yourself. Bring a friend to a TE event and encourage them to become a member.
Add some kindling or even some logs to the TE fire. Together we can create shelter and warmth throughout the winter. R U In?