Sisterhood Mission Statement
The mission of the Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood is to serve the women of Temple Emanu-El and all Jewish women of our greater community. We welcome these women of all ages to become members and to fully engage in our activities. Sisterhood activities are open specifically to Sisterhood members unless otherwise specified.
The Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood provides ongoing support towards the needs and programs of our synagogue. The collaborative and inclusive nature of Sisterhood fosters new friendships and offers opportunities to engage in a variety of educational, cultural and recreational events. In addition, Sisterhood encourages participation in service-oriented endeavors for the good of the Temple Emanu-El community as well as for the greater good of the community.
Upcoming Sisterhood Events
October and November saw many successful events for Sisterhood. Our Kick-Off Dinner saw the largest attendance ever and was enjoyed by all who attended. At the dinner, we introduced and presented roses to nine new members. During the month of November, we welcomed two more new members – Jennifer and Barbara. We now have 102 women in Sisterhood. Remember that it is never too late to become a member of our Sisterhood!
In November, we began the month with the showing of the PBS Documentary, “Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disability Act” followed by a Question/Answer period with filmmaker/producer Hilary Klotz-Steinman, and a presentation by The Miracle League of Southeastern Connecticut. We also presented a check for $500 to the Miracle League which will assist in their fund-raising campaign to add a playground to their facility. Sisterhood also had several Movie Club outings, an afternoon Book Club and our first Rosh Chodesh with 15 women in attendance. If you have never attended a Rosh Chodesh, try out the December Rosh Chodesh on Thursday, the 18th.
Below you will find the Event Calendar for December. The Tour of the Florence Griswold House and Museum on Tuesday, December 16th still has 10 seats available. (Out of 25) If you would like to join us, please send your check for $20 to the Temple Office no later than Friday, December 12th.
Please note that there is no Book Club in the Month of December. In January, we will be on Zoom and we will be reading “The Little Liar” by Mitch Album. If you are interested in being added to the Sisterhood Book Club mailing list contact Suzanne Crawford.
See below for information on our Walking Club, Book Club and Movie Club!
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Thursday, December 4 – Movie Club to see “Wicked: For Good” at Mystic Luxury Cinema
- Sunday, December 7 – Chanukah Fair
- Thursday, December 18 – Rosh Chodesh
- Tuesday, January 13 at 7:00PM – Book Club on Zoom (“The Little Liar” by Mitch Album, Eileen Shapiro) “A young boy’s honesty is used against him during WWII, leading to a lifetime of deception and a search for redemption.”
- Tuesday, January 15 at 1:00PM at the Temple – Rosh Chodesh
- Thursday, January 22 at 7:00PM -– TRIVIA NIGHT ON ZOOM
- Dates to be Determined – Movie Club
I look forward to seeing you at all our upcoming events!
– Barbara
Join Some Fun Groups!
Weekly Walking Group
Our Walking Group continues to walk (weather permitting), usually on Wednesday and Thursday at 10 am. We often walk at the Niantic Boardwalk, and sometimes places such as the Connecticut College Arboretum, the Duck Pond and Harkness. If you are interested, please let Debra know by emailing debrawool@gmail.com.
Please see upcoming events above for Movie/Show Club outings, and stay tuned to your email for information.You can also contact Eileen Shapiro if interested.
Sisterhood Book Club
The Sisterhood Book Club continues to grow. Everyone enjoys meeting in the homes of members. We have worked out the “technical” problems of Zoom if you can not make it in person.
Sisterhood Book Club
- Tuesday, January 13 at 7:00PM – Book Club on Zoom (“The Little Liar” by Mitch Album, Eileen Shapiro) “A young boy’s honesty is used against him during WWII, leading to a lifetime of deception and a search for redemption.”
For upcoming Book Club meetings please see the Upcoming Events listing in Barbara’s list above. If you are interested in being added to the Book Club list, please email Suzanne Crawford at suzm.crawford@outlook.com. Don’t forget to email Barbara at professeur38@me.com, if you would like the Zoom link.
The Sisterhood Membership Drive for 2025-26 is Kicking Off!
Click the link below for the membership letter.
25-26 TE Sisterhood Membership Letter
Our Sisterhood Membership continues to grow. As of October 1, 2024 our membership roster has 95 women! It is never too late to join us. I know that many of you are very busy with your families and other organizations and volunteer work. Some of you I have spoken with express the concern that “you will be asked to do something if you become a member”. Please know that membership in Sisterhood provides you the opportunity to join together and meet other Temple women and participate in any or all of Sisterhood activities. Volunteering to help out with something is not a requirement.
Temple Emanu-El Gift Shop
We continue to expand offerings at the gift shop. We have Chanukah gifts for everyone, so support our synagogue and shop with us. We are happy to take cash or check, and remember there is not tax on your purchase.
See you Sunday morning on December 7th for the Chanukah Fair. We will also be open Sunday mornings in December, or by appointment. You can contact Anne to schedule an appointment at Judaicashop@tewaterford.org, or contact the Temple Office.
Come in and look at our wide array of Judaica items. There is no sales tax, and our prices are cheaper than retail stores. Profits go to support your congregation and community. Anne is also willing to special order items for you, and has a wide array of items that can be ordered from a variety of vendors. If it’s jewelry you are looking for, she have a catalog full of beautiful items to order. This small Judaica company ships right out and the items are gorgeous and very well priced. Also, there is always wonderful new products coming in! Are you invited to a wedding this fall? I’ve ordered beautiful challah boards, kiddush cups and candle sticks.
Also remember to look at the Modern Tribe website. We can send you a link that will earn the synagogue 5% back to our synagogue.
Thanks to everyone for continuing to support our shop!
– Anne
Sisterhood Board – Our Officers:
President: Barbara Senges
Treasurer: Jennifer Zettler
Corresponding Secretary: Amy Green
Recording Secretary: Debra Wool
Membership: Lisa Marcus and Linda Barnett
Book Club: Suzanne Crawford
Movie Club: Eileen Shapiro
Judaica Shop: Anne Cohn
Publicity: Sue Fornara & Susan Rosen
Social Justice Moira Ross
A big thank you to Nancy Trostler for all her hard work and the wisdom and creativity she added to the Board as Membership Co-Chair. After a long stint as Corresponding Secretary, Gail Schor is retiring from this position. Many thanks to Gail for her years of service on the Board.
MAHJONGG
We are full speed ahead on ordering 2026 Mah Jongg Cards
Sisterhood’s 2nd Largest fund raiser of the year!
The cost for new cards will be the same (Standard Size $14; Large Size $15). If you are collecting for a group of people, please provide their home addresses and the cards will be mailed directly to the recipients anywhere in the country. If you are a regular who has ordered before and none of your information has changed, I don’t need you to repeat it. For any snowbirds, I need the address where they want the card mailed at the end of March.
It is particularly helpful to include each person‘s email address if at all possible, in the event I need to notify them of any updates. Email addresses are not given out to any other groups or used for any non-mahjong purposes.
Please send orders to the office with recipient’s name, address, email and check made out to Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood. My deadline for pre-orders is the end of January. After that, we don’t get any credit unless I go out on a limb and order extra cards. If you are thinking about learning to play MahJongg this year, order a card now.
Your support is so appreciated! Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Iris
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SAVE THE DATE
We have our date for our NEXT MAHJONG TOURNAMENT:
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026!!!
Do you have any ideas for a Sisterhood program? Maybe you have a skill you would like to share. We are always looking for suggestions! Some other programs we discussed were a drawing class on Zoom, as well as a program in person at Smith Acres in Niantic in the spring. If you have any suggestions or special talents, please let us know. It’s always fun to try something new.
WRJ Programs
We have mentioned all of the on-line programming available through our umbrella organization, WRJ. If you check their website, wrj.org, you will see their calendar filled with speakers, tours, etc. Hope you can take advantage of some of their programs.
RECENT ACTIVITIES & EVENTS INCLUDE:
What a great year we have had!
- Book Club (seven) – Thanks to our new Book Club Chair, Suzanne Crawford, for organizing and encouraging our return to in-home/hybrid book clubs.
- Walking Group – Thanks to Debra Wool for coordinating each week.
- Membership Kick–Off Event, Membership Drive, End of Year Dinner– Many, Many, Thanks to Jennifer Zettler!
- Safe Futures 4K, Dignity Grows, Learn Decoupage and Do a Mitzvah and Panel Discussion on Book Banning – Thanks to Moira Ross, Social Justice Chair.
- Two successful Mahjongg Tournaments – Thanks to Iris Freeman and Robbin Alpert for making these all-day events happen. Iris also sells Mahjongg cards for the benefit of Sisterhood each year, which adds around 1,500 dollars to our coffers. Also thanks to Iris and Robbin for offering a series of “How To Play” lessons and a twice monthly Mahjongg group at the Temple.
- Judaica Shop Chanukah Fair – Thanks to Anne Cohn
- Trivia Night, Evening at Smith’s Acres,Steel Magnolias at Niantic Playhouse, South Pacific at the Goodspeed, Movie Club, Trip to Audubon Society and Griswold Museum – Barbara Senges, Debra Wool and Merrill Mazzella.
- Assembly and Distribution of Holiday Bags for “Friendly Visitors Program” – Thanks to Eileen Shapiro for organizing and all our members who assisted.
- Designing and Planting Gardens at Safe Futures – Thanks to Cecile Feldman and her crew.
- Sisterhood Service – Thanks to Eileen Shapiro for organizing
Friendly Visitor Program Bags
On Monday, March 18 at 10:00AM, we once again gathered in the Social Hall to assemble Purim bags for the Friendly Visitor Program. On Monday, April 15 we assembled Passover Bags.
Thank you to Eileen Shapiro for helping to coordinate the Friendly Visitor Program along with JFEC. Sisterhood helped to assemble and distribute Chanukah, Purim, Passover & Rosh Hashanah bags to residents in our community who are in nursing homes and independent living facilities.
Trivia Night
We have had some great trivia nights! Our last Trivia Event was on Zoom in January 2025, and was a fun evening! Thanks to Barbara for coming up with great questions!
In April we made our yearly visit to Smith’s Acres in Niantic. Thank you to Merrill for once again organizing this fun outing. This year we filled an oval planter with herbs and pansies.
In March at the Temple, we learned the art of decoupage while performing an important mitzvah. Alaina Roberge from Alaina’s Arts in Waterford guided us through the decoupage of a vase. We donated these vases, filled with spring flowers to the Friendly Visitor Program for the residents of local care facilities.
We have hosted multiple Mah Jongg Tournaments. We host players from all across the northeast for a fun-filled day of Mahj. Thanks to all who have participated and all who help make these events happen. A special thank you to Iris and Robbin!
The Kick-Off Dinner on October 12, 2024 was a huge success! We had forty-eight women attending and a great time was had by all. Thanks to our Membership Chair, Jennifer Zettler, for planning and implementing this incredible evening. The food was delicious and plentiful. In fact, we had so much left over that we sold “doggy bags” for $18 and we will be donating $225 to help Israel. The twelve women who stayed to play “Bunco” really enjoyed it. Hopefully, later in the year, we can hold a Bunco Night or Afternoon where more of you can participate.
Above: End-of-Year Sisterhood Dinner – May 18, 2023
Planting at Safe Futures!
Smith’s Acres Greenhouse
We made a Succulent Cocktail Glass and enjoyed pizza and wine!
Contact the Sisterhood
Related Pages:
Get Involved
Brotherhood
Social Action News