The Sisterhood is an auxiliary group interested in sharing their talents and energy, while connecting with other women in the Temple Emanu-El community through intellectual, spiritual and social activities.
Upcoming Sisterhood Events
It was really wonderful to see and connect with so many of you during the High Holidays over the last 10 days. Thank you to all of you who contributed to the Rosh Hashanah Oneg and a special Thanks to Jennifer Zettler and Sue Fornara for organizing and doing all the heavy lifting for the Oneg.
Another big Thank You to Linda Barnett and Nancy Trostler for planning and implementing our wonderful Kick-Off Membership Dinner. With over sixty women, it was our best attended event in recent history. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal, the game, the door prizes and the raffle. See our wonderful group photo above.
Our Sisterhood Membership for 2024-2025 continues to grow. As of October 1st, 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.
On Sunday, October 6, Sisterhood helped to support and raise money for Safe Futures by participating in the Safe Futures Walk at the Waterford Duck Pond. A large thank you to Moira Ross, Social Justice Chair, for organizing the event.
There will be no Book Club or Rosh Chodesh in the month of November. There will, however, be two Movie Club Events in November. Both movies will be shown at the Mystic Luxury Cinemas in Mystic, both with great reviews and touted as Oscar picks.
The first week of November we plan to see the movie “Here” with Tom Hanks.
The third week in November, we will see “A Real Pain” with Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg. This movie has a Jewish theme.
Stay tuned for more info from Movie Club Chair, Eileen Shapiro. Thank you to Eileen for organizing these fabulous outings.
– Barbara
The Sisterhood Membership Drive for 2024-25 is ongoing.
Click the link below for the membership letter.
UPCOMING DECEMBER EVENTS!
- Tuesday, December 3 – Book Club * at home of Pam Kilbey-Fox in Groton. We are reading “Lioness of Boston” by Emily Franklin. Ms. Franklin will be joining us via ZOOM to discuss her book and answer questions.
- Saturday, December 7 at 2:30PM at Temple – Set-up for Chanukah Fair.
- Sunday, December 8 at 9:30 at Temple – Chanukah Fair. Contact Anne Cohn at annecohn@gmail.com if you are available to help out on Saturday and/or Sunday.
- Date To Be Determined – Movie Club**
Looking forward to seeing all of you at upcoming events! If you’d like a copy of our events calendar for the year, email me at professeur38@me.com.
– 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, and Harkness. If you are interested, please let Debra know by emailing debrawool@gmail.com.
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.
Our next gathering is at the home of Book Club Chair, Suzanne, in Mystic on Tuesday, September 10 at 6:30 pm for refreshments and “schmoozing” and 7:00 pm for book discussion. We will be reading and discussing “The Chateau” by Jaclyn Goldis. This should be a very fun read – a murder mystery in a chateau in Provence, France. Secrets revealed could reveal a Jewish connection. 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.
Temple Emanu-El Gift Shop
We continue to expand offerings at the gift shop which are available 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, lots of wonderful new products will be coming in soon!
Don’t miss the Chanukah Fair on December 8th! And, the Gift Shop sill be open every Sunday morning 9 – 12 during the month of December!
Thanks to everyone for continuing to support our shop!
– Anne
The Sisterhood would like to say thank you to Susan Hausmann for running the Gift Shop for many years, and to Lisa Marcus for helping Anne!
Mah Jongg
We are ready to start taking orders for 2026 National Mahjong League cards!
Thanks to all of your efforts, we raised $2000 this year on Mah Jongg card sales. I am optimistic we can do it again for 2025. If you are one of the wonderful people who have collected orders for your immediate mj group or for a community group, I can’t thank you enough for your support and hope you will be able to assist again this year. The NMJL gives us $5 for each card, so every card sale helps us.
We continue to use the 2024 cards until April 2025, but begin taking orders now for 2025 cards which will be sent to you in March. The price will be the same: $15 for large cards and $14 for standard (small) cards. If you have ordered in the past and your mailing address is the same, then all I need to put you on my order list is your check made out to Temple EmanuEl Sisterhood. Please put Mah Jongg Cards on the memo line on your check.
Feel free to contact me with any questions about the process.
Iris
ifreegang@aol.com
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Save the date: Spring MahJongg Tournament
Tuesday, June 10th, 2025
Full Day, Breakfast, Home-made Lunch, Cash Prizes, Beginner to Advanced – we have a place for you all!
Sisterhood Board – Our Officers:
President: Barbara Senges
Treasurer: Jennifer Zettler
Corresponding Secretary: Gail Schor
Recording Secretary: Debra Wool
Membership: Nancy Trostler and Linda Barnett
Book Club: Suzanne Crawford
Movie Club: Eileen Shapiro
Judaica Shop: Anne Cohn
Publicity: Sue Fornara & Susan Rosen
Social Justice Moira Ross
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 2024, and was a fun evening! Thanks to Barbara for coming up with great questions! Next up – Riddle Night – scroll back up the page for more information!
MAH JONGG Tournaments
We had a great mah-jongg tournament on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. We had relaxed tables (for newer players and those that may not want to play a full day), as well as 6 round tournament play. Breakfast, lunch and snacks were included along with cash prizes for our high scorers.
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.
On October 18 we again hosted a Mah Jongg Tournament. We had also held a tournament in June, and hosted players from all across the northeast for a fun-filled day of Mahj. Thanks to all who participated and all who helped 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