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
Happy New Year! As I begin my third year as Sisterhood President, I am so very proud of the Sisterhood Board, all we accomplished last year and all we are planning to accomplish in 2024-2025. Our ranks continue to grow with first-time members and our range of activities is expanding.
Scroll down for exciting upcoming events and ongoing activities!
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– Barbara
The Sisterhood Membership Drive for 2024-25 is ongoing.
UPCOMING EVENTS!
Help with our Get Out the Vote campaign!
Don’t Miss Our Kick-Off Dinner!
Also save these dates:
- Sunday, September 8 – Temple Open House – Stop off at the Sisterhood table and bring a prospective “new member” friend
- Tuesday, September 10 – Book Club
- Friday, September 13 – Movie Club
- Wednesday, October 2 – Erev Rosh Hashanah Oneg – sponsored by Sisterhood – please let us know if you can bring something for the oneg.
- Sunday, October 6– Safe Futures Walk at Waterford High at 9:00AM
- Tuesday, October 22 – Book Club
- Thursday, October 31 – Rosh Chodesh Group (More information to come)
- Sunday, December 3 – Book Club
- Sunday, December 8 – Chanukah Fair
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! And – don’t miss the Chanukah Fair on December 8th!
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!
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