EREV SHABBAT – FRIDAY EVENING

As a community, we welcome Shabbat in a variety of ways.  We have services every Friday evening at 6 pm and 8 pm, except during the summer.  

At 6 pm on the first and third Fridays of the month we hold our Welcoming Shabbat.  This is an informal and participatory evening service with a D’var Torah (a sermonette.)  It is preceded by food and fellowship.
At 6 pm on the second, fourth and fifth Fridays of the month, we have a Kabbalat Shabbat.  This musical service utilizes the liturgy of the Psalms of the Friday evening service to create a transformative experience from the busy workweek to the peace of Shabbat.  It is preceded by food and fellowship.  The 8 pm service is a traditional Reform service.  This is followed by an Oneg Shabbat.

During the summer months, Friday evening Shabbat services are held only at 6 pm.  Our informal “come as you are” service draws worshipers of all ages.  Summer services at 6 pm begin Memorial Day weekend and continue through Labor Day weekend.  These are preceded by food and fellowship.

There is a Service of Healing and Comfort at 7:15 pm on the last Friday of the month.  This intimate service of healing involves mediation, music, psalms and personal sharing.  It is intended not only for those in need of physical healing, but for caregivers and those in search of spiritual wholeness and emotional support.
There is babysitting at all Friday night services.   

SATURDAY MORNING SHABBAT
Each week our community gathers at 11:00 am  for worship and words of Torah.  The service is led by our clergy, members of the congregation and often by our newest B’nei Mitzvah.   A Torah Study/Adult Education forum is led by the Rabbis every Saturday morning at 9:30 am prior to the Shabbat morning services.

CONGREGATIONAL SHABBAT
Once a month, between the High Holy Days and Memorial Day, we hold Congregational Shabbat, an extravaganza of learning, praying and community in which the entire congregation plays a major role.   This program fulfills all three functions of the synagogue: Beit Midrash (house of study), Beit Knesset (house of gathering) and Beit T’fillah (house of prayer).  At 9 am there are a variety of creative educational opportunities.  At 10:15 am we gather for a delicious congregational brunch, and at 11 am we have a service which involves significant lay participation.  Congregants read Torah, chant Haftarah deliver the D’var Torah, and are called for aliyot – honors involving the blessings for the Torah reading.  We also have a teen band and vocal ensemble that join the Cantor in leading the music of the service.

TOT SHABBAT
Tot Shabbat, on the second Saturday of the month at 9:15 am during the school year, is for children ages 5 and younger.  Led by Rabbi Streiffer with accompanying music by Patty Torcellini-Hartman, the children and their parents participate in a brief interactive, musical service, followed by a craft and snack related to a significant holiday during the month.  Fun for the whole family!