From The Co-President

Dear Congregants and Friends,

We send warm greetings to the CBI community as we enter this sacred season of the High Holy Days. Our devoted rabbis and choir have been working with care to ensure that our services are both meaningful and uplifting, and we look forward to gathering with you to worship and for our community Break-the-Fast. (Please remember to RSVP for services and Break-the-Fast!) To help make everything run smoothly, we encourage you to arrive early for services to allow time for parking, registration, and seating. For security purposes, you will need to check in with ushers at the front door.

The holiday of Sukkot comes quickly on the heels of Yom Kippur. This year, we invite you to help build our congregational sukkah. Jen Burt and her family have done this for years as a labor of love, but this year they need some extra hands. Please join them on Saturday, October 4 at 10am. No experience needed – they will give direction about erecting the structure of the sukkah (from a sukkah kit), attaching the walls with bungee cords, and putting the bamboo roof on top. The final step is decorating the sukkah – room to demonstrate your creativity. The whole project will take about six hours from start to finish. Please contact Wendy Penner if you can help or if you’d like to make a contribution to offset some of the costs.

As we begin the new year, the CBI board has affirmed that our top priority is strengthening community. We are excited to introduce a variety of programs designed to bring people together – longtime members and those newer to CBI – filling our building with warmth, conversation, and shared experience. We invite you to come and bring friends.

Each month, we plan to host at least one in-person program with a social element. This may include a Sunday morning coffee and bagels with the Board (mark your calendar for November 9), a havdalah gathering in someone’s home, a hike outside, movie night at CBI, a social action project, Shabbat dinner, or an expanded kiddush before or after Friday evening or Saturday morning services. If you have ideas, would like to help host, or wish to support these efforts financially, we would love to hear from you.

We wish you and your loved ones a year of sweetness, health, and connection.

L’Shanah Tovah!

— Natalie Matus & Wendy Penner