The Voice | June-July 2020

Sisterhood BETH EL Coronavirus IMPACTS

Seniors BETH EL

In early March Beth El Sisterhood, and the rest of the world, were all hit by coronavirus pandemic and were forced to experience a whole new way of life. As a result, our Sisterhood had to cancel eight events, including our outstanding Unique Boutique, one of our biggest fundraisers. Our Trip Committee had worked tirelessly to plan four wonderful spring trips, all of which had to be cancelled. A wonderful group of officers worked tirelessly to compile names, send emails, make phone calls, and mail refunds to the three hundred plus members who had paid for any or all of these cancelled events. It was a fabulous joint effort and a major accomplishment achieved by many dedicated people. Many members generously donated the money that they had paid. In addition, our spring “No Donor Donor,” was highly successful, raising a substantial amount of money to support both our synagogue and schools. In May, we held our last Board meeting of the year via Zoom. That was followed by our members honoring and thanking our outgoing Co-president, Gloria Luchinsky for her two years of service. Finally, we held a wonderful Installation of officers at our Zoom Installation meeting. Beth El Sisterhood extends wishes for love, peace, good health, and safety to our members and to our entire Beth El family. We miss everyone and eagerly await the time when we can see each other in person again. We extend our heartfelt thank you to all of our clergy, leaders, teachers, and many others who have devoted their time, energy, and efforts to providing services, courses, meetings, and other engaging programs to keep us busy. What a great difference you have made in our lives during these unusual times!

As the Co-Presidents of the Seniors, we thought it would be nice to hear from some of our members as to how they are coping and what they are doing during this terrible time. Irene Snyder celebrated her 93rd birthday. She was sad as her birthday approached knowing she was going to be alone. But that’s not what happened. What really turned the day into one of the best was when her son and daughter called her and told her to come outside. Waiting there was her entire family singing happy birthday and throwing kisses from 6’ away. Jerry Goodman also celebrated his birthday. Normally this means a great dinner at Tio Pepe. But that was not possible. So Sonya did the next best thing. She surprised Jerry by having the Tio Pepe dinner brought to them. Passover was definitely a challenge this year. Kenny and Anita Baum zoomed their Seder was 25 family members. Everyone got to participate and a Seder everyone will remember for a long time. Ed and Barbara Berkowitz also celebrated Passover in a non-conventional way. They zoomed 3 different seders over 2 days using the password Charoses. With their Seder table set, they connected with many family members coast-to-coast and even had a new guest join them this year – their I-Pad. But there was more going on than just zooming and social distancing. There is time for reflection. Virginia McIntire is taking this time to find a new purpose in life; i.e., hope, kindness, friendship and caring. That seems to say it all. We hope that everyone is staying safe and well. Ruthye and Ellen Co-Presents of the Seniors

With love and gratitude, Gloria Luchinsky and Cherie Stewart Co-Presidents

Men's Club

Lockdown STAYING ACTIVE DURING

COVID

The Beth El Men's Club extends its best wishes to the entire Beth El community. We hope you and all your loved ones remain safe and secure during this challenging time. The Men's Club looks forward to reconnecting with all our members. We hope for a productive year after ending this special period in our lives. We hope many of our members can directly participate in the development of our activity schedule during the coming year. Elliot Merenbloom and Rene Daniel Beth El Men’s Club Co-Presidents

26 The Voice of Beth El Congregation