used to select which blog posts appear on the home page via widget.
Shomrei Emunah was honored last week for its 38-year commitment to supporting homeless families at the annual gala of Family Promise of Essex County. The organization began in 1988 as the Interfaith Hospitality Network (or IHN), through which religious congregations housed homeless families with young children who couldn’t find space in the county shelter system. Shomrei was the only synagogue to join the network at the outset, although numerous others joined afterwards. (more…)
We had the first Teen MESH of the year. Jordan, Sena, and Livie were our teen heroes – cooking and packing for MESH on their day off from school. A big thank you to the young women for giving up their free day.
We once again want to thank our generous Shomrei Community of Giving for the outpouring of cereal and soup collected over the High Holidays as part of Project Isaiah. This week, we took all of the items collected to the Human Needs Food Pantry in Montclair, and they were overwhelmed by the volume delivered (2 full carloads).
They have come to know Congregatioin Shomrei Emunah well, with the many drives we have done on their behalf. And they consider us a vital community partner in their mission to address food insecurity in Essex County. Personally, I feel so proud to be part of such a warm congregation that ALWAYS answers the call to do right by our neighbors.
One, three, thirty-eight, fifty-five, one hundred seventeen, eleven hundred, one hundred thousand.
This is not just a list of random numbers. Each of these numbers represents a statistic that Joe Granger, executive director of MESH (Montclair Emergency Services for Hope), cited at a recent MESH meal partners’ meeting.
Some things never change. I remember my grandmothers spending hours in their kitchens making holiday food– everything from scratch of course, including the gefilte fish. I also remember my mother doing the same thing but not quite so intensely. Now, even though my husband and I share household tasks, I find myself doing the same thing. But I look for shortcuts, and I also look to modernize the menu while still keeping the food holiday-appropriate. (more…)
