Laurie Colen
The Jewish Friendship Group (JFG) is zooming along.
The JFG has been able to obtain a Zoom license, and so after a long hiatus, the JFG has started booking events and holding online events for our membership. We held our first Zoom ladies’ coffee in late February, and the women were thrilled to be able to see one another and share information. Our latest meet-up took place on April 16 at 10:30 a.m., and we were able to schedule it with break-out groups so that the conversations could occur in a more intimate setting. We have a May Zoom coffee scheduled for Friday, May 14 at 10:30 a.m. We hope our monthly coffees will be able to resume in our homes, when the situation becomes safe to do so.
The co-ed book club has been meeting regularly since October on Zoom, and the format has worked very well for our discussions. We have read some extremely challenging and long books during this period, which was perfect for our COVID imposed isolation! Our last meeting of this season was held on Thursday, May 6. Lorraine Stillman presented Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland, which deals with a shocking tragedy that results in three generations of a family grappling with heartbreak, romance, and the weight of family secrets, across the course of one summer.
Our Zoom lecture presentation series got off to a good start with Marilyn Anthony speaking about touring with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Sherry Kaplan was our speaker in May with a talk about being married to the popular mayor of a small town, which gave us some behind-the-scenes insights regarding running a town and the pressures and issues with which one would have to contend. Our Zoom lecture series continues on June 8 at 4 p.m. with a fascinating lecture by Art Triester concerning accidental discoveries in medicine. Announcements for future lectures will be in the monthly email bulletin. We’re always looking for interesting ideas, so please consider sharing your experiences or ideas, so we can continue this series.
We have been able to obtain a date for our annual Chanukah party, to be held in the SaddleBrooke One Vistas dining room on a Monday evening, Nov. 29. This is, of course, tentative, as we do not know whether the current situation will allow for an event at the clubhouse or if it will be safe to have a large, in person group event. We are ready and hopeful.
Additionally, we have a booking to hold our ever-popular potluck at the SaddleBrooke One Activity Center in late October, should regulations allow. Now that would be a return to normality!
If you would like further information regarding the JFG, contact club president, Marilyn Anthony, by email at [email protected] or deputy president, Susan Berman, at 520-818-1954.