COVID-19 Response

March 11, 2020
7:00pm

All throughout the world we are watching the spread and potential threat posed by the Coronavirus, COVID-19.  At the time of this email we have not been informed that anyone at Am Shalom has been exposed or has tested positive for COVID-19.

From all the information we continue to gather, and from the steps that we have already adopted, it has become clear that drastically limiting the risk of exposure to all the people we care about needs to be our most important priority. Avoiding large social gatherings and mitigating exposure in any way is how we can do our part to prevent the wider spread of this deadly disease.

With the exception of our Shabbat services, Torah Study Minyan and "Almost Daily" Minyan, Am Shalom will be postponing all congregational activities at least through the beginning of April.

• This includes Sunday school on March 15 and Hebrew School on March 18; we then enter two weeks of spring break.

• The Women’s Seder on April 2, as well as all adult learning programs, are cancelled. 

As more information becomes available, we will be in touch with you about our community schedule for April and beyond. It is imperative that we have your most up-to-date contact information. Please log into your ShulCloud account now and update your email address and cell phone number.

We will still be holding Shabbat services on Friday evenings at 6:30pm and Torah Study Minyan on Saturday mornings at 9:00am. If you wish to come to Am Shalom for any of these services, we will be here. However, we do encourage you to participate in worship via remote access. We will have stringent social distancing plans in place, most importantly scattered seating. Both services will be livestreamed. If you would like to attend virtually, please tune in at amshalom.com/livestream. 

Weddings, funerals and other lifecycle events will all still take place. The Early Childhood Program run by the JCC will still be in session.

Our office will be open and clergy will be available for additional appointments if you so desire. We will do our best to reach out in many creative ways to check in and provide education, support and connection for our families and community.  

Having reached the level of Pandemic, these types of decisions are never easy and there is a huge downside to not being together, especially during these difficult days. We honestly feel that these extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our entire community. We will again go from strength to strength. We are all in this together. We always have been and always will be.

In good health,

Dr. Michael Blum, President
Laura Horn, Alyssa Latala and Zoe Sherman, Executive Team
Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein, Rabbi Phyllis Sommer, Rabbi Pam Mandel
Cantor Andrea Rae Markowicz and Cantor Julie Staple