Events, Notes & News

* * * UPCOMING EVENTS * * *

Membership Forms

If you have not already done so, please complete and return your membership forms to the synagogue office as soon as possible. 

Contemplative Slichot Chanting Service

Please join us as we welcome Judy Kaye and Bruce Phillips for chanting and reflection on Saturday evening, September 27, 7:30 pm for Slichot services.  Judy and Bruce are trained chant leaders who will apply their skills to Slichot, prayers for repentance as preparation for the upcoming Holy Days.  We will begin this service with Havdalah, marking an end to Shabbat followed by holiday appropriate chants and meditations.  Please bring a comfortable pillow or cushion to sit on.

100 Years of Jewish Memory in Attleboro
Service of Remembrance on Sunday, October 5, 10:00 am

This fall marks the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Dodgeville Hebrew Cemetery, Congregation Agudas Achim’s cemetery off South Main Street. 

When the first Jewish families arrived in Attleboro at the beginning of the 20th century, they began meeting in private homes for worship services and fellowship.  It wasn’t until 1911 that these families organized Congregation Agudas Achim as Attleboro’s first and only synagogue.  But three years earlier, in 1908, a number of these families had joined This year, we will rededicate this sacred plot and inaugurate a new tradition of honoring all those who have come before us in this community with a Service of

Remembrance on Sunday, October 5 – the Sunday between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur – a traditional day for visiting Jewish cemeteries.
forces to purchase a plot of land in the southern section of town, known as Dodgeville, to establish a cemetery.  With the dedication of this cemetery, Jews consecrated a permanent home for their deceased and set their roots firmly in the Attleboro area.

This year, we will rededicate this sacred plot and inaugurate a new tradition of honoring all those who have come before us in this community with a Service of Remembrance on Sunday, October 5 – the Sunday between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur – a traditional day for visiting Jewish cemeteries.  The service will begin at 10:00 am and will include a reading of Congregation Agudas Achim’s Golden Book, which will also be read during Yizkor on Yom Kippur.  Please join us to celebrate 100 years of memories.

ALL NEW - SUKKOT BUILDING BRIGADE...

Would you like to build a sukkah at your house but don't know where to start? Would you be interested in building a sukkah but don't have the room in your backyard?  We are proud to announce the all-new Sukkah Building Brigade.  We will match up families to help one another fulfill the mitzvah of building a sukkah.  We can help with sukkah design options as well as direct you to local merchants for materials.  The brigade will be in action on Sunday October 12th.  Contact Kim Bodemer for more details - principal@agudasma.org.

Use Goodsearch to Shop and the Synagogue Makes Money!

For months now, the synagogue has participated in the Goodsearch program. This online Yahoo-based search engine donates roughly a penny for every normal web search that you make on the Internet using the service. But did you know that if you purchase merchandise online, the synagogue also could profit even more? And it costs you no more than you normally would spend.   An example:  Recently, I purchased ink-jet cartridges and other materials from Staples, an affiliated Goodsearch retailer. These were items I would have purchased anyway to feed my home printers. In the end, I spent $130. The synagogue earned $2.90 from that purchase alone. I even used a Staples coupon. The cost to me was what I would have paid anyway, and the synagogue got a cut. It's a win-win!   Admittedly, $2.90 is not going to solve the synagogue's budget issues, but if everyone participated, it would add up to a lot more.

Here's how to Shop with Goodsearch:  To purchase online through Goodsearch, go to Goodsearch from the link on the synagogue home page. Make sure the synagogue is the selected charity!  Click the "Shopping" tab and then click an online retailer (Staples, Best Buy, ebay, Amazon, Apple, and hundreds of others). Make your purchases. You don't have to do anything but shop!  It's recorded automatically.

Soon, I hope to add another search link directly on the synagogue web site which will enable members (or anyone else) to bookmark the synagogue web site as their home page and use Goodsearch to find what they need.  But Goodsearch's shopping feature is where the synagogue really can benefit if more people were to use it.

I urge members who buy online to think about starting their shopping experience with Goodsearch. Every little bit counts and hundreds of organizations -- like ours -- are making a lot of money using this fine service.

If you have any questions, or need help getting started, let me know. I'd be happy to help you get set up and walk you through it. Call me at 508-285-2359, or email me at steve@idesigngraphics.com. If you shop online already, you're giving your money to the store. Goodsearch gives you a chance to feel even better about your purchase.
Steve Ide

Save the planet while supporting your shul!

Agudas Achim canvas shopping bags are available for purchase for $5 each.  All proceeds support our synagogue.  Bags are great for groceries, or Hebrew School books!

SHAW’S RECEIPT REWARDS PROGRAM

Everybody has to shop for food, but what if food shopping meant you could also help raise money for the synagogue?   Now you can!  Shaw’s Receipt Rewards Program is a fundraiser that returns 1% of purchases* to our organization!

Please help by sending or bringing all your Shaw’s receipts to the synagogue.  For every $5000 in receipts we submit, we will receive a $50 rebate check.  There is an envelope on the bulletin board in the hall that says SHAWS on it.  Help us fill it up!

(*Some items are excluded from this program, including but not limited to tax, postage stamps, money orders, lottery tickets, gift cards, phone cards, prescriptions, photo processing, milk, tobacco and other items prohibited by law.)  If you have any questions, please e-mail Susan Lougee at sslougee@comcast.net. 

Gift Cents Program Needs Your Participation

Agudas Achim has earned over $2200 from the Gift Cents program since our participation began in December 2005.  But we can earn much, much more if more members would participate.

This is a painless way to make money for the synagogue while you shop!  Purchase and use gift cards instead of cash for your regular purchases, and Agudas Achim receives a percentage of every purchase without costing you an extra cent!  It’s not just for gifts – purchase cards for your regular grocery shopping, clothing, pharmacy, and eating out.  Gift cards are available for most of your regular monthly purchases.  You can find the forms on the synagogue website (http://www.agudasma.org/fundraising.shtml) that list all the eligible stores.

Send your paperwork and check to the synagogue office by the 15th of any month.  Gift Cards will arrive by end of the same month.   If you have any questions, Susan Lougee would be happy to answer them.  Contact her at 508-695-1930 or sslougee@comcast.net.