Warm winter greetings to you all. We hope and pray that you are all doing well.
With the increased vigilance for security needs for Jewish communities, please see below for two opportunities to engage in training to support the safety of our community, one tomorrow/Thursday at 1 p.m. online only, and one at JCOGS this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in person only.
As we are now approaching two years of the COVID pandemic, what we have learned is gathering protocols have been and continue to be a moving target. We have been monitoring this current COVID surge very carefully to gauge when it will be safe to gather together indoors as a congregation and how we will do this to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus even though we understand that we will not be able to mitigate it 100%.
The Omicron variant appears to be a fast and furious one—present data shows that it is nearing its peak and we should hopefully see a very quick decline afterward. Beyond this Sunday’s security training, the plan at this time is to open to indoor congregational activities on February 4th beginning with an in person, hybrid Shabbat service.
JCOGS will be strictly enforcing the following policy to allow us to gather safely. In order to attend indoor gatherings:
Every person who enters JCOGS must be fully vaccinated at this time.
You must be boosted if you are able to be (any person ages 12+ can receive a booster shot 5 months after their second COVID vaccine)
Vaccination record cards will be required to enter the building.
We ask that you not come to services if you are sick, period, even if you took a COVID at home antigen test and it was negative.
We ask that you do not come to services if you have a pending COVID-19 PCR test.
Cloth masks are no longer acceptable. We require surgical masks or KN95 at all times when in the building or when in close proximity to others outdoors when schmoozing. (These masks will be available upon entry, as needed.)
The mask must cover both the nose and the mouth and be worn at all times.
Children under the age of 5 are unable to attend indoor events or services at this time.
In person services will also be available on Zoom for all who wish to participate from home.
We continue to plan occasional outdoor events for all ages as we did this past Saturday for Shoe biShvat and will again on February 9 for the Fire and Ice sculpting celebration; any food served will be outdoors and with warming areas available. Children’s education programs will remain online until March, with the exception of the outdoor programs noted above. For more details on all of these protocols, please visit this link.
We will continue to monitor the Covid climate carefully as your safety and comfort level is a priority for us during this time. We are thankful for all of your support. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to reach out to our health and safety officer Amy Wenger amy.wenger@jcogs.org.
And please scroll down to view the two security training opportunities being offered and do your best to be present.
Enjoy the snow and the beauty of winter.
Rabbi David Fainsilber Dr. Steve Levine, MD-president Amy Wenger, RN-JCOGS health and safety officer
Join the Stowe Police Department for hands on security training of situational awareness and emergency protocols, as well as drills to learn how to prevent harm. Come have your questions answered and be empowered to help.
In addition, the Secure Community Network (SCN) is offering a new online training BeAware to improve participants’ ability to recognize suspicious behaviour, guidance on how to report it, and strategies to protect themselves and others from violence. You can register here for this Thursday, January 27 at 1 p.m. program.
