Thank you for helping with Shabbat services.
Hosting responsibilities are split into the Challah and Setup Host and the Kiddush, Cleanup, and Tablecloths Host. You don’t have to help with both, but please do so if possible.
Help number: If the doors are locked, in case of an emergency, or if you need help for any other reason, call Felicita Wight at (727) 418-2936 or David Friedman at (202) 489-1842.
Challah and Setup Host:
Arrival time: Plan to arrive at 9:30 am. Please greet people as they enter the service and offer Siddurim/prayerbooks and Chumashim/Torah texts.
Challah: Please bring one challah.
Retrieve Key to Storage Closet: The closet key is in the top drawer of the reception desk by the UU main entrance. Kol Ami’s closet is next to classroom #14, near the Chapel.
Kol Ami Welcome Sign: Two welcome signs hang on the left in the closet. On Shabbat morning, please place one outdoors at the bottom of the ramp. On days with Tot Shabbat, please bring the standing sign to the upper level at the top of the stairs.
Items for services:
- Book Cart. The cart has Siddurim/prayerbooks (Kol HaNeshamah) on one side and Chumashim/Torah texts (Etz Chayim) on the other.
- Six clean blue tablecloths and the Yizkor Quilt.
- Cover the service leader table first with a blue tablecloth and then with the Yizkor quilt. Use one blue tablecloth for the Tallitot and Kippot tables, two for the Oneg tables, and the final two for the tables at the back where we eat.
- Tallitot and Kippot containers. Place on covered table towards front of the room.
Items for Kiddush:
Please move these from the Shabbat Cart to the Kiddush tables. If any are missing, check the closet and replenish. If stock is running low, please contact David Feiner at 703-678-8257.
- Challah tray and cover.
- Grape juice.
- Platters for serving grape juice and mini-Kiddush cups (on closet shelves).
- A Kiddush cup for the service leader.
- Plates, napkins, drinking cups, forks, knives, spoons, and serving utensils.
Please bring the orange bag with SimpliSafe® items from the closet (details below). As an emergency backup, please also bring your cell phone to call 9-1-1.
The Ark:
- We recommend having two people to move the Ark. Watch for bumps in the flooring because the Ark cabinet is not fastened to the base.
- Once the Ark is in the niche behind the service leaders’ table, remove the Ner Tamid/Eternal Light from the base cabinet and secure it to the top, matching the magnets on the Ner Tamid with the ones on top of the Ark.
- Turn on the Ner Tamid with the remote control stored in the base of the Ark.
- Place the laminated cards with the Torah blessings on the service leaders’ table.
Security:
- Instructions for the security system and responding to a false alarm are in the orange bag, which hangs on a hook on the wall near the closet door and outlet.
- Our SimpliSafe® security system has three components:
- Base unit (plugged in next to the light switch and closet door). Place this small white tower out of the way on a raised, level surface.
- Panic buttons (orange bag). One for the service leader and one for the host. Please transfer the panic button to the second host if you are leaving early.
- Keypad (orange bag). Use the SimpliSafe instructions to turn on the keypad before the service and off afterward.
- To call the alarm company in an emergency, hold the panic button for at least 2 seconds.
Kiddush, Cleanup, and Tablecloths Host
Kiddush Setup: At around 11:30 am, pour the wine and grape juice and set out the challah. Uncover or open the food items and put out serving utensils. (please wash your hands first)
Clean up:
- Offer leftover food to people present or dispose of it.
- Dispose of garbage in trash cans. Please separate recycling from trash.
- Wash and dry the Kiddush cup, trays, and any reusable utensils and pitchers.
- Please take soiled tablecloths home, wash and return them the following week.
- Return everything to the closet. Please return the Shabbat Cart, baskets, Ark, bookcart, and other items to the closet, following the labels on the shelves.
- Please retrieve the Kol Ami Welcome sign from outdoors (and the standing sign from the top of the stairs on Tot Shabbat days).
- Remember to plug in the base unit for the SimpliSafe® after the service.
Lock the closet door and return the key to the welcome desk in the UU lobby.
