Shalom from Shearith Community, Michael Unit.

    Since last Pesach we have enjoyed a good year. We observed the Days of Unleavened Bread with matzah provided by SKF and graciously allowed by our Chaplain, Ms. Lowry. We counted 49 days of the Omer and, those of us who could, met on the rec yard several times per week for prayer and study of Hebrew and the commandments of the Most High. Our ragtag group of believers is slowly becoming a true community. We celebrated Shavuot with a service and some good refreshments brought in by our volunteers. Throughout the summer we stayed in fellowship and continued in study, shifting to the works of Chofetz Chaim concerning "Shemirat Halashon", guarding the tongue. What an eye-opener (and mouth closer) that was!  We began the month of Elul in solemn prayers of Selichoth - forgiveness - and all of us committed to a mild 40 day fast of bread until Yom Kippur. An extraordinary feat considering that we get mostly bread for every meal. On Yom Teruah we were mightily blessed with a visit from our volunteer, Frank McKinley. He blew the shofar for us and we were blessed to receive a traditional treat of apples with honey and fresh challah. We had no volunteer for Yom Kippur and thought we would be unable to meet, but YHWH provided a 15 minute period during which we said a brief prayer. It was sufficient and we were thankful for it. When Sukkoth arrived we were ready. A few of us who could, met each evening about sunset outside and prayed and read from the scriptures together. It was a great blessing. Our Chaplain, Mr. Walker, took his own personal time to oversee our group for one night of Chanukkah. We had one makeshift candle on a cardboard box, and we read from the Book of Maccabees. It was good.

    Another of our volunteers, John Robinson, came to us in January from Emory, Texas. He brought some good music and teaching and we had a very good service. We're always glad to see John and we prayed for his wife, Tammy, who is very ill. Thanks to another of our volunteers, Ronel McKown, we typically have one Shabbat per month to meet as a community. Ron has had numerous difficulties and has been unable to come every month for services. We're praying for him. We are now looking forward to our new volunteers, Mark, Nate, and Jim, who will be coming to us for services next month (March). They've just finished their orientation and soon we hope to have services 2 or 3 weeks per month, instead of just one.   

     Not all of our year was joyful. We were all greatly saddened by the loss of our dear brother, Paul King, who died of heart and liver failure. It's a horrible thing to die in prison, but a couple of us were able to visit him for a few minutes before he passed and pray with him. He died in peace.

     Since the Fall,  we've not had much opportunity for services or communal study. There have been lockdowns and shortages of staff, bad weather and a lack of volunteers to come in and facilitate our services. We are now looking forward to our next Pesach with a sense of anticipation that this will be our best Pesach ever. We credit this to YHWH Elyon, and to Sabbath Keepers Fellowship who works so hard on our behalf.