My husband and I revere Shabbat, but celebrate it at home rather than at a synagogue. We go into our bedroom where we have a corner dedicated to candle lighting and prayers. We recite the Mi Sheberach, speaking the names of those who have requested prayer and those we know who need it. Also included in our ritual are the Shema, the actual candle lighting (for which I wear my tallit over my head and shoulders) and the Kaddish. We find this home Shabbat ritual very meaningful, and have done it ever since 2003. On Saturdays we end Shabbat with the Havdalah blessings to begin the new week. It's gratifying to know that many other families are welcoming Shabbat in their homes as well. Shalom!

Sue and Stephen in Weston, FL

I would prefer to go to Friday night services, but my multiple disabilities and age make it impossible My personal assistant (who is also Jewish) and I, Light Shabbat candles, have dinner and watch a movie together!

It is agreat way to have a low key shabbat and I am already in bed when the movie is over!

Lynda Hoffman, Cambridge, MA

Along with my grandson, Nathan age 11, I light Shabbat candles before leaving for Erev Shabbat service. On Shabbat we join in morning service, enjoy the education classes that follow and stay to be a part of the communal lunch. After lunch we prepare bud vases of flowers(from the bimah flowers) to take to members in hospital or shut-in. Our day ends with Havdalah. It is truly a day of learning and mitzvah. Yes, a day of peace and self-satisfaction.
Judy Lundy, B'nai Israel, Charleston

Until a few years ago, the Sisterhood's Rosh Chodesh Group met on Shabbat to attend worship services at Central Synagogue. We then went to the home of one of our group. There we blessed the wine and the bread, had lunch and spent some time socializing. We spoke to one another of our lives, becoming friends in the City that so often feels cold and lonely.

When my sons were younger, (Lee is now 18 and Paul is 21), we would always have pizza on Friday evening for Shabbat dinner. It was quick, easy, and something that would always bring my boys running to the table. Being Reform, we were comfortable adapting our own set of values to the rituals that apply to Shabbat, so more often than not, the Motzi was recited over the pizza crusts! That Shabbat evening dinner gave us a chance to break from the norm; a chance to value ourselves, our sons, our families, our Judaism. Now that Paul is away at college, and Lee is leaving for school in August, my husband and I have moved to a more traditional way of celebrating Shabbat by lighting candles, doing the blessings in a "proper" manner, and having roasted chicken for dinner. But I can't say that sometimes I don't long for the days of mushroom pizza, and little feet kicking me under the table.
Beverly Gruensfelder, Monmouth Reform Temple, Tinton Falls, NJ