Maidenhead Synagogue
{{short description|Reform synagogue in Berkshire, England}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Maidenhead Synagogue
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| image = Maidenhead Synagogue.jpg
| image_upright = 1.4
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| caption = Interior of the synagogue library, in 2004
| religious_affiliation = Reform Judaism
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| organisational_status = Synagogue
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| leadership = Rabbi René Pfertzel{{Cite web |date=20 November 2024 |title=Rabbi René Pfertzel inducted by Maidenhead Synagogue |url=https://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/rabbi-rene-pfertzel-inducted-by-maidenhead-synagogue/ |access-date=22 November 2024 |website=Movement for Reform Judaism}}
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| functional_status = Active
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| location = Grenfell Lodge, Ray Park Road, in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England SL6 8QX
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| country = United Kingdom
| map_type = England south
| map_size = 250
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| map_caption = Location of the synagogue in southern England
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| coordinates = {{coord|51.526111|-0.70735|region:GB_type:landmark|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
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| established = 1953 {{small|(as a congregation)}}
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| year_completed = {{ubl|1953 {{small|(Boyn Hill)}}|2001 {{small|(Ray Park)}}}}
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| website = {{url|maidenheadsynagogue.org.uk}}
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The Maidenhead Synagogue is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at Grenfell Lodge, Ray Park Road, in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, in the United Kingdom. It serves Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and surrounding districts west of London in the Thames Valley area.{{cite web |url=https://maidenheadsynagogue.org.uk |title=Welcome to Maidenhead Synagogue |website=Maidenhead Synagogue |access-date=3 April 2024}}{{self-published-inline|date=May 2024}}
History
Maidenhead Synagogue originated during World War II when many Jewish families were evacuated to the area from London.{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/maid/index.htm |title=Maidenhead Synagogue |work=Jewish Communities and Records – UK |publisher=JewishGen and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain |date=10 September 2023 |access-date=22 November 2024}} It was initially a community with no dedicated building, meeting for prayer in private houses and served by a volunteer rabbi and lay readers. At the war's end, some of the congregation stayed in the area and established a permanent Jewish community, acquiring a house for use as a dedicated synagogue building in 1953.
The synagogue became part of the Reform Movement in 1960,{{Cite web |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/the-town-on-the-front-line-of-the-battle-for-survival-xaainawv |title=The town on the front line of the battle for survival |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=24 November 2016 |access-date=22 November 2024}} so receiving the services of student rabbis of the Leo Baeck College, among them Jonathan Romain who was appointed as the synagogue's first full-time rabbi in 1980 and contunued in the role until 2024. The synagogue moved to larger premises in 2001 and the congregation had 1831 members in 2017.{{Cite web |url=https://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/maidenhead-synagogue-times/|title=Maidenhead Synagogue in The Times |date=11 August 2017 |publisher=Movement for Reform Judaism |publication-date=11 August 2017 |access-date=3 April 2024}} An extension to the synagogue, including a new community centre, was opened in 2017.
Facilities
In addition to being a centre for worship, the synagogue's facilities include a library, a Judaica and kosher shop, a nursery school, a religion school, youth clubs, adult education classes, conversion classes, social activities for adults and children, a café, and a community care scheme.{{cite web |url=http://synagogues.reformjudaism.org.uk/details/maidenhead-synagogue.html |title=Synagogue Directory |publisher= Movement for Reform Judaism|accessdate=22 August 2020|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830100322/http://synagogues.reformjudaism.org.uk/details/maidenhead-synagogue.html |archivedate=30 August 2011 }}
For members unable to travel to the synagogue, Shabbat evening and Shabbat morning services are streamed live via the internet.
All members receive by post the synagogue's monthly community magazine, Hadashot (חדשות).{{cite web |title=Hadashot |accessdate=3 May 2020 |work=Maidenhead Synagogue |url=http://www.maidenheadsynagogue.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=25&Itemid=55 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141230204224/http://www.maidenheadsynagogue.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=25&Itemid=55 |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 December 2014 }}{{self-published-inline|date=May 2024}}
See also
{{stack|{{portal|England|Judaism}}}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.maidenheadsynagogue.org.uk/ Official website]
- [http://www.reformjudaism.org.uk The Movement for Reform Judaism]
{{Reform Judaism in the United Kingdom}}
{{Synagogues in the United Kingdom}}
Category:1953 establishments in England
Category:21st-century synagogues in the United Kingdom
Category:Jewish organizations established in 1953
Category:Places of worship in Maidenhead
Category:Reform synagogues in the United Kingdom