The Wimbledon Synagogue

The Wimbledon Synagogue
Basic information
Location 1 Queensmere Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 5QD
 United Kingdom
Affiliation Reform Judaism
Status Active
Website www.wimshul.org

The Wimbledon Synagogue (formally, Wimbledon and District Synagogue) is a synagogue in the London Borough of Wandsworth at Queensmere Road, Wimbledon Park, on the boundary with the London Borough of Merton. It is a member of the Movement for Reform Judaism.

The community was established in 1949[1] and was based at Worple Road, Wimbledon from 1952 to 1997.[1] In 1997 it moved to its present premises, adapting a 1953 building which previously belonged to Southlands College,[2] now part of the University of Roehampton.

History

The synagogue came into being at a meeting of the local Jewish community at the Wimbledon Hill Hotel in February 1949. In its first year the membership, of 60 families, was little more than one tenth of what it is now. Services were held in temporary accommodation.

The community decided to build a new synagogue on a site at 44 Worple Road in Wimbledon. The foundation stone was laid on 8 April 1951 by Ernest Abelson and Leonard Montefiore (of the West London Synagogue) and the synagogue was formally opened and dedicated on 25 May 1952 by Rabbi Dr Leo Baeck.[3]

In 1953 the synagogue appointed its first Minister, Rabbi Charles Berg. When he retired, in 1974, the community had grown to 750 members. He was succeeded by Rabbi Hillel Avidan (1974–80), Rabbi Daniel Smith,[4] (1982–93), Rabbi Robert Shafritz (1993–96), who died suddenly in office,[5] Rabbi William Woolf (1997–2002), and Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild and Rabbi Sybil Sheridan who job shared [6] from 2003[7] until 2014.[8]

In September 1997 the synagogue moved to its present site, adapting the former Athlone Hall (dating from 1953)[2]

The synagogue now has more than 900 members.

Facilities and activities

Services are held every Shabbat on Friday evening and Saturday morning as well as for all Jewish festivals. Services are egalitarian; men and women sit together and take an equal role in the religious life of the community. As well as a cheder and an educational programme for children for young people, the synagogue runs a programme of adult education courses, workshops and lectures.[9]

The synagogue houses three book collections. The David Nathan Library has nearly 2000 books covering Judaism, Israel, history, biography, fiction etc. The Harry Urban Holocaust Library concentrates on the personal stories of survivors of the Shoah. There is also a children’s book collection. The collections are catalogued using the Classification System for Libraries of Judaica employed by Leo Baeck College.

The community has a monthly membership newsletter, Kehillah.[10]

Social action

Wimbledon and District Synagogue is a Fairtrade synagogue[11] and has been involved for many years with the Faith In Action Homeless Project, a charity which works with a range of agencies to support homeless, precariously housed and other marginalised people within the London Borough of Merton.[12] It has also accommodated local homeless people overnight as part of the Merton Night Shelter initiative.[13]

Members of the synagogue sponsor an Ethiopian student at the Leo Baeck College in Haifa, Israel.[14][15]

Twinning

The synagogue is twinned with Emet v'Shalom, now the only non-Orthodox synagogue in Nahariya, Israel.[16] Since the early 1990s the synagogue has also been twinned with the Jewish community in Cherkassy, Ukraine, where it supports a number of community projects.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Wimbledon and District Synagogue". JCR-UK. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "1930 – 1997: Wimbledon". History: Southlands. University of Roehampton. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "History". Wimbledon and District Synagogue. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "Rabbi Daniel Smith". About the Rabbis. Edgware & District Reform Synagogue. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "Jewish American Yearbook" (PDF). American Jewish Committee. 1998. p. 247. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Sheridan, Sybil (10 June 2009). "What future for the Jews left in Ethiopia?". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "Sylvia Rothschild". Zoominfo.com. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "Rabbi Sybil Sheridan's Farewell Service". Kehillah. February 2014.
  9. ↑ "Lifelong learning". Wimbledon and District Synagogue website. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  10. ↑ "Kehillah". Wimbledon and District Synagogue. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "Reform Movement backs Fairtrade Fortnight: 23 Feb – 8 March 2009". Movement for Reform Judaism. 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  12. ↑ "Wimbledon: Working with other Faith Groups". Movement for Reform Judaism. 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  13. ↑ "Night Shelter Now Open". Room in this community… reflecting on homelessness in and around Merton. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  14. ↑ "Thanks From Leo Baeck College For Sponsoring Ethiopian Scholarship Student". Wimbledon and District Synagogue. 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  15. ↑ "News: Our Sponsorship of Ethiopian Scholarship Student At The Leo Baeck College Haifa". Wimbledon and District Synagogue. 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  16. ↑ "W & DS Twinned Community In Israel". Wimbledon and District Synagogue. Retrieved 11 December 2012.

External links

Coordinates: 51°26′21″N 0°13′25″W / 51.43917°N 0.22361°W