Thank
you for visiting our website. There's loads of news and information
regarding forth coming events. Don't forget to scroll down on this page to see what's coming
soon and what's been and gone.What's New on Our Website!
Thank
you for visiting our website. There's loads of news and information
regarding forth coming events. Don't forget to scroll down on this page to see what's coming
soon and what's been and gone.
Stonesetting and Dedication Service
The
stonesetting and dedication service for our late President, Heny Waldman, will
be held on Sunday, 7th September 2008. The stonesetting will take place at
1.30pm at Sutton
Road Cemetery and Crematorium Stutton Road Southend on Sea Essex SS2 5PX.
This will be followed by at 2.15pm approx by the dedication of a stone under the 'Tree of Life' at the synagogue with a short ceremony. There will be a l'chaim and reception for all those present, by way of celebrating Heny's life.
If you would like to attend the gathering, could you please advise Diana Miller in order that the Guild can get some idea of numbers. As always everyone is welcome regardless of whether they inform the synagogue. Contact Diana by e-mail or by telephone 01702 464 919 (evenings only).
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Succoth
The
'High and Holy' days will shortly be with us once again (where does the year go,
I hear you ask!). Southend and District Reform Synagogue will be holding
services throughout the festive period. Please
see our ‘Calendar’
for details of which services Rabbi Elf and lay readers will be taking.
Members requiring tickets should (if they haven't already done so) have completed and returned the order form, which was recently posted to you within the July interim newsletter. We welcome non members to our synagogue! Visitors can request tickets, for which we would ask for a small donation to our Kol Nidre appeal. Please complete the order form mentioned above and forward with your donation to the synagogue address.
'The Movement for Reform Judaism' has a scheme to provide free tickets to 'young adults and students'. Please see the top half of the ticket order form for more details or contact Alyson Joseph at MRJ.
If you have any questions about our 'High and Holy' day services, please do not hesitate to contact us.
SDRS Opens Up Services With iPod Approach To Prayer
Prayers dealing with difficult
modern day issues, such as environmental and natural disaster, poverty,
depression, miscarriage and even the loss of a pet form part of a huge new
selection being offered for use by members of Southend and District Reform
Synagogue.
The new prayers are part of drive by the synagogue and its parent movement, the Movement for Reform Judaism, to make worship more relevant to the modern world. They can be found in a new prayer book, Forms of Prayer, which was used in Reform Synagogues across Britain for the first time in June.
The radical new prayer book aims to challenge traditional styles of worship by providing a huge variety of prayers and readings from which worshippers are able to create a form of worship relevant to themselves and their real life concerns. To read more about this exciting press release, written by our Chair, Lewis Miller, please click here.
A very special Supper Quiz
A
lot of publicity has been given to the plight of Westcliff's Fair Havens hospice
in the local press and SDRS Council and Executive thought we should do our bit
as a community.
To raise essential funds a very special fish and chip supper quiz was held on Sunday, 18th May 2008 at 6.30pm. The event was a great success and raised an amazing £900, which is going in total to Fair Havens. To read more about this exciting fund raiser, please click here.
Communal 2nd Night Seder - 2008
The
SDRS Communal Seder, conducted by Rabbi Warren Elf, was held on the second night
of Pesach Sunday, 20th April 2008. As with previous years the event was a
massive hit with at least eighty people attending (members, their guests and a
few non-members too). There were plenty of new faces although sadly there were
fewer children this year.
After a brief introduction to the Seder, the evening started at the earlier time of 6.30pm with the relevant blessings by Rabbi Elf and candle lighting by his wife, Simone. To read more about our second night Seder, please click here.
The picture above is a library picture from 2006 of Rabbi Elf and his wife Simone with the Seder plate.
Rabbi
Warren Elf was interviewed on the morning breakfast show of high profile local
radio station, BBC Essex, on Sunday, 13th April 2008 at 8.15am. Rabbi Elf also
reviewed a few topical articles in the Sunday newspapers.
Weekend presenter, Ian Wyatt started the discussion by quizzing Rabbi Elf as to why he lives and works in Manchester as a math teacher (at Bury Grammar School), whilst being a part time minister in Southend and for an explanation of the differences between Reform and Orthodox Judaism. To read more of Rabbi Elf's interview and newspaper review please click here.
The Forsaken Promise
On
Sunday, 2nd March 2008 at St. George's United Reform Church in Westcliff, the
Council of Christian and Jews presented the film 'The Forsaken Promise'. This
hard-hitting movie documents Britain's failure to honour the promises given in
the Balfour Declaration in November 1917 and her legal obligations under the
Mandate.
The British government made a pledge with the Jewish people through the Declaration to help establish a Jewish National Home in the territory known as Palestine.
To read more about this thought provoking event, attended by synagogue member, Brenda Lee, please click here.
Special Shabbat Service
I
would just like to say how much my husband and I enjoyed the special Shabbat
service on Saturday, 1st March 2008.
The service marked the official "welcoming" to the synagogue of Natalie Hijmensen and I after we successfully completed our conversion courses to Judaism and passed through the Beit Din. During the service Rabbi Elf also performed baby blessings for my son, Ethan and Natalie's daughter, Keren.
To read the full piece, please click here. The picture right is of (from left), Paul, Jane, Rabbi Warren Elf, Ethan, Natalie and Keren.
Holocaust Memorial Day - 2008
Southend
Council's annual 'National Holocaust Commemoration Service' took place at the
Civic Centre in Southend on Sunday, 27th January 2008 between 4.30pm and
6.30pm.
Southchurch Ward Councillor, David Garston, chaired the event and the theme of the day was: Remember the past, reflect on the future and react to create a better future.
To read more about this moving event, as told by Chairperson, Lewis Miller, please click here.
Heny Waldman
It's
with deep regret that the Executive and Council announce that our
President, Heny Waldman, (pictured right),
passed away peacefully on the evening of Tuesday, 15th January
2008.
The funeral service took place on Friday, 18th January 2008 at 9.40am at Sutton Road Cemetery and Crematorium Sutton Road Southend-on-Sea SS2 5PX.
Heny had actively been involved in the synagogue for many years and will be sorely missed by everyone. Our thoughts go to all her family and friends at this time.
If you would like to submit a tribute by e-mail to be published on our website, click here. To view Heny's tribute page please click here.
Increase of Membership Fees
Membership
fees will increase by 50p per person per month from Saturday, 1st September
2007. The increase was agreed at the EGM on Sunday, 15th July 2007.
Members paying by Standing Order should notify their bank immediately. This
increase also applies to those on reduced fees.
To see a complete breakdown of membership and burial fees please click here or to request an electronic copy please contact the new Honoury Treasurer, Jeffrey Kinn (pictured left) via e-mail to kinnj@southendreform.co.uk.
SDRS has disabled facilities (at last)!
SDRS is extremely proud to announce that our building finally has unisex disabled facilities for wheelchair users or for those unable to use the ladies toilets on the first floor. The existing kitchen and men's toilet on the ground floor of the synagogue have been refurbished to provide a brand new disabled access toilet, men's toilet and kitchen.
£5k of the funding for the project was a donation from Philip Miller M.B.E. of Adventure Island (Southend), further donations from members and the rest from synagogue funds. A big thank you also to Mike Samuel of MHS Projects (Westcliffe) for designing both the new facilities and the kitchen adaptations. Mike monitored the works as they took place at no charge. We are very grateful to his input.
If you were previously unable to attend services due to the lack of disabled facilities, we look forward to seeing you soon.
