TWO VOICES: What are the challenges facing smaller communities?
This week’s Two Voices asks: what are the specific challenges facing smaller Jewish communities?
Phyllis Alden says…
Manchester Liberal Jewish Community (MLJC) marks its tenth anniversary this year, a testament to the dedication and enthusiasm of a small group of people, as ‘small’ is what we are.
MLJC was born in 2005 when founding members James Eisen, Nick Davis, James Shirrer-Bromfield and Eddie Newman came from other Liberal congregations to start a new community in Manchester.
Nurtured by Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, then outreach director for Liberal Judaism, MLJC has developed into a “proper” community. And while our numbers are still small, they have grown.
We have monthly services, festival celebrations and a part-time rabbi. Student rabbi cantor Gershon Silins will be inducted on our anniversary, taking over from Rabbi Mark Solomon.
However, despite the fact that Manchester itself has a large and growing Jewish population, MLJC faces challenges, partly because Manchester’s Orthodox and Reform communities are well established and MLJC has had to find its place. As a national movement, Liberal Judaism has to show why and how we are different so we can grow our communities. Also, while it is known there are many people within the Greater Manchester area who are Jewish, how do you reach them? And when you do, do they want you?
Phyllis Alden is treasurer of Manchester Liberal Jewish Community
Stuart Goodman says…
The Norwich Liberal Jewish Community (NLJC) evolved out of the Progressive Jewish Community of East Anglia. If nothing else, it is less of a mouthful! The challenges haven’t changed. We still have to find and retain members. Being a small community means finance is tight.
The key to success is in the name, or at least the community bit of it. We have fewer than 50 members but usually have a congregation of well over 30. Leah Jordan, our rabbi, is amazing and we have a cheder of more than 10 young people. In our May service, we will have a bar mitzvah and three of our youngsters will celebrate their Kabbalat Torah. Three of our more mature members have gone through Liberal Judaism’s Ba’alei Tefillah scheme, to become lay readers.
We go out of our way to be a welcoming shul – we share a building with the local Congregationalist Church and all who attend are welcome and important.
We also reach out into the wider community. We are involved with the Citizens UK activities, support charities such as the Norwich Food Bank and have a link with the Norwich Jewish Peace Group.
We had nearly 50 people at our recent communal seder. One wrote: “We’ve not had or been to a seder for many a year. It was wonderful!” Says it all, really.
Stuart Goodman is newsletter editor for Norwich Liberal Jewish Community
[polldaddy poll=8828029]
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
