Last shabbat service at Hendon Reform shul
500 congregants mark emotional farewell at Danescroft Avenue after 53 years at the site
Brigit Grant is the Jewish News Supplements Editor
An emotional service in the presence of 500 congregants marked Hendon Reform Synagogue’s final Shabbat last Saturday in its building on Danescroft Avenue.
Although the community is merging with Edgware Reform, it was with a heavy heart that Rabbi Steven Katz made a farewell speech from the bimah on which he has been standing since 1975.
He joined Danescroft as an associate rabbi alongside his late father, rabbi Dr Arthur Katz, who was minister from when the shul opened in 1968.
Over the past 53 years, the building has been the scene of thousands of festival celebrations, a thriving JACS club, a nursery school and countless weddings and barmitzvahs.
Members will now either make the journey to Edgware Reform on Stonegrove or join other shuls.
“It is very difficult because I know everyone here and it feels like home,” said one long-standing member.
The main hall, with its many commemorative staineglass windows, is now up for sale with Savills along with the rest of the space, although the windows with dedications will be used in a future extension in Edgware or taken by relatives.
On 1 July, Rabbi Katz officiated at the barmitzvah of JCoSS pupil Daniel Fields, the last at the synagogue, made all the more special because the boy’s father, Dr Paul Fields was one of Rabbi Katz’s first barmitzvahs in 1977.
It was another special moment in Danescroft’s history.
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.
