Bournemouth Reform Synagogue

Story

Bournemouth Reform Synagogue, also known as BRS, is a Reform Jewish synagogue of over 500 members in the heart of Bournemouth, England.HistoryBournemouth Reform Synagogue was founded in 1947 as the Bournemouth New Synagogue, a break-away from the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation. The split met with fierce opposition from the Hebrew Congregation who at the time refused to share the cemetery. At the time it was the ninth Reform synagogue in the country.RabbisThe synagogue has been led by five ministers over its 60-year history: Rev. Charles Berg (1948–1953), Rev. Stanley Solomons (1953–1969), Rabbi Harold Vallins (1970–1972), Rabbi David Soetendorp (1972–2005), Rabbi Neil Amswych (2005–June 2014) and Rabbi Maurice Michaels (October 2014–present). In 2007, BRS also inducted its first Associate Rabbi – Rabbi Jenny Goldfried Amswych.BRS todayBournemouth Reform Synagogue is a member of the Movement for Reform Judaism, and shares similar goals. It seeks to be welcoming to everyone for social activities, educational programmes, for support or for spiritual nourishment. It seeks to respond to the needs of individuals who need a combination of both tradition and modernity, and says that it believes that "a healthy community is one that prays, socialises, learns, plans and grows together."BRS is one of the many communities responding to a major difficulty of Reform Judaism – "the question of religious authority with the resulting difficulty of setting limits to a liberal religion." A centralised model of religious leadership under Rabbi Soetendorp was responsible for significantly growing the community in size, and in drawing people into the community.