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Manchester Reform Synagogue:

150th Anniversary

2006-8 was our 150th anniversary!

The Manchester Reform Association was founded in February 1856, became a congregation in August 1856, started building a Shul in Park Place in March 1857, and the Shul was finished in March 1858 (click here for more history). 

Our programme of celebrations has included:

Previous Events

 

Celebrations started on Friday the 2nd March 2007 with a community dinner following the Shabbat evening service. The Alexander Levy Hall was packed to capacity with members of the Shul spanning four generations. The following Shabbat commemorated the 150th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone at the old Park Place building, as well as 150 years of a choir at Manchester Reform Synagogue. Then on 20th April, we had our first guest sermon from David Jacobs, who grew up at Jackson's Row and is now the Reform Movement's Director of Synagogue Support.

 

This has been followed by guest sermons from Rabbi Brian Fox, Rabbi Norman Zalud, , Rabbi Sybil Sheridan, Rabbi Michael Hilton, as well as our very successful Victorian themed family service (follow the link for a report), and the Civic service on 23rd March, with attendances by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Manchester, the Bishop of Manchester, other civic and faith community representatives, senior officials of the Reform Movement, Rabbis and members of other communities, past Presidents and so on and an address by Rabbi Dr Tony Bayfield.

 

Jubilee Lecture

We were also delighted to host our Jubilee Lecture by Rabbi Tovia ben Chorin - celebrating 150 years of Reform Judaism in Manchester on 28 June 2007. Rabbi ben Chorin , who was minister at Jackson's Row from 1974 to 1977, and is now emeritus Rabbi at the Or Chadash Liberal Community in Zurich, was warmly welcomed back to Manchester Reform Synagogue on Thursday evening by a large crowd from all corners of Manchester and beyond. His topic was based on a quote from the Israeli Declaration of Independence: "The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the Prophets of Israel" and he posed the question: Challenge or Illusion? which was developed during a fascinating talk, keeping the audience spellbound with his delivery. 


 

Garden Party

 

This was followed by the highly enjoyable Summer Garden Party on 1 July 2007 at the home of longstanding members Anne and Ben Portnoy, which fortunately benefited from sunny weather. The afternoon was officially opened by Jonathan Goldberg QC, son of the
late Rabbi P Selvin Goldberg, our minister from 1940 to 1974. Mr Goldberg recalled many fond memories of his father and the vibrant community spirit at Jackson's Row in the middle of the last century. The Ladies Guild spared no effort in putting on a scrumptious spread of tea and sandwiches as well as a most wonderful variety of cakes for the occasion.

           
 

 Lecture Series

Our anniversary lecture series was a great success. Around 50 to 80 people regularly attended the lectures at the School of Humanities at the University of Manchester, which were followed by a reception providing an opportunity for the audience to mingle and meet the speakers and chair people. The impetus of the series was the dwindling number of people attending religious services in churches and synagogues, if less so in mosques, suggesting that religion is less of a priority in people's lives. The critical question that this series tried to answer is whether social welfare reforms, including reforms in health and education, have made religion redundant?
 

The lectures were as follows:

Clive Lawton: "Judaism: Religion or Welfare State?"

Graham Ward: "Poverty and Piety: On the Loss of a Civic Virtue"

Imtiaz Husain: "Religion and the Welfare State: a Muslim perspective"

Michael Hoelzl: "Solidarity and Altruism: Who is Running the Extra Mile in a Secular State?"

 

There were three main messages from the series. First, it was acknowledged that religion has played a pivotal role in stimulating the State into action to improve the lot of its citizens. At a national level many of the important roles that religion had within our society have to some extent been taken on by the Government - and that is a good thing and to be commended.

There is obviously room for improvement, and thus the second message was that religion still has an important role in making the State aware of deficiencies in the system so that it can be refined and improved upon. In this way religious institutions can be rather like the "House of Lords whose function is to refine the policies of the House of Commons".

The third message is that the welfare state has not completely replaced religion and probably never will. This is because religion tackles social needs from a different angle to the Welfare state. The State's priority is look after the majority, and therefore by necessity it tends to be impersonal and be unable or unwilling to focus on the individual
or the specific needs of the smaller community. Religion focuses at a more personal level and is there to make sure welfare is relevant to the minorities that make up the majority. In a country and indeed a world which is increasingly made up of a meshwork of migrants with different cultures and backgrounds, the role of religion in meeting the needs of the minorities is becoming increasingly important.
 

You can find podcasts of the lectures on the University of Manchester website: click here.