The United Synagogue held a successful Wardens and Gabbaim Forum this month which brought together 22 wardens from 19 communities to learn from each other and United Synagogue leaders.
Rabbi Ginsbury, the Associate Director of the Centre for Rabbinic Excellence and Senior Rabbi of Hendon United Synagogue, spoke about the challenges of keeping services running smoothly and the importance of the Warden/Rabbi team working together. Leslie Allweis of Borehamwood and Elstree Yavneh, Adrian Fletcher of Southport and Zachary Segal of Woodside Park shared ideas of what works well in their communities. Our Head of Heritage, Miriam Marson, and our Judaica Co-ordinator, Bradley Mervish, spoke about looking after Sefer Torahs and our Head of Community Development, Ben Vos, and our Community Development Manager, Naomi Cohen, looked at succession planning and gave advice on bringing in new people to share the Wardens’ workload.
Adrian Fletcher told us that “it can sometimes feel like a lonely job running the services, but it was good to meet so many others with similar responsibilities and sharing our experiences” and Joe Azizollah from Potters Bar shared the morning was well-organised and worth attending.
Naomi Cohen, who organised the event, said: “Over the past two years, my role supporting Honorary Officers has mostly been focussed on Chairs but we are now looking to improve what we offer to Wardens and Gabbaim. This will be a regular event to recognise the indispensable role that they play behind the scenes at each of our communities and help them share ideas and knowledge.
18 April 2024