{{short description|Reform synagogue in Berkshire, England}} {{EngvarB|date=September 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Infobox religious building | name = Maidenhead Synagogue | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Maidenhead Synagogue.jpg | image_upright = 1.4 | alt = | caption = Interior of the synagogue library, in 2004 | religious_affiliation = Reform Judaism | tradition = | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = | festival = <!-- or |festivals= --> | organisational_status = Synagogue<!-- or |organizational_status= --> | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = Rabbi René Pfertzel<ref name="Inducted">{{Cite web |date=20 November 2024 |title=Rabbi René Pfertzel inducted by Maidenhead Synagogue |url=https://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/rabbi-rene-pfertzel-inducted-by-maidenhead-synagogue/ |access-date=22 November 2024 |website=Movement for Reform Judaism}}</ref> | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | functional_status = Active | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = Grenfell Lodge, Ray Park Road, in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England SL6 8QX | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = United Kingdom | map_type = England south | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location of the synagogue in southern England | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = {{coord|51.526111|-0.70735|region:GB_type:landmark|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = | architecture_type = | architecture_style = | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | established = 1953 {{small|(as a congregation)}} | groundbreaking = | year_completed = {{ubl|1953 {{small|(Boyn Hill)}}|2001 {{small|(Ray Park)}}}} | construction_cost = | date_demolished = <!-- or |date_destroyed= --> | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = | elevation_m = <!-- or |elevation_ft= --> | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = {{url|maidenheadsynagogue.org.uk}} | module = <!-- for embedding other infobox templates --> | footnotes = }} The '''Maidenhead Synagogue''' is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at Grenfell Lodge, Ray Park Road, in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, in the United Kingdom. It serves Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and surrounding districts west of London in the Thames Valley area.<ref name = "Website">{{cite web |url=https://maidenheadsynagogue.org.uk |title=Welcome to Maidenhead Synagogue |website=Maidenhead Synagogue |access-date=3 April 2024}}{{self-published-inline|date=May 2024}}</ref>
==History== Maidenhead Synagogue originated during World War II when many Jewish families were evacuated to the area from London.<ref name = "JCR">{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/Community/maid/index.htm |title=Maidenhead Synagogue |work=Jewish Communities and Records – UK |publisher=JewishGen and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain |date=10 September 2023 |access-date=22 November 2024}}</ref> It was initially a community with no dedicated building, meeting for prayer in private houses and served by a volunteer rabbi and lay readers. At the war's end, some of the congregation stayed in the area and established a permanent Jewish community, acquiring a house for use as a dedicated synagogue building in 1953.<ref name = "Website" />
The synagogue became part of the Reform Movement in 1960,<ref name="JC2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/the-town-on-the-front-line-of-the-battle-for-survival-xaainawv |title=The town on the front line of the battle for survival |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=24 November 2016 |access-date=22 November 2024}}</ref> so receiving the services of student rabbis of the Leo Baeck College, among them Jonathan Romain who was appointed as the synagogue's first full-time rabbi in 1980<ref name = "Website" /> and contunued in the role until 2024.<ref name="Inducted"/> The synagogue moved to larger premises in 2001<ref name = "Website" /> and the congregation had 1831 members in 2017.<ref name="Times">{{Cite web |url=https://www.reformjudaism.org.uk/maidenhead-synagogue-times/|title=Maidenhead Synagogue in The Times |date=11 August 2017 |publisher=Movement for Reform Judaism |publication-date=11 August 2017 |access-date=3 April 2024}}</ref> An extension to the synagogue, including a new community centre, was opened in 2017.
==Facilities== In addition to being a centre for worship, the synagogue's facilities include a library, a Judaica and kosher shop, a nursery school, a religion school, youth clubs, adult education classes, conversion classes, social activities for adults and children, a café, and a community care scheme.<ref name = "Website" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://synagogues.reformjudaism.org.uk/details/maidenhead-synagogue.html |title=Synagogue Directory |publisher= Movement for Reform Judaism|accessdate=22 August 2020|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830100322/http://synagogues.reformjudaism.org.uk/details/maidenhead-synagogue.html |archivedate=30 August 2011 }}</ref>
For members unable to travel to the synagogue, Shabbat evening and Shabbat morning services are streamed live via the internet.<ref name="Website" />
All members receive by post the synagogue's monthly community magazine, ''Hadashot'' (חדשות).<ref>{{cite web |title=Hadashot |accessdate=3 May 2020 |work=Maidenhead Synagogue |url=http://www.maidenheadsynagogue.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=25&Itemid=55 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141230204224/http://www.maidenheadsynagogue.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=25&Itemid=55 |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 December 2014 }}{{self-published-inline|date=May 2024}}</ref>
== See also == {{stack|{{portal|England|Judaism}}}} * History of the Jews in England * List of Jewish communities in the United Kingdom * List of synagogues in the United Kingdom
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.maidenheadsynagogue.org.uk/ Official website] *[http://www.reformjudaism.org.uk The Movement for Reform Judaism]
{{Reform Judaism in the United Kingdom}} {{Synagogues in the United Kingdom}}
Category:1953 establishments in England Category:21st-century synagogues in the United Kingdom Category:Jewish organizations established in 1953 Category:Places of worship in Maidenhead Category:Reform synagogues in the United Kingdom Category:Religion in Berkshire Category:Synagogues in England