Dear Congregants and Friends
As I write this on December 31st, I am hoping and praying for a more peaceful year ahead. Our Synagogue, under the religious leadership of Daniel, con nues to provide space for quiet prayer, medita on and re ec on, a source of some solace in these troubled mes. Although recently I have not been able to get to shabbat services as often as I would have liked owing to family commitments, I am looking forward to a ending more frequently in the New Year.
Whilst this is normally a quiet me of year at the Synagogue, we have had a very busy few weeks. Last week there was much activity in preparation for the Hanukkah party which, on Thursday saw a large number of children and families attending. The party was convened jointly by NHC and NLJC and on behalf of us all I would like to say a huge thank you to Marsha and Todd as well as Hannah and James Grainger and Annie Henriques, Chair of the NLJC, who were all involved in the planning and preparation of this successful event.
Our fundraising for the renovation of the communal hall continues to occupy much of my time. I was invited to meet with Baroness Gillian Shephard and Lord Polak at the House of Lords in December. They have kindly offered to help with raising the final tranche of funds required and we will be working hard in this respect, with their help, over the coming months. As ever I am delighted when anyone provides me with ideas for fundraising and thank you to those who have already done so. You will see two fund- raising functions advertised within this newsletter. On 2nd April we welcome Professor Robert Saxton, Fay Cadywould’s cousin. He is Professor of Music at Oxford University, who will be giving a presentation at the synagogue entitled ‘Wandering and Return; Anglo Jewish aspects in my music’. More details later.
On 25th June we are delighted to host a concert by the world famous Zemel Choir who will be coming here straight after their trip to St Petersburg! The concert will take place in the Cathedral of St John’s, The Roman Catholic Cathedral across the road. Father Paul and the Cathedral staff have kindly offered us the Cathedral and Narthex for this event in order to attract a really large crowd, and this will be our major fund raising concert. Do tell your families, your friends and neighbours as we will need a lot of support to try and fill the 1000 or so seats in the Cathedral. More details to follow in due course but tickets will be available through the Theatre Royal.
So 2017 is already feeling busy! The Prinsley Family would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and all the very best for 2017.