Chairman & Council

Wimbledon & District Synagogue is a charitable trust, registered with the Charity Commision (Registered Charity No. 1040712) a constituent of the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain and has a constitution a current copy of which can be accessed through the member only pages on this part of the web site.

 

Council, Chairman and Officers

 

Each year at the Synagogue Annual General Meeting (usually held in November), the members present elect a Council of up to 16 members who take responsibility for a whole variety of roles on behalf of the membership. When there are fewer than 16 candidates there is no election.

 

The Council then elects its officers, being Chairman / woman, secretary, and treasurer and senior warden. Any member of the community is welcome to attend council to observe. Council generally meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 8pm. 

 

 

• Currently our Chairman is Stephen Russ.
• Our Senior Warden is Stella Mason.
• Other council members and officers are:
• Ruth Magnus* Vice Chairman
• Julian Samuels* Vice President JJBS Governor
• Brian Sheridan* Vice President
• Stephen Braham* Hon. Treasurer
• Jennifer Ison* Hon. Secretary
• Stella Mason* Senior Warden JJBS Governor
• Simon Danciger
• Raymond Hart
• David Kelin
• Caroline Silver Lewis
• Colin Mendelovitz
• Benjamin Nathan
• Orli Rhodes
• Melvyn Simonson
• Josephine Urban
• David Zell

 

* denotes members of the Executive

 

We also have two Honorary Vice Presidents, Julian Samuels and Brian Sheridan  who sit on Council and the Executive.

 

The Council is formed into six working groups which are as follows:

Membership Services

Operations and Infrastructure

Education

Finance

Religious Affairs

External Liaison

The following briefly describes the responsibilities and roles involved in each of the working groups.

 

 

• Membership Services is perhaps the most diverse working group and includes responsibilities for new members, social functions, youth, pastoral care, member communications and also has a direct relationship with the marketing of the synagogue which in turn includes, lettings, PR, web site, research and fundraising.

• Operations and Infrastructure includes house and the Synagogue built infrastructure, catering and hospitality, and security.

• Education includes Cheder, youth education. adult education, and education of the wider community (which includes school visits).

• Finance includes treasurer, accounts, and subscriptions.

• External liaison involves relations with Israel, the Council for Christians and Jews, Movement for Reform Judaism, JJBS (the Joint Jewish Burial Society), Social Action, the local community around the Synagogue and other religious communities.

• Religious affairs includes the ritual group responsible for the services and the choir, the wardens and the rabbis.

 

Each of these working groups is led by a Council member, but can (and ideally should) involve community members who are both Council and non Council members. Anyone can take on a portfolio within the working group, take on part responsibility, or an interim role.

 

The working groups are, of course, subordinate to the elected Council. Council members may be involved in many of the working groups and do not have to lead any of them, but each Council member must be a member of at least one working group unless they have the express agreement of the Council not to be an active working group participant or they have a role / responsibility that falls outside of these working groups (e.g. Council Chairman).

 

The working groups produce reports to Council that minute each of their meetings whenever they take place and capture the above mentioned progress on actions and activities.

 

Copies of all Council meeting minutes and the reports of the working groups are available for inspection by any member at the office and library or on application to the secretary, who you can email by clicking here.