
Shabbat service
31 May 2014 @ 11:15 am - 12:30 pm
Each Saturday morning at 11.15am, this week led by Vince Daly, Lay Leader
As a Liberal congregation, men and women sit together and all members enjoy equal participation in services.
We read from the standard Liberal Judaism service prayer book, the Siddur Lev Chadash or ‘New Heart’ prayer book. It combines the core traditional prayers with contemporary readings, poems and meditations from a variety of Jewish sources. Uniquely it also uses gender-neutral language, reflecting our egalitarian approach to prayer. We also use many transliterated prayer sheets which are especially useful for those whose Hebrew is not fluent.
Music plays an important role in our services. Singing is regularly enhanced by our volunteer choir, led by our director of music, though the whole congregation is encouraged to join in. Service styles vary – our family services, for example, can be very lively, whereas our Friday nights are often quieter and more reflective. Our members participate in all parts of the service, including Torah blessings, haftorah readings and more. We also welcome lay readers from the congregation to lead services from time to time, although most services are taken by our rabbi.