On moving to Milton Keynes in 1977 Malcolm and Maureen Pruskin found that there was no established Jewish community. Kitty Morris, Maureen's mother, sent a letter to the Jewish Chronicle inviting anyone in the area interested in forming a Reform Synagogue community to get in touch. There was a huge amount of interest. The first service, led by Rabbi Larry Tabick, was held on 4th March 1978. Guests included representatives from the parent organisation, The Reform Synagogues of Great Britain and afterwards Milton Keynes Reform Synagogue was up and running.
Initially services and social events were held in members’ homes but, as numbers increased, we began using hired halls for events. We were fortunate in being given use of one of the rescued Czechoslovakian scrolls for our services. After World War 2 about 1500 Torah scrolls, formerly belonging to destroyed Jewish communities, were brought to London. Those that were still usable were distributed for use in small communities.
In due course our name was changed to Milton Keynes and District Reform Synagogue to reflect the growing membership of people from surrounding areas like Leighton Buzzard, Northampton and Bedford.
In 1988 Milton Keynes Council allowed us priority use of Tinkers Bridge small meeting place where we held regular services and social events for about 10 years. We also hired rooms at the Open University for our children’s Jewish education classes on Sunday mornings. It was during that time that a small satellite community under our jurisdiction was founded in Kettering.
It was also about this time that members of the synagogue became involved in interfaith matters, thereby connecting the Jewish community with the wider community of Milton Keynes. To this day the synagogue remains a valued and active member of the rich faith life of the city, with representatives on the Council of Faiths and several other community organisations.
In November 1990 we appointed Rabbi William Wolff as our community rabbi. He was the first rabbi to live in Milton Keynes and was with us for three years. When he moved to Brighton the decision was made to concentrate on raising money for our own building so that not only would all our events be held under the same roof, but we would have our own Synagogue home. After a brief move to Shenley Brook End Meeting Place that dream became a reality.
Under the leadership of the chairman Len Sharpstone a plot of land was agreed under the reserve sites provision, and two years later, on Wednesday 15th May 2002, a 60 tonne crane and eight lorries carrying the building sections arrived at the site. By the end of the day the Synagogue building had taken shape and then on Saturday 17th August 2002 we held the first service, with the Bar Mitzvah of Jonathon Dryer.
The Dedication service of the new building on Sunday 6th April 2003 was attended by many invited guests from the local community. In 2006 we appointed a part time rabbi, Shulamit Ambalu. Shulamit stayed with us for ten years before moving on to further her career elsewhere.
It was also in 2006 that the chairman Sarah Friedman was asked by the council members to produce some Ark designs. At the AGM in 2007 the community chose which one they wanted and the new Ark with its ‘Tree of Life’ decoration was installed ready for Rosh Hashanah 2008. The matching bimah and lectern in memory of Len Sharpstone were added in time for the 30th anniversary celebration in November 2008.
