A big thank you to everyone at Gatley’s Yeshurun Synagogue for the warm welcome we were given this morning.

As part of Stockport’s inter-faith week, we local politicians were invited to a service at the synagogue, along with representatives from the police, fire brigade, Cheadle Muslim Association, local churches and faith groups and more. Fellow councillors Pam King and Paul Porgess, plus Mark Hunter MP, came along.

Whilst some elements of the service at the synagogue will be familiar to church-goers, others might seem quite different.

There are songs, prayers, readings from the Bible and a sermon.  A great deal is in Hebrew, and readings (in the case of the Books of Moses, from a scroll) are sung.  Luckily for those of us not quite up to speed with our Hebrew, the service book provides an English translation, and some commentary.

Where a church might have a choir, Yeshurun has a single  (and very talented) singer – Chazan Muller – sometimes leading the congregation and sometimes performing solo.

The sermon from Rabbi Chaim drew on the story of Abraham’s search for a wife for Isaac to talk about the value of kindness and contrasting it with charity. It wouldn’t have seemed out of place in any church or mosque, and Rabbi Chaim used the stage to good effect.

After President Elliot Cohen had read out the messages and announcements, we retired to a pretty fantastic buffet, with wine and whisky for all who wanted (which has to be a pretty effective way to get people through the doors).

The Yeshurun Hebrew Congregation was founded in Gatley in 1963, and the present synagogue built in 1968.  The Yeshurun congregation is  modern orthodox.

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