New London Synagogue
Modern Thinking, Traditional Prayers, a Place for Modern Jews in the heart of London
New London Synagogue (NLS) on Abbey Road in St Johns Wood, was founded sixty years ago to harmonise intellectual and spiritual approaches to Jewish life and practice. Today we’re a friendly and welcoming community with more than 1,000 members.
We are the founding synagogue of Masorti Judaism in the UK – affiliated to the Conservative Movement in North America – a denomination with more than a million members worldwide.
Services are held in our beautiful, Grade II-listed sanctuary which sits alongside our hall, classrooms and facilities.
Our services are traditional – mostly in Hebrew and with a full Torah service. Our superb Cantorial guides lead musical, expert and participative services with plenty of scope for contributions from members. We’re a community that loves to sing.
We’re also a community that loves to learn. Our unique intellectual tradition remains rooted in what our founder rabbi, Dr Louis Jacobs z’l, famously defined as the “Quest” an ongoing search for truth and understanding.
In 2006, Rabbi Jacobs was voted ‘the greatest British Jew’ in the British community’s 350-year history. Today, in their sermons, writing and teaching our rabbis remain committed to that Quest:
Rabbi Jeremy Gordon grew up at New London. After studying Law at Cambridge and a brief career in television production, he was ordained in 2004 and re-united with this community as our Rabbi in 2008. He’s the author of several books and regularly appears in print and media.
Rabbi Natasha Mann joined New London Synagogue as a teenager, pursuing a relationship with Judaism from a mixed religious and ethnic heritage. She is the first openly queer rabbi in a traditional Jewish movement in Europe. Rabbi Natasha joined the rabbinic team at NLS in 2019.
NLS is a fully egalitarian community – with men and women taking an equal role in our services. We offer both mixed and separate seating options. Our community draws strength from all ages, singles, couples and multi-generational families. It is ethnically diverse and proudly inclusive (offering same-sex marriage ever since it was first legalised in 2014). We are committed to welcoming all, regardless of sexuality, gender and race and are honoured to host an annual LGBTQ+ Pride Shabbat. Non-Jewish partners or individuals are welcome in our community as Friends.
Click around our website for more information on our [welcome to all], [lifecycle support], [youth programme], [prayer] and more.
If you are interested in joining us for services, please contact office@newlondon.org.uk
If you are interested in joining us as members, please contact rabbi.jeremy@newlondon.org.uk
And we look forward to welcoming you to our very community.
