Chatham Memorial Synagogue - working in partnership

Since 2004, the Medway commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day has been organised jointly by Medway Council, Chatham Memorial Synagogue, Rochester Cathedral and the Medway Inter-Faith Action Forum. These four organisations are committed to ensuring that the Holocaust and other human atrocities are never forgotten.

We in Medway support the work of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

NATIONAL HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2008

Organised in partnership with Medway Council, Rochester Cathedral and Medway Inter-Faith Action Forum, a commemorative event for Holocaust Memorial Day was held at Rochester Cathedral on Sunday 27 January 2008. the event was attended by over 200 people.

The event, based on the 2008 theme “Imagine... remember, reflect, react,  involved students from local schools and the Rochester Cathedral Special Choir.

The Dean of Rochester in his welcome emphasised the importance of the cooperation between the cathedral, the local authority, the inter-faith group and the synagogue as well as the importance of involving young people. Central to the programme of poetry, readings and drama were the very moving recollections of three young people who had been on educational visits to Auschwitz.

There were memorial prayers by Hazel Bishop of Kent Liberal Jewish community, Jon Weiner of Chatham Memorial Synagogue and Shaffiq Din, a local Imam, representing Medway Inter Faith action. The event concluded with the Cathedral Special Choir singing the Aaronic Blessing.

An exhibition of work by students from local schools was on display at the cathedral to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day

NATIONAL HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2007

Organised in partnership with Medway Council, Rochester Cathedral and Medway Inter-Faith Action Forum, a commemorative event for Holocaust Memorial Day was held at the Chapter School, Strood on Saturday 27 January 2007 at 7pm.

The programme of poetry, readings, drama and dance was produced by members of the teaching staff and performed most movingly by a group of students. There were also audio-visual presentations and an exhibition of art and written work.

NATIONAL HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2006

Organised in partnership with Medway Council, Rochester Cathedral and Medway Inter-Faith Action Forum, a service for Holocaust Memorial Day was held at the synagogue on Friday 27 January at 7pm. Speakers included the Mayor of Medway and the Bishop of Tonbridge. There was a Kiddush after the service.

The Mayor read the Holocaust Memorial Day - Medway Statement of Commitment which has been signed by the Mayor of Medway, the Dean of Rochester Cathedral and the chairmen of Chatham memorial Synagogue and medway Inter-Faith Action Forum. Click here to see a copy of the signed statement.

NATIONAL HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2005

The Holocaust Memorial Event took place at the Corn Exchange, Rochester on Thursday 27 January 2005. This event was jointly organised by representatives of Chatham Memorial Synagogue, Medway Council, Medway Inter Faith Action forum, Rochester Cathedral and the Royal School of Military Engineering. As this year’s event fell on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the theme was liberation. Introduced by Judith Armitt, chief executive of Medway Council, the event included recollections of the Holocaust and of peace-keeping in Bosnia. There was also a section entitled “the Hope of Liberation” by Canon Jonathan Meyrick of Rochester Cathedral. Music was provided by the Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers - a full report is available on the Jewish Kent Web Site.

NATIONAL HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2004

An emotional Holocaust Memoral Day event was held in Rochester Cathedral for the first time with a congregation of nearly 200 people including the Mayor of Medway.

The event included psalms by the Cathedral Special Choir and music by Bloch, Bruch and John Williams. Synagogue members Jon Weiner and Gabriel Lancaster read passages from the Torah and two synagogue members (Inge Hack and Edith Bown) who came to England on the Kindertransport, losing their families in the Holocaust, read selected readings relating to the Holocaust. There were also stories of other attrocities, namely Armenian Christian and Iraqi kurd, representing the many terrible acts of attrocity and genocide which have occured in recent times. After the lighting of memorial candles, the event ended with a statement of hope from the leaders of various religious traditions in Medway endorsed by the the Bishop of Rochester after which the choir sang the Aaronic Blessing.

This was an excellent example of the synagogue working together with the cathedral and and the local Inter Faith action forum in organising what was a well-attended and successful event. Plans are now under way for a joint event for 2005.

NATIONAL HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2003

A Holocaust Memorial Service was held at the Synagogue on Sunday 26 January 2003, the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day. The service was conducted by Jon Weiner, David Herling and Gabriel Lancaster. The service as well as honouring the memory of the six million victims of the Nazi Holocaust provided an opportunity for the unveiling and dedication of a beautiful new Holocaust Memorial Window. The window was originally designed by Hilary Halpern and the design was developed by Sharif Amin who ceated the windowand crafted the stained glass. The 24ft-long window is positioned in the roof of the Synagogue and features the names of 22 of the death camps. A circle of clear glass is surrounded by rays of coloured glass which fade from yellow to orange and red, then into purple and black. Symbols of barbed wire, watchtowers, chimneys and the Star of David are all included in the design. According to Hilary Halpern, the intention was to explode light from the centre and radiate it out to black, suggesting the horror of the event but the light in the centre is also intended to be a ray of hope.

The new window, which was largely funded by Medway Council, was unveiled by the Mayor of Medway Cllr. Ted baker. The service was also attended by the Mayoress, the Chief Executive of Medway Council, the Leader of the council, the Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, the acting Dean of Rochester Cathedral, the treasurer of the Board of Deputies and representatives of other faith communities.
At the start of the service, a memorial candle was lit by a member of the community who had herself lost members of her family in the Holocaust. Later in the service, her husband recited the Mourners’ Kaddish for all of the Holocaust victims. Another member of the community who escaped to Britain on the Kindertransport read a letter she received after the war from a non-Jewish German lady who at great risk to herself had helped look after the reader’s parents until they were transported.