Festivals

Festival Services

 

High Holydays

 

We fold a full programme of services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Full details are shown on our High Holydays page.

 

Pesach, Shavuot and Succot

 

Due to the size of our community, we are only able to hold a limited range of services for Pesach and Shavuot. However we endeavour to hold a communal Seder each Pesach. We hold a service in the Succah one the Eve of Succot and this is always a pleasant occasion with a Kiddush after the service in the Succah. We also hold a service for Simchat Torah.

 

Purim

 

We also hold a Purim service on the nearest Sunday to Purim when we read the Megillah and have a party. in 2010 the children from Jewish Kent took part in a Purim play directed by well known actress Juliette Kaplan

 

Chanukah

 

Chanukah is always a colourful occasion at Chatham Memorial Synagogue. It is a tradition at Chatham that families bring their own chanukiot as can be seen in the photo below left. This means that all the children can light candles and it makes a very colourful display while everyone is having tea. This is an example of the ethos of the Chatham community, which sometimes feels more like a large family.

 

Tisha B’Av

 

Since 2003, we have held a service on the eve of Tisha B’Av, where we read from the book of Lamentations. On several occasions, Elkan Levy, the Director of the Office of Small Communities has joined us for this very moving service.