The first conference to discuss the contribution to Jewish thought and practice by a leading progressive Rabbi, John Rayner CBE, has been held nearly six years after his death in 2005. 

The ‘Day of Reflection and Celebration’ took place on Monday 4^th July at The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St. John’s Wood, where Rabbi Rayner served for over 30 years.

Sponsored by The LJS, Leo Baeck College and Liberal Judaism and by the generosity of donors who had known Rabbi Rayner as congregants, students, colleagues and friends, the conference began with a lecture by the outgoing Principal of Leo Baeck College, Rabbi Professor Marc Saperstein, on the sermons of Rabbi Rayner - whose texts he said “are inspiring to read decades after they were delivered” - in a lecture entitled ‘The Sermon as a Response to Historical Events’.   Professor Lord Harries of Pentregarth, Bishop of Oxford from 1987-2006, spoke about Rabbi Rayner’s contribution to interfaith work in a lecture entitled ‘The Integrity of John Rayner and Jewish Christian Relations’. Read more