Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation

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Reform-heritage synagogue in Blackpool, belonging to the Movement for Progressive Judaism

Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation

Logo Blackpool-reform-jewish-congregation-logo.png
Type Synagogue; registered charity; company limited by guarantee
Founded 9 November 1947
Registration ID 1148088 (Charity Commission); company 08091243
Headquarters The Synagogue, 40 Raikes Parade, Blackpool FY1 4EX
Location Blackpool, Lancashire
Registration England and Wales
Key people Rachel Davina Tax (chair)
Website https://www.brjc.co.uk/

Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation (BRJC) is a Reform-heritage synagogue in Blackpool, Lancashire, and a community of The Movement for Progressive Judaism.[1][2] Founded on 9 November 1947, it is registered charity 1148088 and company 08091243, operating from 40 Raikes Parade.[1][3] Rachel Davina Tax is listed as chair on the Charity Commission register checked on 6 November 2026.[4]

History

Kershen and Romain record 1961 as the year when the congregation, listed as Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation, formally joined the Reform movement. Their appendix distinguishes these post-1942 admission dates from congregational founding dates.[5]

JCR-UK records that the congregation began under a Liberal name and initially met in a Methodist church in Raikes Parade. It records successive Liberal, Progressive and Reform names during the 1940s and 1950s, with the present name appearing from about 1959. The directory places it at 40 Raikes Parade by 1961.[1]

Selected ministers recorded by JCR-UK
Minister Recorded service Source
Simon J. Goldberg About 1951–1959 [1]
Samuel Rodreigues-Pereira About 1976–1978 [1]
Norman Zalud From about 2000; JCR-UK cites the 2019 annual report for subsequent part-time service [1]

Its 2025 report says that members acting as lay readers conduct most services, with visiting rabbinic support. JCR-UK records the congregation in the under-50-household membership band in the 2016 national survey; that is a historical band, not a current membership count.[6][1]

Affiliation and governance

According to JCR-UK, the congregation initially belonged to the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues and moved to the organisation later called The Movement for Reform Judaism in 1961. It became a constituent community of The Movement for Progressive Judaism when the Reform movement merged into it on 1 January 2026.[1] Its 2025 report describes the charity trustees as the congregation’s council members, including its executive officers and custodial trustees, and states that all those elected at the 2024 AGM were re-elected at the 2025 AGM.[6]

Charity, officers and accounts

The congregation was incorporated on 31 May 2012 as company 08091243, a private company limited by guarantee without share capital and exempt from using “Limited” in its name.[3] It was registered with the Charity Commission on 13 July 2012.[7] Its full register address is The Synagogue, 40 Raikes Parade, Blackpool FY1 4EX.[8]

Its governing document is the memorandum and articles incorporated on 31 May 2012, amended by special resolution on 27 April 2017. The registered objects are to advance the Jewish religion, advance education and pursue such other purposes recognised as charitable by the law of England and Wales as its trustees determine.[9]

Trustees

Current trustees on the Charity Commission register
Trustee Role Appointment recorded by the Charity Commission End of trusteeship Source
Rachel Davina Tax Chair 28 April 2019 Listed as current on 6 November 2026 [4]
James Hardman Trustee 8 May 2022 Listed as current on 6 November 2026 [4]
David Whippman Trustee 31 May 2020 Listed as current on 6 November 2026 [4]
Michael Benjamin Tax Trustee 28 April 2019 Listed as current on 6 November 2026 [4]
Elizabeth Tax Trustee 26 October 2012 Listed as current on 6 November 2026 [4]
Martin Block Trustee 26 October 2012 Listed as current on 6 November 2026 [4]
Sara Rebekah Tax Trustee 26 October 2012 Listed as current on 6 November 2026 [4]
Alan Charles Martin Cantor Trustee 11 July 2012 Listed as current on 6 November 2026 [4]

Company directors

The register dates above concern trusteeships. Companies House records the separate company appointments and resignations below. In particular, the Charity Commission still lists David Whippman as a trustee, while Companies House records his resignation as a director on 18 May 2026.[4][10]

Current and former company officers recorded by Companies House
Officer Office Appointment Resignation Status on 6 November 2026 Source
Martin Daniel Block Director 25 October 2012 — Active [10]
Alan Charles Martin Cantor Director 31 May 2012 — Active [10]
James Hardman Director 1 January 2026 — Active [10]
Michael Benjamin Tax Director 28 April 2019 — Active [10]
Nancy Elizabeth Tax Director 25 October 2012 — Active [10]
Rachel Davina Tax Director 28 April 2019 — Active [10]
Sara Rebekah Tax Director 25 October 2012 — Active [10]
Estelle Rosaline Ballan Director 25 October 2012 10 October 2019 Resigned [10]
Leigh-Anne Bunting Director 28 April 2019 31 May 2020 Resigned [10]
Gillian Ruth Cantor Director 25 October 2012 19 April 2026 Resigned [10]
Sandra Cohen Director 22 April 2015 28 April 2017 Resigned [10]
Annie Desser Director 28 April 2017 25 April 2019 Resigned [10]
Jason Ross Douglas Director 23 April 2014 28 April 2019 Resigned [10]
Shirley Carole Douglas Director 25 October 2012 24 November 2018 Resigned [10]
Leslie Firth Director 31 May 2012 31 March 2025 Resigned [10]
Ilayne Maxine Jones Director 25 October 2012 22 April 2015 Resigned [10]
Avril Mannino Director 29 April 2013 19 April 2026 Resigned [10]
Angela Michelle Peake Director 23 April 2014 23 April 2014 Resigned [10]
Angela Michelle Peake Director 23 April 2014 7 May 2023 Resigned [10]
Maxine Alyson Perkins Director 25 October 2012 28 April 2017 Resigned [10]
Gerald Stoll Director 25 October 2012 23 April 2014 Resigned [10]
Leon David Tax Director 31 May 2012 29 June 2013 Resigned [10]
Rachel Davina Tax Director 25 October 2012 28 April 2017 Resigned [10]
David Whippman Director 31 May 2020 18 May 2026 Resigned [10]

Accounts

The published accounts separate the main income and expenditure account from a burial account. The register’s total income and expenditure include both; the table below uses those combined totals, not the main account alone.[6][11]

Recent accounts (£; combined main and burial accounts)
Year ended 31 December Income Expenditure Net assets / reserves Source
2024 32,478 40,905 137,171 [6]
2025 38,046 52,134 123,083 [6]

Relations with Israel

The November 2020 issue of the congregation’s newsletter, Migdal, named Magen David Adom and Technion University in Haifa as beneficiaries of that year’s Kol Nidre appeal, alongside Trinity Hospice Blackpool.[12] In February 2021 the newsletter reported donations to Magen David Adom UK, Technion UK and Trinity Hospice, and printed an acknowledgement from Magen David Adom saying the donation would support medical supplies and equipment. The reported amounts are set out below.[13]

Appeal donations reported in Migdal, February 2021
Recipient Amount reported Source
Magen David Adom UK £300 [13]
Technion UK £300 [13]
Trinity Hospice £300 [13]

The August 2021 issue announced that its next Kol Nidre appeal would be divided between “Hadassa hospital” and a UK multiple-sclerosis charity. It did not identify a hospital campus or report the eventual sum donated.[14] The same issue reproduced an article by Yvette Alt Miller, “The Flag of Israel: 7 Facts”, with Israeli-flag imagery.[14]

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 David Shulman, Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation, JCR-UK, 13 August 2026, accessed 6 November 2026.
  2. ↑ The Movement for Progressive Judaism, Find a Community, The Movement for Progressive Judaism, accessed 6 November 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Companies House, Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation (08091243), Find and update company information, accessed 6 November 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Charity Commission for England and Wales, Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation: trustees, Register of Charities, accessed 6 November 2026.
  5. ↑ Anne J. Kershen and Jonathan A. Romain, Tradition and Change: A History of Reform Judaism in Britain, 1840–1995, London: Vallentine Mitchell, 1995, pp. 358–359.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation, Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025, Annual report and accounts, January 2026, pp. 2, 4, 6–10, accessed 6 November 2026.
  7. ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation: governance, Register of Charities, accessed 6 November 2026.
  8. ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation: contact information, Register of Charities, accessed 6 November 2026.
  9. ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation: governing document, Register of Charities, accessed 6 November 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 10.18 10.19 10.20 10.21 10.22 10.23 10.24 Companies House, Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation (08091243): officers, Find and update company information, accessed 6 November 2026.
  11. ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation: charity overview, Register of Charities, accessed 6 November 2026.
  12. ↑ Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation, Migdal, Migdal, November 2020, p. 12; Wayback capture, 30 November 2021, accessed 6 November 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation, Migdal, Migdal, February 2021, p. 17; Wayback capture, 30 November 2021, accessed 6 November 2026.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation, Migdal, Migdal, August 2021, inside front cover and pp. 16–17; Wayback capture, 20 January 2026, accessed 6 November 2026.
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