South Bucks Jewish Community
Liberal-heritage Jewish congregation around Amersham, Buckinghamshire
| South Bucks Jewish Community
| |
|---|---|
| Logo | 
|
| Type | Synagogue; registered charity (unincorporated) |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Registration ID | 1098078 (Charity Commission) |
| Headquarters | PO Box 826, Amersham HP6 5ZZ (Path to Progressive Judaism listing) |
| Location | Amersham, Buckinghamshire |
| Registration | England and Wales |
| Website | https://www.sbjc.org.uk/ |
South Bucks Jewish Community (SBJC) is a Liberal-heritage congregation based around Amersham in Buckinghamshire, drawing members from south Buckinghamshire and west Hertfordshire.[1] It is registered charity 1098078 and describes itself as a member of Liberal Judaism.[1][2] It was known as South Bucks Liberal Jewish Community until about 1992.[3]
History
Lawrence Rigal and Rosita Rosenberg’s history of Liberal Judaism describes South Bucks as having begun in 1977 as a Buckinghamshire area group of the Northwood congregation (now The Ark Synagogue) and as having become an independent congregation in 1990.[4] JCR-UK gives “about 1986” as the formation date (the congregation was first listed in the Jewish Year Book in 1987) and notes the earlier 1970s New Bucks Group centred on Little Chalfont, which was affiliated to the Northwood and Pinner synagogue.[3] The sources therefore give 1977, about 1986 and 1990 for different stages, which this page does not merge into one founding date. JCR-UK dates the congregation’s constitution to 29 November 1989, amended on 24 June 1990.[3]
JCR-UK records services at Chesham High School, then (from about 1992) the Friends Meeting House in Whielden Street, Amersham, and in 2001 Zion Hall, Red Lion Street. Its rabbis are listed as Harry Martin Jacobi (about 1990 to about 1995, with a note that Year Book entries show him as minister to about 2002), Rachel Benjamin (about 2006 to December 2015, and temporarily from 1 April to September 2020), Charley Baginsky (May 2016 to 1 April 2020) and Neil Janes (from November 2020).[3] The congregation’s website says Rabbi Neil Janes joined in November 2020 after about 14 years as a progressive congregational rabbi.[5]
| Year | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 29 members (25 households) | National survey, via [3] |
| 1996 | 37 members (households) | National survey, via [3] |
| 2010 | 50–99 households | Board of Deputies/JPR survey, via [3] |
| 2011–2016 | 187 (2011), 194 (2012), 193 plus 11 friends (2013), 207 plus 9 friends (2014), 223 (2015), 205 (2016) | Congregation’s annual reports, via [3] |
| Undated (website) | “some 270 adults and children” | [1] |
On 26 October 2023 Rabbi Neil Janes read, as Rabbi of South Bucks Jewish Community, a joint interfaith statement by faith leaders in Buckinghamshire given at The Oculus, Aylesbury, which the congregation’s website links. The statement condemned hate crimes against Jewish, Muslim and Hindu communities, said the signatories shared “our prayers for an ultimate end to war” and “compassion with” and prayer “for all who are caught up in this horror”, and did not name Israel or Gaza.[6]
Affiliation and governance
JCR-UK describes SBJC as a constituent community of Liberal Judaism (formerly the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues) and as a member community of the Jewish Small Communities Network.[3] The congregation’s website, copyright 2023, still describes it as “a member of Liberal Judaism”.[1] JCR-UK’s entry does not state whether SBJC has joined the Movement for Progressive Judaism, which was formed on 1 January 2026 by the union of Liberal Judaism and the Movement for Reform Judaism,[7] and Path to Progressive Judaism’s joint community list includes SBJC.[8]
Charity, officers and accounts
The charity is registered with the Charity Commission as South Bucks Jewish Community, number 1098078. The register records standard registration on 18 June 2003.[2] Other names recorded: SBJC (working name).
The register address is South Bucks Jewish Community, PO Box 826, AMERSHAM, HP6 5ZZ.[9] The governing document is Constitution adopted 29 november 1989 as amended 24 june 1990 as amended by resolution dated 30 January 2005 as amended by resolution dated 03 February 2013 as amended by resolution dated 25 January 2015 as amended by resolution dated 07 February 2021 as amended by resolution dated 13 February 2022 more.[10] Its registered objects are: “The objects of the congregation shall be the advancement of Liberal Judaism, in particular but not exclusively by the provision and maintenance of facilities for public worship and the provision of classes in Hebrew and religion.”[10]
JCR-UK gives the charity’s registration as 18 June 2001, with a constitution dated 29 November 1989 as amended 24 June 1990, whereas the register records standard registration on 18 June 2003.[3][2]
Trustees
The register states that there is no trustee information available for this charity on 11 November 2026.[11]
Accounts
For the financial year ended 31 August 2025 the register records total income of £112,198 and total expenditure of £90,781, with 15 volunteers.[12]
| Financial year end | Total gross income | Total expenditure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 August 2021 | £59.90k | £55.61k | [13] |
| 31 August 2022 | £72.18k | £61.69k | [13] |
| 31 August 2023 | £87.42k | £69.49k | [13] |
| 31 August 2024 | £102.35k | £83.28k | [13] |
| 31 August 2025 | £112.20k | £90.78k | [13] |
See also
- Liberal Judaism (UK)
- The Movement for Progressive Judaism
- The Ark Synagogue (Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue)
- Synagogues in the United Kingdom
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 South Bucks Jewish Community, Welcome to SBJC, South Bucks Jewish Community, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Charity Commission for England and Wales, South Bucks Jewish Community: governance, Register of Charities, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 David Shulman, South Bucks (Liberal) Jewish Community, Amersham & Chesham, Chiltern, Buckinghamshire, England, JCR-UK, amended 3 July 2025, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Lawrence Rigal and Rosita Rosenberg, Liberal Judaism: The First Hundred Years, London: Liberal Judaism / Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues, 2004, p. 155.
- ↑ South Bucks Jewish Community, Meet the Rabbi, South Bucks Jewish Community, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Faith leaders in Buckinghamshire, Joint Interfaith Statement by Faith Leaders in Buckinghamshire, 26 October 2023 (PDF hosted on sbjc.org.uk), South Bucks Jewish Community website, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ The Movement for Progressive Judaism, Applications open for candidates for MPJ Chair of Trustees, The Movement for Progressive Judaism, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Path to Progressive Judaism, Community Finder: view by list, Path to Progressive Judaism, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, South Bucks Jewish Community: contact information, Register of Charities, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Charity Commission for England and Wales, South Bucks Jewish Community: governing document, Register of Charities, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, South Bucks Jewish Community: trustees, Register of Charities, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, South Bucks Jewish Community: overview, Register of Charities, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Charity Commission for England and Wales, South Bucks Jewish Community: financial history, Register of Charities, accessed 11 November 2026.