Sixty five years in the writing

The following extract from the book¹s jacket notes will set the scene for those less familiar with the Synagogue of their choice.
Three Rabbis in a Vicarage has been described as a journey from catastrophe to community.  This skilful and entertaining narrative chronicles the survival of a group of mainly German Jewish refugees who not only found sanctuary in the United Kingdom, but also went on to become a vibrant and successful progressive Congregation.
  Author Antony Godfrey, writing about the community he grew up in, takes us from the crisis of the congregation¹s origins in 1939, to its present-day achievements as an independent Synagogue, unique within Anglo-Jewry in upholding the traditions and style of service of the German Liberale movement that was all but obliterated by the Holocaust.
  The title of the book highlights the fact that, in its 65 years, the congregation has had only three Rabbis. Each of them has offered his own distinctive style of leadership and each has contributed in his own way to the growth and development of a community which, in 1951, found its present home at 51 Belsize Square, the Vicarage that once belonged to neighbouring St Peter¹s Church.
  The story of Belsize Square Synagogue is not without its 'situations' or indeed its comedy, but it is, finally, a human story, charting the experience of people who, in an alien environment, managed to rescue their identity from destruction and to create success and fulfilment out of the greatest adversity. As such, it also carries a message of hope and inspiration to present-day refugees, whether ethnic, religious or political, who are making a similar journey. ³
And for those of us not so familiar with the author of Three Rabbis, the following, also from the sleeve notes,  adds a little close- up detail on Antony Godfrey and a curtain raiser to the narrative in store.
  As a seasoned scriptwriter, journalist and merciless satirist, author Antony Godfrey is well known by many British audiences for an unfailing comic vision.
  But as every reader will discover from the very title of this book onwards, what might seem a deceptively local story of a Synagogue in North West London, is in fact a brilliantly researched and skilfully worked study in social and communal integration.
  This subtle and compelling account of Belsize Square Synagogue also highlights a much deeper and sometimes less obvious issue, namely the profound question of how Jews in exile confront their relationship with, or the abandonment of, their Judaism.
  In rising to the challenge of such a story, Antony Godfrey draws deeply on a very wide range of writing experience. From the deadline-driven world of business and corporate communications, to the creative and no less crazy demands of TV comedy and theatre scriptwriting, Antony Godfrey now adds his mature skills as a thoughtful historian to the shifting chronology of his narrative.
  With these composite talents on the page, Antony Godfrey has lifted Three Rabbis in a Vicarage way beyond the confines of a community archive to a deeper and indeed wider historical understanding of individual and collective human character. He also opens a small but important window on the mystery and miracle of culture, crisis and continuity. "   Ed

Three Rabbis in a Vicarage.
Larsen Grove Press,
ISBN  0-9549109-0-7
372 pp hardback with illustrations, Price £20

To order author signed and other copies of the Synagogue history, please contact the office at office@synagogue.org.uk