Henry Magrill was in the Chair and he welcomed members to the meeting.

The Chairman said that our Shavuot Services once again included graduates from our "Maftir Master Class" who were called up for an aliyah and read their own portion from the Torah. Our warmest congratulations to them and their tutor, Lester Kershenbaum. We look forward to this wonderful achievement being repeated in a few weeks time.

The summer barbecue was again a great success and this year's event will be advertised shortly.

Our Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Services were as inspiring as they have ever been. Our thanks to Chazan Jeremy Lawson, ably supported by our choir. Rabbi Butler delivered a series of uplifting sermons and we were very pleased that for the first time, two of our own members, Lester Kershenbaum and Michael Scheuer assisted in the Services.

At Simchat Torah we were pleased to honour Melvyn Lux as Chatan Torah and Simon Tarsh as Chatan Bereshit. Simon had undertaken the difficult role of Financial Representative for the preceding year, and we are very happy to welcome Melvyn as the new Warden this year.

We must thank Lester for the superb manner in which he leyns and for his continuing and successful efforts to keep the weekday morning minyan going. The parties arranged for Succot, Simchat Torah and Purim were well attended and it was a particular pleasure to see so many children at the last two events.

We have been pleased to witness the celebration of three Bar Mitzvahs recently. Robert Freudenthal, Simon Fisher and Jacob Steinberg all showed considerable maturity in the manner in which they sang their portions and we send our warmest congratulations to them and their families.

Unfortunately, recent attendances on Shabbat have declined somewhat and Friday and Shabbat evenings have been very difficult. The Chairman urged everyone to make an effort to help maintain these core minyanim. It is particularly frustrating because everyone will agree that the recent months of hard work and rehearsals put in by Jeremy Lawson and the choir have produced tremendous results and we can justifiably claim to have one of the best, if not THE best chazan/choir combinations in London.

We have continued the practice of communal Friday night Shabbat dinners which have been well supported. These have been augmented by the Friday night student dinners which we are trying to offer at least once a term. We are supporting a group of students at Imperial who have organised a number of Shabbatonim themselves and also the sell-out concert by students from the Royal College of Music which was held in the Golda Cohen Room just after Purim and was a most wonderful evening.

Thanks to Esther Fieldgrass and her team of helpers who organised the Sunday Brunches.

In addition we have a thriving cheder, an enthusiastic Friendship Club, a devoted Cares committee, together with our regular yoga group. The congregation is indebted to all those members of the community who give their time in organising, running and supporting these and other activities which take place, particularly Patricia Fisher - Friendship Club, Rona Steinberg, Howard Morris and Louise Mirwitch - Cheder, Raymond Lyons - Community Development, Natalie Cutler - Cares Committee. Sadly we recently lost one of our most dedicated members, Doris Tauber and she will be sadly missed.

On a happier note, it was with great pride that we learned that one of our most distinguished members, Lord Woolf, was recently appointed Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and the Chairman wrote to him to extend our congratulations.

All these activities, together with dealing with general administration and accounts give a tremendous amount of work to Susan Hayman and the Chairman thanked her for her help. Thanks also to Arnold Chazen for his untiring efforts during our Services. Our security staff continue to exercise their vigilance for which we are grateful and we are pleased that Dori Schmetterling has recently taken on the job of overseeing our security arrangements.

No Chairman's report would be complete without expressing our thanks to Mr. John Bodie for his efforts, not only in supervising all our property matters but in ensuring that we are able to meet our financial commitments through his fundraising efforts.

As you know this year we have sought to achieve a greater involvement of our ladies in the leadership of the congregation by the creation of an Executive Committee which has comprised the Honorary Officers with Edwina Brown, Rona Steinberg and David Fisher all of whom have given much support and assistance. The Chairman thanked those members of the Board of Management who accepted responsibility for our various activities.

Rabbi and Mrs. Butler will be leaving the community shortly. We wish Rabbi Butler success in his legal studies and in his part-time ministerial position at Willesden and Cricklewood shul.

As far as the appointment of a new Rabbi is concerned, the Selection Committee set up by the Board of Management has interviewed a number of candidates and it is anticipated that the committee will be able to recommend a suitable candidate to the Board of Management at its next meeting and if the Board approves the recommendation, an EGM of members will be called to ratify the appointment.

Harold Waterman thanked the Chairman for a very informative report. He did not think it a good idea to rush to find a new Rabbi in time for the High Holy Days. He said we should search for a strong minister who would pull the community together. He said the new Rabbi had to have charisma. If the new Minister was not able to be in place for the High Holy Days we could certainly invite guest preachers.

Michael Scheuer said that he felt for the first time with our chazan and choir, we could easily become the flagship of the U.S.

Wendy Myersmith thanked Martin Lewin and Henry Magrill very much for all the extremely hard work they both undertook for the Synagogue and its members.

Denise Lux said it was very good to encourage visitors, but she felt our first priority was to our members and we should have more of a community spirit in our shul. Whilst having visitors was one way to fill the Synagogue, it falls to the community to make a welcoming atmosphere.

The Chairman's report was proposed by Dori Schmetterling and seconded by David Fisher.

Jeremy Ross, the Headmaster stated that he will be leaving the cheder after three years. He said it had been a great pleasure to have seen the development of the cheder which was now in a much stronger position. He said he would like to see a post Bar-Mitzvah class to bring back those pupils who left after their Bar Mitzvah and there has been considerable interest from parents to this suggestion and he hoped the new Rabbi will take an active interest in the Cheder.

The Chairman thanked Jeremy for his efforts during the last three years. The cheder has grown under his leadership.

Michael Sharron reported on recent events and the Chairman thanked him and David Montague who were our Board representatives.

Patricia Fisher reported that the average attendance was 22/23 members. They had excellent entertainers but always needed volunteers to help.

Martin Lewin went through the accounts. He said that our satisfactory results were in no small way due to the efforts of Susan Hayman. He also thanked John Bodie through whose efforts we had been left a very generous legacy of £36,000. We had received further legacies in the last few months through the good offices of Alan Gainsford.

The Administrator was urging everyone, including marriage members to sign Gift Aid forms which brought in extra income from the many weddings held in our Synagogue.

The Financial Representative's report was proposed by Dori Schmetterling and seconded by Michael Scheuer.

The Chairman thanked Martin for his continuing efforts to maintain the finances of the congregation in a manner to which we have come to expect

Melvyn Lux, Henry Magrill

Board members:

David Fisher, Lester Kershenbaum, Raymond Lyons, Simon Mirwitch, Howard Morris, David Myersmith, Michael Scheuer, Dori Schmetterling, Simon Tarsh, Edwina Brown, Esther Fieldgrass. Patricia Fisher, Rachel Magrill, Ruth Mayorcas, Louise Mirwitch, Gaby Morris, Wendy Myersmith, Rona Steinberg

David Montague, Michael Sharron

The Chairman welcomed Melvyn Lux as a new Warden and said that Gaby Morris will be a valued member of the Board.