A group of Jewish families in Westford started an exciting process of discovery
to establish a congregation serving Westford and surrounding communities. Our
group is called Temple Shir Hadash (which means New Song), a name
we look forward to affixing to a synagogue one day. In doing so we hope to add
to the rich religious life of the region.
While we understand that developing a congregation with everything that comes with it-building a temple, hiring a rabbi, conducting religious education for our children-is not easy, we share a common desire to try.
After several years of building community through a social group, we are taking the plunge toward enhancing that community by nurturing our religious impulse, giving expression to our desire to maintain an organized spirituality in our community. In a sense, we are honoring an ancient process that our ancestors participated in for centuries in almost every country in the world.
We have had only a few meetings, and welcome the participation of all the Jewish families in Westford and surrounding communities. Most of the families who have initiated this process belong to one of the Synagogues in neighboring communities.
We are devoted to those Synagogues; we share a powerful desire to try to build something new in Westford. We see the creation of a congregation in Westford as a way of strengthening the greater Jewish Community.
Our journey is guided by a commitment to an open approach that will inspire participation by families with a variety of observational styles. This open approach will allow us to grow into a style of worship we are comfortable with. Our immediate plans include holding a child-friendly, family-focused Friday night service in Westford on September 14 at the Fellowship Hall, (48 Main Street) next to the Westford Public Library. In addition, the Westford Synagogue Committee will continue to meet regularly. The next meeting is August 29.
We hope this will be a very inclusive and open process.
Joe and Linda Diamond
Neil and Faye Mager
Neal and Mindy Dietz
on behalf of the founding families of Temple Shir Hadash.