After 14 years as the pulpit rabbi of The New Reform Temple (NRT), Rabbi Alan Londy will retire at the end of June and become the synagogue’s first rabbi emeritus.
The congregation will honor him at a farewell Shabbat dinner on Friday, June 27, at 6 p.m. with a celebratory Oneg Shabbat following services. The community is invited to join in this celebration. RSVPs should be sent to .
Rabbi Londy has spent more than 40 years in the rabbinate, serving congregations in New York, Florida, and Maryland, before moving to Kansas City with his family in 2011 to join NRT. He had planned to retire in 2024, but extended his time at NRT by an additional year to allow the congregation to complete its search for a new rabbi.
“Serving congregants at The New Reform Temple has been the highlight of my professional career,” Rabbi Londy said in 2024. “It has been an honor to lead this vibrant, diverse congregation in the heart of Kansas City.”
Rabbi Londy led NRT through a period of growth, having implemented a new adult Torah study program; developed a virtual synagogue program; created an online Hebrew language program for children and adults; and supported LGBTQ+ congregants and Jews by Choice.
“We are grateful that Rabbi Londy served our congregation for the past 14 years,” said Joyce Hess, NRT board president. “His devotion to The New Reform Temple was very apparent as he delayed his retirement for a full year so we could complete a successful search for our next rabbi. We look forward to celebrating his service to our community and his position as our first rabbi emeritus.”
Rabbi Londy will be succeeded by Rabbi David Levinsky, who will start his new role on July 1.
Rabbi Londy received his BA in Near Eastern Studies from Cornell University in 1978 and his MA and rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1983, where he also participated in the Bernstein Institute for Pastoral Psychiatry and received an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies in 1981. In 2009, he received a Doctor of Ministry in pastoral counseling from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and The Postgraduate Center for Mental Health.
Before joining NRT, Rabbi Londy’s rabbinic career spanned nearly three decades. He served as the rabbi and rabbi educator at Temple Israel of the City of New York, a large urban congregation on New York City’s Upper East Side; the rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom in Suffolk County, New York; the rabbi of Temple Israel of Orlando, Florida, serving a tri-county area; and the assistant rabbi of Beth El Congregation in Baltimore, Maryland.
Rabbi Londy currently provides pastoral care at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City. He is a member of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, Rabbinical Association of Kansas City, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Rabbinic Circle of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and Rabbinic Cabinet of the Association of Reform Zionists of America. He also serves on the board of the Friends of Beit Daniel in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Donations to honor Rabbi Londy may be made to Friends of the Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism (5630 Wisconsin Avenue, Apt. 1601, Chevy Chase, MD 20815) or online at gcld.co/KZEpy4P.