Members of The New Reform Temple voted this week to hire Rabbi Alan Londy to serve as the Reform congregation’s interim rabbi beginning July 1. He takes over for Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn, whose contract was not renewed by the congregation in December and left its employ in late March.
In a letter to congregants sent in advance of Tuesday night’s vote, NRT President Michael Grossman said he is excited about the prospect of having a new spiritual leader. The interim rabbi was chosen from a field that initially included 10 candidates of which two eventually came to Kansas City for onsite interviews. He will perform typical rabbinical duties such as such as leading services, conducting life-cycle events, teaching and providing counseling while the congregation searches for a permanent spiritual leader.
Rabbi Londy, 55, attended a classical Reform congregation, becoming both a Bar Mitzvah and confirmand at Congregation Berith Sholom, while he was growing up in Troy, N.Y. After graduating from Cornell with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Near-Eastern studies, he attended the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and was ordained in 1983. He also holds a Doctor of Ministry in pastoral counseling from Hebrew Union College in New York City and he has taken extensive courses at the Interim Ministry Network, the only national certification institute for international interim clergy that is endorsed and recognized by the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
The first part of Rabbi Londy’s rabbinical career was spent serving Conservative congregations. He was the assistant rabbi of Beth El Congregation in Baltimore from 1983-1988; the head rabbi at Temple Israel in Orlando, Fla., from 1988-2000; and the head rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom in Smithtown, N.Y., from 2000-2006.
By 2006 Rabbi Londy had decided he was more comfortable with the Reform movement and thus returned to his religious roots. That’s when he became rabbi/rabbi educator at Temple Israel of the City of New York, where he served until recently. In addition to running the religious school, he has also led many religious services.
Rabbi Londy has now decided he wants to take on the new challenge of serving congregations in interim situations. He told members of the NRT search committee that his goal is to work with congregations to make them the best they can be, without disrupting or trying to change their own unique identities. He and his wife have decided they are ready to live the more nomadic life of an interim rabbi for the rest of his career before eventually retiring and moving to Israel.