Newcastle Reform's Rabbi Barbara Borts has resigned because she "wants to move on".
Rabbi Borts has given six months' notice to the 150-member congregation she has served on a part-time basis since 2008.
"I have had a good time here," she said. "They are a great bunch of people. If they need help I will continue to help them. I am not leaving them in the lurch."
The native Californian, who was ordained in 1981, is also a religious theology lecturer at Durham University.
She wanted "more time to finish my PhD on music and identity in the Reform Movement". She is also training to be a chazan.
‘I have had a good time. They are a great bunch of people’
Chairman Bill Fleming told congegants that the shul was exploring options to maintain "some kind of rabbinical leadership.
"We would very much like to remain in touch with Rabbi Borts."