Dr Miri Lawrence is returning to her first rabbinical pulpit of Ealing Liberal Synagogue to succeed Rabbi Janet Burden, who has retired.

Rabbi Lawrence will serve the 150-member West London congregation on a freelance basis until January, when she will formally assume the role.

She was previously at Ealing in the 1990s and has more recently served Leo Baeck College and Reading Liberal Jewish Community.

“I have wonderful memories of my time at ELS and I am so excited to return,” she said this week. “I hope that by the time I formally start, I will have learnt more about how the community has progressed as we build for the future on Rabbi Janet’s excellent work.”

Meanwhile, having led ELS for 15 years, Rabbi Burden will become the shul’s rabbi emerita. She was “thrilled to be handing over to a very special colleague and friend”.

To mark her contribution, the synagogue organised a Zoom party where the guests included two local MPs, the Mayor of Ealing and a number of rabbinic colleagues.

Synagogue chair William Glassman said: “It is hard to choose Janet’s most significant contribution to the community. She has done so much and affected our members in so many different ways, from raising awareness about social action to being a ‘Jewish mother’ for the community with her Friday evening ‘tishes’.

“She has comforted us in times of grief and celebrated with us in times of joy.

“Personally, I believe that Janet’s most significant contribution has been to challenge us in so many ways to live up to our Liberal Jewish principles and ‘walk the walk’, not just ‘talk the talk’.”