Fifteen Masorti members identified as future leaders of the movement will be travelling to New York as part of a training venture.

The group will also undergo professional leadership training sessions in the UK and theological tuition by rabbis as part of the five-month Atid Hadash, or New Future, programme Masorti is funding.

Matt Plen of the Assembly of Masorti Synagogues said those selected had “already shown leadership ability and commitment to their communities. We want to raise them up to the next stage”. The New York trip was designed to “open minds to new models about what modern Judaism can look like”.

After the programme, participants would be expected to initiate new Masorti projects or take on existing ones.

Among those selected is Talya Baker, a 39-year-old senior editor for Macmillan children’s books, who leads the St Albans Masorti cheder. She believes Masorti offers “tradition without fundamentalism”.