Three dozen students enjoyed Friday night dinner at their local Liberal Judaism community as part of a new movement initiative.

Open to students of any or no denomination, the idea is to give those away from their families and communities the chance to celebrate Shabbat and meet local Jews.

The idea came about after the movement’s new student chaplain, Rabbi Leah Jordan, took up the post at the start of the year.

She had found that “Shabbat dinner hosting was one of the main things I had requested by Progressive Jewish students, especially as there are already established Orthodox Shabbos offerings on campus.

“It was wonderful to see so many Progressive Jewish communities reaching out to their local university students to create a warm Friday evening together. Such a seemingly small connection can make a big difference to your term.”

The Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St John’s Wood hosted 17 people studying at various London universities. At Nottingham Progressive, Rabbi Gili Zidkiyahu opened her home to six local students and community members.

Dinners were also offered by Sukkat Shalom in Edinburgh, Norwich Liberal Jewish Community and Birmingham Progressive Synagogue.

With no Progressive community in Exeter, the movement arranged for the Orthodox Exeter Hebrew Congregation to play host.

Among those taking part was University of Nottingham student Tali Ehrlich, who said: “I sometimes feel out of touch with my Jewish community at uni. So to be hosted by Rabbi Gili and her family on Shabbat was a reminder of the special and generous Liberal Jewish community I am a part of. With many students in the UK having their Friday night simultaneously, we all felt especially connected this Shabbat.”

Another dinner is planned for later this year.