As a student rabbi, I served small congregations in Alberta and North Dakota, and coordinated programming for high school and college youth from across the country. I received a Wexner Foundation Graduate Fellowship for leadership, as well as awards in sermon delivery and academic achievement, and was ordained in 1996.

I focus on creating warm and participatory services, developing lifelong learning, and strengthening community both inside and outside of the congregation. Along with Cantorial Soloist David Rothberg, I am leading a group of dedicated laypeople in creating a new prayerbook for TCS that will make our services more engaging by providing contemporary reflections on and interpretations of the traditional liturgy, along with a full Hebrew text that will also be entirely transliterated, so that people who are not as comfortable in Hebrew will also be able to join in the singing and reading.  I strive to build our congregational community through exciting programming, including trips to Israel (for adults and families), the South (to explore the struggle for civil rights), and, with our teens, Washington DC and New York City.

I also work to develop connections with the broader community through involvement in interfaith activities, convening the Easton Interfaith Clergy Association and spearheading our Interfaith Thanksgiving Service.  I belong to the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis and participate in various social justice advocacy networks and actions.

Since I grew up in the Boston area, I am a lifelong fan of the Boston sports teams!

My wife Rebecca and I have two young-adult children, Ari and Hanna, we are weekend puppy-raisers for a service dog in training.

Contact Rabbi Kenneth Carr at rabbiken@templechayaishalom.org