Serving throughout the Western hemisphere - from Canada to the Caribbean and New York to California. Rabbi/Cantor Allen has also been called upon to travel to Europe to conduct weddings in French, Italian, Spanish and German.

Memorable Wedding Ceremonies Performed By Rabbi/ Cantor Richard Allen

In his more than four decades of professional service (thirty-eight years in the Synagogue), Rabbi/Cantor Allen has officiated alone or co-officiated at more than one thousand Jewish and Interfaith weddings. He writes a personalized wedding service for all couples unique to each couple. Jewish traditions such as the use of the wedding canopy (Chupah), sharing of wine by bride and groom and the breaking of the glass, wedding contract (Ketubah), and the exchange of vows and rings are frequently included according to the wishes of the couple. Interfaith couples sometimes request that the ceremony include the lighting of the Unity Candle, symbolically merging both families into one.

Rabbi/Cantor Allen was named Cantor Emeritus of Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, after twenty-one years of service there, preceded by seventeen years at Sinai Temple in Mount Vernon, New York and Temple B'rith Kodesh in Rochester, New York. His title was Cantor - Music Director and his duties also included presiding at all liturgical and Life-Cycle services, including Weddings, training Bar- and Bat-Mitzvah students in Torah-reading, Hospital visits, Funerals and Unveilings, conducting services in the homes of the Bereaved, conducting/ directing both the adult and children's choirs, teaching music to all grades in the Sunday School, all within the aegis of the Synagogue.

While Rabbi Allen usually officiates alone, he welcomes collaborations with any officiant whom the bride or groom chooses, providing that person is open to an ecumenical ceremony. He will be happy to suggest names and contact information of other clergy with whom he has officiated, upon request.

For more than four decades Rabbi Allen has understood and still understands your needs... and by this understanding can create a beautiful, meaningful and spiritual Interfaith wedding ceremony for you. In language sensitive to all, and combining the beauty both of your traditions, Rabbi Allen's caring, warmth and humor will assure that your ceremony will be a joyous and memorable day for you to treasure in the years to come.

Having sung Opera internationally for many years, his singing of the traditional Seven Blessings have often been called the highlight of the ceremony.

Uniting Your Families Through Understanding

The world we live in is not perfect - Where no problems and only happy endings exist! This would be quite different from the real world in which we live; many families have a very difficult time when their child chooses someone who is not of the same religious affiliation. A successful marriage involves not just the merging of two people's lives into one but also the merging of their respective families. Therefore, a special sensitivity is needed. Rabbi Allen comprehends the need to reach out with that sensitivity - to bride and groom and their extended family - parents, relatives, and friends as well, with an awareness of their feelings learned through many years of working in this field. One of the many ways he is successful is by his conducting Premarital Counseling, offering up to six hours. Each couple is given individual counseling and, by the time the couple has finished, they know that when Rabbi Allen marries them, they will become part of his extended family.

Wedding Ceremonies

Interfaith Weddings by Rabbi Richard Allen.

Rabbi Allen will officiate at Interfaith Marriage and Traditional Jewish Weddings, Ceremonies, Non-denominational and Civil Marriage Ceremonies.

Weddings: Interfaith Marriage - Marriage between Christian and Jew has become more and more accepted over the past twenty years. I have been called upon to conduct to be a Marriage Counselor and Advisor and to officiate at the resultant Interfaith Wedding Ceremony.
 

In the unlikely case where I have too many requests, I have colleagues all over the United States. As a founding member of the Internation Fed Of Rabbis, I am able to call upon colleagues across the United States. When i get a request that I for one reason or another cannot take on I can always depend on any of my colleagues from the IFR.

For further information on the services I provide, please click my "Marriage Services FAQ's."


Founding Member,
International Federation of Rabbis

Learn about interfaith weddings

  Thank you for visiting RabbiAllen.com. After years of service, Rabbi Allen has retired the pulpit but is still very active in his community. He also loves to help people plan their very special weddings.

  As a rabbi open to Interfaith weddings, Rabbi Allen will work with other ministers to include Catholic, Protestant and Jewish wedding traditions so that the day is special to bride, groom, families and guests. Custom weddings and alternative weddings are also growing in popularity and the rabbi will also work with couples planning a commitment ceremony.

  Whether planning a Jewish wedding ceremony or needing advice from anInterfaith wedding rabbi, Rabbi Allen is here to help. You can view a sample wedding ceremony or learn more about the process by reading our articles.

Thank you for visiting!