Rabbi Gary Atkins

 Rabbi Gary Atkins was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended Dartmouth College.  He  served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966-70, and during that time he became seriously interested in his Judaism.  

After discharge, Rabbi Atkins studied and was ordained at the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City.  He returned to the Air Force as the Area Jewish Chaplain for the Far East, stationed at Clark Air Base in the Philippines, traveling to bases in Thailand and Taiwan.  

After leaving the service, Rabbi Atkins continued his community involvement as chair of the Bloomfield Interfaith Association and as President of the Greater Hartford Rabbinical Association.  His rabbinical mentors include Rabbis David Wolpe and Harold Kushner.

After having served pulpits in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, Rabbi Atkins officially retired and settled in Newmarket, NH with his wife Iris.  

After a three-year hiatus, Rabbi Atkins is reassuming the role of religious leader, and looks forward to sharing his stories and Torah-teaching with the Temple Israel Congregation and its visitors.