Lou Tribus

Lou was born in Los Angeles in 1956 and moved to London in 1985. In 2015, after her marriage ended, she moved to Stony Stratford where she had friends. She worked for two years as a primary school teacher, then retired. She got involved with Stony Tracks at York House and the Stony Lantern Committee. She got an allotment.

She became Co-Chair of the Synagogue, which has about 120 members. It is Reformed, which is less strictly observant than Orthodox or Conservative. It doesn’t have its own rabbi, which would be expensive, but uses student-rabbis. The synagogue is used by other groups and has received grants for things like solar panels. Money is also raised from the membership and through donations and events.

She attended Interfaith Milton Keynes from her arrival. She was in the local branch of Nisa-Nashim (a group for Jewish and Muslim women). They wanted to be more local and to involve Christian women, so set up the Abrahamic Women of Milton Keynes. In 2021 it got a grant to commission a piece of art to represent the group. The artist was Selina Somalya and the work hangs in the Museum. That project inspired Kurshida Mirza to found Truby’s Abrahamic Choir. Lou thinks race relations in Milton Keynes are good, but recognises that she’s a glass-half-full person.

She loves the City Centre, the roundabouts, the concrete cows and the parks, but feels that some parts are soulless commuter communities. She thinks the city missed a trick by abandoning plans for a tram system. She’s unsure that people elsewhere realise what Milton Keynes has to offer.

She has special memories about almost every event she’s attended at Christ the Cornerstone and the Rose. She enjoyed Togfest when it was on.

The new exhibition at the Museum should include the story of faith in Milton Keynes.