Monthly Archives: May 2020

People from ethnic minority backgrounds in the UK have been disproportionately dying from Coronavirus. Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) at the beginning of May identified that black people in the UK are 4 times more likely to … Continue reading →

Two United Reformed Church ministers, along with three other Kingston members of clergy, aim to clock up 1.5 million steps between them this month to help some of the world’s poorest communities across the world protect themselves from Covid-19. For Christian Aid Week (10-16 May), each year churches across Kingston come together to help transform the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people – but lockdown means that the usual community events such as house-to-house collections, market stalls and a flag day couldn’t happen this year. Instead, the Revd Lesley Charlton, Minister of Kingston-upon-Thames URC, and the Revd Suk In Lee,… Continue reading →

To raise money for Christian Aid Week (10-16 May), Ruth Tompsett, a retired NHS nurse who serves as Church Treasurer for Newport Pagnell United Reformed Church (URC), is walking a “virtual” pilgrimage during her lockdown exercise to help vulnerable people around the world. Ruth, who retired from nursing a year ago but has re-registered to help the NHS tackle the Covid-19 crisis, walked the 500-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, also known as The Way of St James, from St Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago in Spain in two stages in 2018 and 2019. She had planned to return… Continue reading →

For the start of this year’s Christian Aid Week, Roy Haworth, Musical Director at Shrewsbury United Reformed Church got a virtual choir together to record a song for a digital Christian Aid Sunday service to mark the start of this year’s Christian Aid Week. Twenty-nine people either played or sang along to the hymn God of Freedom, God of Justice on May 10. Individual recordings were then submitted to Roy who then put the pieces together to form one track using Audacity. Read More … … Continue reading →

Hoping to raise more than £1,000 for Christian Aid, Ron Forster, a retired United Reformed Church (URC) minister, and his wife, Shirley, are taking part in a sponsored run. The couple, who are members of St John’s URC in Wideopen, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, will run at least 210km – the equivalent of five marathons – between them within a month. Read More … … Continue reading →

Are you ready for the “new normal”? United Reformed Church (URC) Synod Moderators have produced a new booklet to help churches and ministers move forward once the Covid-19 lockdown eases. Share this article The booklet, Ready for the new “normal”: A discussion paper for a pandemic recovery and resumption plan, aims to help carry the URC past the lockdown and into a healthy future. On Sunday, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, is expected to address the nation to outline plans for the next stage of the lockdown. Read More … … Continue reading →

At first, the news that churches would need to cancel services due to Covid-19 was met with dismay. In March, the government had written to vulnerable people, including people aged over 70, pregnant women, and those with specific underlying health conditions advising that they should self-isolate for 12 weeks to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic. At a time when people would most want to seek comfort from their church, friends and loved ones, they were being forced to isolate themselves from those support networks, albeit for their own good. But United Reformed Churches (URC), like Christ Church in Petts Wood,… Continue reading →

The dedication and commitment of frontline NHS workers helping to battle Covid-19 and save lives across the UK has received much deserved recognition and praise. Many have spent long hours away from their loved-ones to look after the family members of others. In doing so, more than 100 have sadly lost their lives. Katie Henderson, Immediate-past United Reformed Church (URC) Youth Assembly co-Moderator, is a much-valued nurse who gives an insight into what life is like on a hospital ward in this reflection. Read More … … Continue reading →

For many of us, the world has become very small over the last few weeks. Confined by the walls of our homes, we’re simultaneously more isolated than ever from the world around us and yet more unified in shared experience. … Continue reading →

Calling all photo enthusiasts! The United Reformed Church (URC) Communications Department is seeking photographs from URC members that represent the life of the denomination. Using the theme ‘24 hours in the life of the URC’ (before lockdown!), to cover any activity that shows what the URC does, the images will initially be as part of the General Assembly’s Book of Reports. By submitting them, you will be granting the URC permission to use the photographs in print and digitally. For example, they could be added to the URC’s Flickr account, which is public for all URCs to use, or used by… Continue reading →