Monthly Archives: July 2020

This week, finance ministers from the G20 countries will meet again, and high on their agenda will be responding to the pandemic. When these ministers met in April, many of you supported the call for the cancellation of debt payments … Continue reading →

It is with deep sadness that the United Reformed Church (URC) announces the death of the Revd Robert Waters. Mr Waters, widely known as Bob, died peacefully in his sleep at home on 3 July, just four days shy of his 90th birthday. The reverend trained at the Scottish Congregational College and served as a minister at East Kilbride from 1962 to 1968, Augustine Bristo in Edinburgh from 1968 to 1971, was Chairman of the Congregational Union of Scotland from 1970 to 1971, and General Secretary of the Congregational Union of Scotland from 1971 to 1995. Read More … … Continue reading →

Each year around 3 million children – of whom 1 million receive free school meals – are at risk of “holiday hunger”. These families’ budgets have difficulty stretching to meet the added costs of having children at home full time. … Continue reading →

The United Reformed Church (URC) held a live-streamed version of its General Assembly – the URC’s main decision-making body – on YouTube today (11 July). The Revd John Proctor, outgoing United Reformed Church General Secretary, welcomed viewers to what was the first online act of General Assembly worship in the URC’s history. Mr Proctor said: “Wherever you are, we are glad that you share with us,” before setting out how the service would run. Mr Proctor then invited Derek Estill, Moderator of the URC General Assembly, to constitute the meeting with prayer. After Mr Estill did so, he confirmed that Assembly… Continue reading →

Today, the government spending watchdog the National Audit Office has reported on Universal Credit and has again found it wanting. The government has been very keen to say how successful they have been in enrolling people onto Universal Credit during … Continue reading →

The United Reformed Church held a unique digital version of Mission Council, the executive body of General Assembly, on 10 July. This came after the URC was forced in May to cancel its biennial meeting of General Assembly due to the threat of coronavirus and health and safety. The day, comprising three sessions, began with a welcome from Derek Estill, Moderator of the General Assembly “It’s so good to be here in this format for the very first time,” Mr Estill said. “It’s good to know we are together even though we are in this unusual communication. I hope that during… Continue reading →

A response to the budget update on 8th July 2020. The Chancellor’s budget update yesterday focused on building employment. The scale of the challenge ahead is huge, and an emergency response is welcome and necessary. But if we genuinely want this crisis to be a turning point, where we … Continue reading →

Guernsey United Reformed Church (URC) and the islands’ inhabitants have welcomed the lifting of all coronavirus restrictions. Phase four of the island’s exit strategy was brought forward by six weeks which allowed churches, restaurants, cafes, hairdressers and beauticians to reopen, along with cinemas, gyms and sports venues with social distancing measures in place. However, the island is now in phase five of the strategy, which has been nicknamed the “Bailiwick bubble” by locals and is a return to near normality after having no Covid-19 cases had been reported since 26 May. Read More … … Continue reading →

Nestlé has announced that from October 2020 KitKats will no longer contain Fairtrade cocoa and sugar.  Instead, Nestlé is moving to the promotion of its own Cocoa Plan and the Rainforest Alliance certification.  As a result 27,000 sugar and cocoa … Continue reading →

The Moderators of the United Reformed Church (URC) General Assembly have welcomed the announcement that the government has committed to implementing all the recommendations of the independent report into the Windrush scandal, which was published in March. This includes a review of ‘hostile environment’ immigration policies. Read More … … Continue reading →