Monthly Archives: June 2021

A group of people who will form the review of church life group, initiated at the United Reformed Church (URC) Mission Council in March, has been appointed.

The group of nine people, which includes the Revd Dr John Bradbury, URC General Secretary, has been assembled to review the life, structures, resources and work of the URC to enable a faithful response to the challenges presented in Paper A1 Toward the future of the URC. This paper reflected that the pandemic has become a moment that has revealed strengths, weaknesses and possibilities in the life of the church we maybe were not aware of.

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A community organisation supported by the United Reformed Church has won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS).

Now in its 20th year, Luton Council of Faiths, will receive the award and certificate from the Queen’s representative, Helen Nellis, the Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, later this summer.

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The Revd Steve Faber, Moderator of the West Midlands Synod of the United Reformed Church (URC), has been invited to serve for a second term of office.

The invitation was made after a process of discernment by a panel appointed by the General Assembly, the Church’s ultimate decision-making body.

The West Midlands Synod covers 108 churches in Birmingham, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Coventry, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire.

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The United Reformed Church (URC) General Assembly is taking place from 9-12 July online.

General Assembly is the URC’s key decision-making body which meets annually to celebrate, discuss, worship and make decisions about the life and work of the denomination.

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The United Reformed Church (URC) has launched a new fortnightly podcast, that explores the denomination’s focus on Christian discipleship, mission and what it means to be Walking the Way of Jesus today.

The podcast will explore what it means to be a disciple across all aspects of our lives, as we respond to the concerns, issues and topics that we encounter.

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A member of Water Lane United Reformed Church (URC) in Bishop’s Stortford, has been made a dame in the Queen’s birthday honours.

Elizabeth Gardiner, a solicitor who helped draft the government’s coronavirus pandemic legislation, was honoured for her services to the government and the legislative process and is now a Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (DCB).

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This week is Refugee Week, a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. As churches, we want to see a world and a society which welcomes the stranger, treating asylum seekers and refugees … Continue reading →

Woking United Reformed Church has found a creative way to ‘sing’ during worship despite Covid-19 restrictions currently preventing congregations singing.

Since the first lockdown, the church established a ‘signing project’ with a Makaton expert who taught the congregation a sign a week during each service.

At an all-age service filled with families on 13 June, the lessons paid off when the entire congregation used Makaton to sing with their hands.

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The next session in the United Reformed Church (URC’s) Black History Monthly series takes place on 21 June from 7.30-8.30pm via Zoom.

Hosted by the URC’s Legacies of Slavery task group, the online conversation will focus on The Case for Reparations, an article written by Ta Nehisi Coates. 

Karen Campbell, URC Secretary for Global and Intercultural Ministries, says: “Although the subject is controversial, many people feel that the arguments are very clear.  For example, in

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Lockdown has been hard on many communities and households but as we move beyond our restricted lives, what needs to change and what needs to remain? Mal Breeze, a Church Related Community Worker from Blackburn, reflects on this question:

The words of the song and album The Times They Are a-Changin, written by Bob Dylan in 1964, must have felt as true then as they feel now, 57 years on. Perhaps even more applicable given the last 18 months of Covid-19.

As individuals we have changed, families have changed, our communities have changed. So too have our churches, and many of us have had to rethink how to carry out our ministry.

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