Category Archives: Latest News.

As we enter week two of COP26, things are still very much in the balance as to how we will measure the success of the conference. So far, we’ve heard commitments from world leaders on coal, methane gasses and de-forestation. … Continue reading →

The Revd Andy Braunston, Minister of Barrhead, Priesthill, Shawlands and Stewarton United Reformed Churches (URC) in the National Synod of Scotland’s Southside Cluster, has been appointed as the new Minister for Digital Worship.

The need for the role was introduced at General Assembly in July by the Revd Dr John Bradbury, General Secretary of the URC, to make the Daily Devotions and Daily Devotions Sunday service an integral part of the life and witness of the denomination.

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Roo Stewart, United Reformed Church (URC) Programme Support Officer for Church and Society , and Debs Brooks, wife of the Revd Philip Brooks, URC Secretary for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, have recorded a hymn specially written for Remembrance. 

For the Beauty of the Somme was written by Pfarrer Martin Henninger, Minister of the Lutherkirche in Frankenthal, and the Revd Dr David Pickering, Minister of Emmanuel URC and Elmers End Free Church, following their joint pilgrimage to the Somme in 2018.

The hymn is freely available for use by local churches and people connected with the URC.

Listen to the song and watch the video here:

(Link)

Am instrumental version can be found here.

A further explanation of the hymn by the Revd Dr David Pickering can be found here.

_{Published: 8 November 2021
Image: Chris Sansbury/Unsplash}

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The Scottish College, a United Reformed Church and Congregational Federation Resource Centre for Learning, has been newly established as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, and has begun to operate as the formal legal structure underpinning college life.
 
Under the constitution of the new college all congregations of the United Reformed Church (URC) and of the Congregational Federation based in Scotland are entitled to be members of the College.

Local URC churches will shortly be asked to confirm their willingness to be members of the College and to nominate a representative to attend College General Meetings.

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The United Reformed Church (URC) Legacies of (Transatlantic) Slavery (LoS) task group has launched a denomination-wide consultation.

The consultation started with presentations at the autumn Synod meetings and will be broadened in the coming months to engage people in local churches and church groups.

Responses gathered will feed into the task group’s recommendations to the URC General Assembly in 2022.

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The drag community will once again come together to raise money for St Andrew’s United Reformed Church in Roath, Cardiff.

The previous events, which are sponsored by CPS Homes, have so far raised more than £12,000 with the first event taking place in December 2018.

St Andrew’s United Reformed Church (URC) on Wellfield Road, built in 1898 needs to raise funds for its long term project of much needed repair work for many parts of the building to be able to continue supporting its congregation as well as the support it gives to many community groups.

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It is often said that we should act on climate change for the sake of our children and grandchildren’s futures. While this focus on intergenerational justice is certainly welcome, it obscures an important and urgent fact: climate change is destroying … Continue reading →

Religious, faith and belief groups have urged the government to rethink the controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. 

In a scathing letter, published in the Independent on 26 October, dozens of leaders, including the Revd Clare Downing, Moderator of the United Reformed Church General Assembly, warn of the “chilling effect” the Bill could have on “millions who put their faith or belief into practice” and declare it ‘unacceptable in a democratic society.’

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Make no mistake – COP26 matters a lot.  As the UN Secretary General has said “The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable:  greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting … Continue reading →

On Wednesday 27th October, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced the Autumn Budget in the House of Commons. It’s hard to ground Budget statements in everyday reality – not least because different people and different political parties see … Continue reading →