Talk:United Reformed Church

Churches of Christ
I'm not entirely sure that the link to 'Churches of Christ' actually corresponds to continuing members of the former denomination - can anyone verify? Sjoh0050 23:10, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

Two other wikipedians have removed the 'Churches of Christ' category from this page this week. While the URC is a united church that draws its traditions from more than one source, this certainly does include the Churches of Christ. This article from the URC official website sets out the relationship between the URC and its CoC forebears. Please do not therefore remove the category again.Sjoh0050 12:10, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

"Spectrum"
I would like to see some discussion of where the URC sits within the liberal/conservative debate in the contemporary Church. I was involved in the URC when I was younger, when there was considerable division over these issues, with some churches being very liberal, others rather evangelical. Is this still the case? —Preceding Signaturesmerymat (talk • contribs) 04:25, 28 March 2007

AFAIK the URC still contains a wide variety of people from Evangelicals to extreme Liberals (of which I am likely to be classed as one) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Andylittlejohns (talk • contribs) 14:24, 21 May 2007

Please sign your additions to talk pages using four tildes, as suggested at the top of the edit page - it makes it easier to track where one person has stopped talking and another person has started. Cheers. JonoP 16:01, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Ah yeh sorry forgot about that Andylittlejohns 17:48, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Photographs
I will add some photographs from the General Assembly soon enough. Remind me if I forget! – Kaihsu 10:44, 13 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I added one. – Kaihsu 11:23, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

Not quite sure how to do this but the URC has had a third logo that one was a square divided into four squares. In top Left was a "U", top right was "R", bottom left was a "C" and the interlocking cross and fish was in the third. I think I have this on an old copy of Assembly reports. -Jean Russell —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.148.5.248 (talk) 22:26, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

Synod
Someone chopped off the geographical information about the Synods, probably due to the unwieldiness. I reproduce it here for information. – Kaihsu (talk) 09:25, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Synod
At a regional level, representatives of the congregations assemble in a synod. There are 11 English synods, each roughly corresponding to a region of England; and one each for Nations of Scotland and Wales. These 13 synods are served by a moderator and often a training officer and other staff. The synod and its committees offer oversight (the etymological sense of 'episcopate' or 'supervision') to the churches, giving pastoral care and making important decisions about where ministers serve and how churches share ministry. Through the synod, the URC relates to other regional denominational structures (Anglican diocese and Methodist districts, for example). Synods now usually hold the property in trust and many key financial decisions are made here. Synods also have committee structure and employ staff to encourage and serve local churches. (Before the reforms in 2007, several congregations organized at roughly the county level to form a district, each with a district council; or area council in Scotland. Since 2007, the functions of the district has been transferred to the synod.) The synods are these, with their numeric code; and in the case of English synods, with the approximate corresponding region in brackets :
 * 1) Northern Synod (the region of North East England)
 * 2) North Western Synod (the region of North West England except Merseyside)
 * 3) Mersey Synod (the Merseyside part of the region of North West England, plus the Isle of Man)
 * 4) Yorkshire Synod (the region of Yorkshire and the Humber)
 * 5) East Midlands Synod (the region of East Midlands)
 * 6) West Midlands Synod (the region of West Midlands)
 * 7) Eastern Synod (the region of East of England)
 * 8) South Western Synod (the region of South West England omitting Dorset)
 * 9) Wessex Synod (South East England central; similar to the South Central NHS Strategic Health Authority; also includes Dorset, part of Surrey, and the Channel Islands)
 * 10) Thames North Synod (Greater London north of the river Thames, Buckinghamshire, and much of Hertfordshire)
 * 11) Southern Synod (Greater London south of the Thames, Kent, East and West Sussex; similar to the South East Coast NHS Strategic Health Authority, omitting much of Surrey)
 * 12) National Synod of Wales
 * 13) National Synod of Scotland

Nature, faith and order statement
And here is the statement. – Kaihsu (talk) 09:25, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

In its Basis of Union, there is a short document ‘A statement concerning the nature, faith and order of the United Reformed Church’, which succinctly puts forward the church’s belief :

With the whole Christian Church, the United Reformed Church believes in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit: The living God, the only God, ever to be praised.

The life of faith to which we are called is the Spirit's gift continually received through the Word, the Sacraments and our Christian life together. We acknowledge the gift and answer the call, giving thanks for the means of grace.

The highest authority for what we believe and do is God's Word in the Bible, alive for his people today, through the help of the Spirit. We respond to this Word, whose servants we are with all God's people through the years.

We accept with thanksgiving to God the witness to the catholic faith in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. We acknowledge the declarations made in our own tradition by Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Churches of Christ in which they stated the faith and sought to make its implications clear – Faith alive and active: gift of an eternal source, renewed for every generation.

We conduct our life together according to the Basis of Union in which we give expression to our faith in forms which we believe contain the essential elements of the Church's life, both catholic and reformed; but we affirm our right and readiness, if the need arises, to change the Basis of Union and to make new statements of faith in ever new obedience to the Living Christ: Our crucified and risen Lord, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection.

Held together in the Body of Christ through the freedom of the Spirit, we rejoice in the diversity of the Spirit's gifts and uphold the rights of personal conviction. For the sake of faith and fellowship it shall be for the church to decide where differences of conviction hurt our unity and peace. We commit ourselves to speak the truth in love and grow together in the peace of Christ.

We believe that Christ gives his Church a government distinct from the government of the state. In things that affect obedience to God the Church is not subordinate to the state, but must serve the Lord Jesus Christ, its only Ruler and Head. Civil authorities are called to serve God's will of justice and peace for all humankind, and to respect the rights of conscience and belief – while we ourselves are servants in the world as citizens of God's eternal kingdom.

We affirm our intention to go on praying and working, with all our fellow Christians, for the visible unity of the Church in the way Christ chooses so that people and nations may be led to love and serve God and praise him more and more for ever – Source, Guide, and Goal of all that is: to God be eternal glory. Amen.

United Reformed Church
In 2011, also the United Reformed Church in United Kingdom allowed the blessing of same-sex unions.
 * United Reformed Church:United Reformed Church votes to host same-sex civil partnerships  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 47.64.255.139 (talk) 12:05, 13 March 2014 (UTC)

How many members are there?
In the introduction is says 68, 000, but in the text box it says 75, 000 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.157.66.18 (talk) 16:34, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Presbyterian Church of England History
Is there no entry in Wikipedia covering the history of the Presbyterian Church of England prior to the formation of the URC? Any link to Presbyterian Church of England leads to this article. Just asking out of interest. Agbneill (talk) 13:36, 16 June 2022 (UTC)


 * Answered myself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Presbyterianism
 * Agbneill (talk) 13:53, 16 June 2022 (UTC)

Rejoice and Sing, the hymnal
How shall we mention this (only) hymnal of the URC, Rejoice and Sing, in the article? Kaihsu (talk) 20:38, 15 June 2024 (UTC)