Many meetings and conversations have taken place, and we’ve decided, with the heaviest of hearts, that the best option is to postpone our jubilee events.

After close to three years of planning, this postponement is so deeply disappointing, but we want the URC to celebrate its jubilee properly, with all who want to take part.

We will let you know about the new date as soon as possible, and please keep all who are saddened by this news in your thoughts and prayers.

All attending the events on October 1 were going to receive a special copy of Reform, which is also celebrating its 50th anniversary.

If you would like to receive copies for you and for others in your church, please email reform@urc.org.uk with your address details and the number of copies required.

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An announcement from The Arthur Rank Centre, the ecumenical charity which resources, trains, and advocates for rural Christians, churches and communities, where the role was based, said: “It is with much sadness that we were told that Elizabeth died unexpectedly this morning. Please hold [her husband] and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”

The Revd Steve Faber, Moderator, West Midlands Synod of the URC and co-chair of the Rural Strategy Group until Elizabeth’s retirement, said: “Elizabeth cared deeply for rural churches and championed them, always seeing their presence as a sign of opportunity to share hospitality and the Gospel.

“That passion was seen regularly in the Rural Strategy Group, which oversaw her work jointly for the United Reformed and Methodist Churches, but countless others of us around the URC will have seen it too in our everyday encounters with her.

“She had a great gift in never letting her commitment and passion becoming overbearing, and so making her unapproachable. Rather, rooted in deep faith, she was someone who looked for ways to make things happen.

“On her retirement we lost a great asset. On her death, she leaves a significant void for many.”

Elizabeth became the National Rural Officer for the Methodist and United Reformed Churches in 2014.

A Methodist Minister, she served in the Sherburn Circuit from 2011 – 2014, as Rural Officer for the York and Hull District of the Methodist Church from 2005 – 2014, and in the Thirsk and Northallerton Circuit from 2006 – 2011.

Training as a nurse after leaving school, Elizabeth worked at Guy’s Hospital from 1976 – 1979. She took an MA in Theology at University College Ripon and York St John in the mid to late 1990s.

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The Youth Executive, the URC’s decision-making body made up of young people and adults, expressed the view through the UK government’s consultation on the practice, and echoes the sentiment of the emergency resolution agreed at the URC’s Assembly Executive, held from 22-24 November, which called on members and Ministers to refuse to offer, or to participate in offering, conversion therapy in any form.

The government is currently consulting on proposals to ban conversion therapy in England and Wales, and the URC has urged that the plans be strengthened to ensure greater protection for potential subjects of conversion therapy.

Reuben Watt, URC Youth Assembly Moderator says: “According to Stonewall, 9% of LGBTQ+ people aged 18-24 have been pressured to access or change their sexual orientation, and I am sure some of those have links to a faith group.

“It is up to us to make a stand, to protect our friends and family who we love the most.”

The resolution can be read in full here. (PDF | 24kb)

The consultion has been extended to 4 February 2022 to allow for additonal submissions. More information on the government’s consultation can be found .

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The church had purchased a defibrillator from donations made in memory of Isabel Ward, an Elder of the church.

The defibrillator was placed in a locked cabinet on the outside of the church during the summer, so it could be used by the whole community of Finchfield and registered on  – a national defibrillator network supported by St John’s Ambulance, Resuscitation Council UK, and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives.

But at the beginning of October, a heartless thief forced open the cabinet and stole it.

Rosalind Shaw, Events Co-ordinator at St Columba’s, said: “The police closed the case immediately as it would not be possible to trace the thief, but we decided to publicise the theft on social media to see if anyone knew where it may have gone.

“The Facebook post was shared 102 times and reached more than 10,000 people.

“Following this a local man, Tom Warrender, contacted us to say he would like to replace the stolen defibrillator. He didn’t want any fanfare or publicity, he just wanted to give back to his community.

“Tom gave us a new defibrillator on ��Ʒ��ҹ�������� Kindness Day, on 13 November; his kindness allows Finchfield to have access to a potentially lifesaving device once more.”

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Sharon has been offering limited cover as Interim Safeguarding Lead since February, following a series of changes in the department.

Sharon has extensive experience working with children, young people, and adults within the voluntary, charity, and local authority sectors ranging from direct delivery to strategic management.

The post comes under the remit of the Revd Adrian Bulley, Deputy General Secretary (Discipleship), who said: “Over the past nine months, Sharon has been covering certain elements of the Designated Safeguarding Lead role in a limited capacity. She has proved worth her weight in gold and has worked hard to build effective relationships with colleagues in Church House and elsewhere. She will be a great asset within the discipleship team, and I look forward to working with her in this new way.”

Speaking about her appointment and vision for the department, Sharon added: “I feel privileged to be able to take on the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead for the URC, working alongside the Discipleship Team and the amazing team of Synod Safeguarding Officers. Safeguarding those that access the URC’s breadth of churches, events and activities is the whole denomination’s responsibility and my aim will be to support understanding and implementation of this.”

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In collaboration with Education and Learning, the United Reformed Church (URC’s) Children’s and Youth Work offered a series of eight workshops over the summer and autumn, designed to build skills, confidence, and capacity in communications.

Topics included: creating and editing videos for beginners, beginners and improvers social media, how to write stories effectively, where to share stories, inclusive worship using signs and symbols, and hybrid (in person and online) church to name a few.

Participants were also able to apply for small grants, up to the value of £200 from the Carmichael Montgomery Bursary, to enable them to put what they’d learnt into practice. For instance, purchasing equipment, software or further training.

The Revd Allison Claxton, Minister of Peasley Cross URC, said: “As someone who ‘learns by doing’ I have found the steep learning curve needed to use new technology during lockdown interesting to say the least!

“We started lockdown with a cheap camera, tripod and a basic editing package that I could actually understand and off we went into the unknown. We used one camera for recording our Sunday Services and Messy Church videos, which were then uploaded onto our Facebook and YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in-person worship and for the wider community. Unfortunately, this limited us to a fixed position, so we could only have one view of what is happening in worship.

“The training that was offered via the URC Training workshops was most helpful as it answered a lot of my questions – even the ‘silly’ ones – and meant that I was more confident to experiment and try new things – even picture in picture!

“Attending the workshops meant that I was able to learn different ways of editing and putting the finished recording together.”

Martin Morris, a member of Grange URC, in Bebington, said: “Following on from the training workshops, our church has decided to look into livestreaming services.” Martin added that their grant application was for a new webcam, mixer-board and some longer wires.

Speaking about how pleased people found the series of workshops, Dr Sam Richards, Head of Children’s and Youth Work, said “We wanted to give people hands on help with new skills at the time they needed it – so we were delighted at the uptake of the sessions. We hope to run some more next year on using Makaton and Widget to increase the accessibility of worship.”

The Revd Jenny Mills, Secretary for Education and Learning, spoke about the future workshops URC Training hopes to run. “Those who attended our training sessions found a sense of community around learning. Alongside learning opportunities, we hope to offer space for reflection and a sharing of ideas; the sessions have offered inspiration and encouragement to those serving in our churches and we are delighted to continue to support them.”

Video recordings of all the recent workshops, on video editing, using social media, and sharing good news stories, can be found .

To whet your appetite, here’s an introduction to video editing:

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The situation in Scotland and Wales has not changed with Boris Johnson’s latest announcements from Downing Street. It is a continuing legal requirement for everyone aged 12 or over in Scotland and 11 and over in Wales, unless they are exempt, to wear a face covering in indoor public space (including churches).

The Prime Minister has tightened Covid regulations in England in response to the emerging Omicron variant of concern.

In England it is now mandatory to wear face covering in shops and settings such as banks, post offices and hairdressers, as well as public transport, unless you are exempt. The position remains that we are also encouraged and expected to wear one in “crowded and enclosed spaces where you come into contact with people you do not normally meet.”

Most of us spend much less time in a single shop than we do in Sunday worship, and the risks of transmission, even with other mitigations properly in effect and the high level of vaccination, are greater in churches than in many other enclosed settings where our members would typically find themselves.

The Synod Moderators agree that as a continuing act of respect and love for neighbour, people using URC buildings in England should also wear face coverings, unless they are medically exempt. Please remember that our aim in worship is to firstly to glorify God and secondly to build up the church: it matters much less if the technical qualities of our singing are a little hampered by face masks.

Please redouble your efforts to see that masks fit well and cover the mouth and nose properly at all times, unless you are taking part in leading worship and are properly physically distanced from others.

Elders’ meetings have the legal responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of their staff, volunteers and visitors, and so the Moderators strongly urge churches to revisit and update their risk assessment and make sure all appropriate steps are taken to maximise safety whenever we gather together.

Churches are also reminded of the continuing importance of simple measures like ventilation, good hand hygiene and the use of tissues for coughs and sneezes followed by hand washing or sanitisation within the “Catch it, bin it, kill it” advice.

The Synod Moderators 

_{Published: 1 December 2021
Image: Matteo Jorjoson/Unsplash}

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