��In autumn 2021 the URC’s Legacies of Slavery task group launched a church-wide consultation to consider the Church’s response to the continuing legacies of transatlantic slavery today.�� This work had been requested by Mission Council in autumn 2019 but was delayed due to COVID.

The task group prepared and circulated various resources to assist Synods and local churches in their conversations.

Responses received have been anonymised and reproduced below. They appear in no particular order and with no particular preference.

Responses are from Church Meetings, Elders Meetings, church groups and individuals.�� One response (not anonymised) comes from Racial Justice Advocates and Activists from the breadth of the URC.�� Further responses are still arriving.

The Task Group wishes to thank all respondents for taking the time and effort to engage with the materials, and with the issues.

Download responses to the consultation

• Legacies of (transatlantic) Slavery Consultation – the Responses – October 2022 (PDF | 1mb)

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• Original FAQs

• Additional FAQs

Here are some FAQs relating to the work of the URC’s Legacies of Slavery Task Group based on feedback received before December 2021:

Slavery was not just a European or British practice. It was a thriving business across Africa.

Yes, but our concern is with the transatlantic slave trade – in which millions of Africans were transported to the Caribbean and the American colonies in British-owned ships as forced labour for the immensely profitable crops of sugar, tobacco and cotton. And when slavery was abolished in Britain in 1833, the compensation paid to former slave-owners helped fuel Britain’s industrial revolution, especially the railway boom of the 1840s.

The slave trade was abolished in 1807. Slavery was banned from the British Empire in 1833. So, none of this is anything to do with us in the twenty-first century.

The concern of the Task Group is with the legacies of slavery, right up to our own day and age: the stigma suffered by those whose ancestors were slaves, and the enduring effect of racist attitudes on our present society. That’s why we call for Confession as well as Apology.

What about those of our Church forebears who were pro-abolition – where is their story reflected in the URC’s Legacies work?

��The LoS task group affirms the efforts of those in the Church who worked towards the dismantling of transatlantic slavery and the liberation of enslaved people – yet, despite their efforts, transatlantic slavery continued for a very long time.�� And whilst transatlantic slavery was eventually brought to an end, the legacies of racial hierarchy, inequality, and persistently racist structures continue.�� The focus of the task group’s papers has been to throw light on the issues which still need to be addressed.�� We regard this work as continuing in the footsteps of those in our Church heritage who were also concerned with justice for the enslaved Black people.

There’s all this talk about ‘white privilege’. Many white people are poor, jobless, ill, and badly housed. They certainly don’t feel privileged.

Many of the problems you mention are indeed the experience of white people. Yet Black and ethnic minority people also experience prejudice, abuse and discrimination every day simply because they aren’t white – not least URC ministers, in the street and even among their congregations. That was the specific issue our task group was asked to address.

But the final point in our proposed confession commits us to ‘continue working to promote racial justice as part of our Christian commitment to justice for all.’

Why is there a focus on ‘Black Lives Matter’ rather than upholding the position that ‘All Lives Matter?’

The LoS task group absolutely believes that ‘All Lives Matter’.�� That said, we recognise we live in a world, a society and a Church which do not reflect this truth.�� There is no level playing field.�� Opportunities for Black and ethnic minority people are not the same as those afforded to white people.�� The struggles faced by Black and ethnic minority people aren’t equally faced by their white counterparts.�� Only when these inequalities have been addressed – when our day-to-day living demonstrates that Black lives really do matter, and matter equally as much as white lives – only then will it become meaningful to say that ‘All Lives Matter’.

Why are Black people being asked to apologise for what has been done to them?

What’s proposed is an apology and confession by the URC as an institution, committing itself to some form of restorative justice as part of becoming an anti-racist church, in which white members need to learn and understand more of the experience of our Black and ethnic minority members.

In legal terms, does apology entail culpability?

The rationale for offering an apology is laid out in the task groups’ original report – Healing: Hope in Action (2019) and in the Consultation Overview Document (2021).�� We do not believe the issue of culpability should deter the URC from doing what we believe to be right. That said, the task group will look further into the question of culpability.

What is envisaged as ‘reparations’ or ‘compensation’?

Tentatively, we are using the phrase ‘repairing justice’ because that suggests some kind of attempt to make amends for past injustice, without implying a direct payback (which is impossible). As to the content of this repairing justice, that is ‘work in progress’.

We’re encouraging communities in the UK to identify projects that address racism in their localities. We’re also exploring the issue with partner churches in Africa and the Caribbean still scarred by the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade. Where we go in the future is part of the ‘journey’ that we are calling on the URC to begin now – a journey towards becoming an anti-racist church.

Is any work being done to address the underrepresentation of Black and ethnic minority people in senior positions in the URC?

��A resolution passed in November 2020 committed the URC to a journey from ‘not racist’ to actively ‘anti-racist’, including a remit to examine and address issues in every aspect of the Church’s life.�� In July 2021, General Assembly adopted a further resolution asking the Equalities Committee to carry out work exploring the relative absence of Black and ethnic minority people from Assembly Appointed positions, and to suggest strategies of ‘Affirmative Action’ to intentionally redress the balance.�� Proposals will be brought to General Assembly 2022.

What are other denominations saying and doing about these questions?

The ; we have drawn heavily on this to help shape the wording of the proposed URC apology.

The BUGB always intended that the apology would be the start of an intentional journey towards racial justice across the Baptist Union family.�� Progress has been slow, but the commitment and the work continue.

The Methodist Church in Britain is just embarking on its own journey to engage specifically��with the legacies of transatlantic slavery.�� They are very keen to learn from and draw on our��work to date.

To a greater or lesser extent, all the mainstream churches have been addressing the issue of��racial justice over many years.�� Since early 2021 – in the wake of COVID and the murder of��George Floyd – this work has resumed greater focus.�� Two new ecumenical bodies have��been formed (Racial Justice Advocacy Forum; Racial Justice Working Group) seeking to��further the collective work towards racial justice, and to support the member churches in��their respective journeys.�� The Racial Justice Advocacy Forum has a specific remit to��advocate on the issue of reparations.

The Legacies of Slavery Task Group�� - December 2021

��

Additional FAQs in light of the continuing consultation.

Who are we apologising to?

We ‘offer our apology to God and to our sisters and brothers in Africa, the Caribbean, and their descendants, for all that has created and still perpetuates such deep hurt, which originated from the horror of slavery’.�� (Text taken from the final draft of the Confession and Apology being considered by General Assembly 2022.)

If adopted by General Assembly, the Apology and Confession will be shared widely, including with our partner churches and organisations in Africa and the Caribbean.

You can’t apologise for the past / Apology can’t change anything

Any meaningful apology is always for something that has already happened – if it hadn’t already happened, there would be nothing to apologise for, or there would still be time to turn away from the impending hurtful action.�� That said, the proposed Confession and Apology are essentially focussed on the continuing legacies of transatlantic slavery rather than on the historical event.

Apology can never change the past, yet we still apologise, all the time.�� Saying sorry expresses remorse/regret/sorrow for the hurt experienced, and for any part we have played in the circumstance.�� Saying sorry also offers healing to the person(s) hurt and opens the door to restored relationships for all.

Apologising for the transatlantic slavery and its legacies is meaningless

Is that our call?�� We stand in the geographical footprints of those who were enslavers.�� We stand in a place of benefit and privilege accrued through the profits of transatlantic slavery.�� Who are we to say apology is meaningless?�� What’s more, the descendants of enslaved people are demanding an apology – so apology clearly has meaning for them.

We should issue ‘a statement of regret’ rather than an apology

The task group has considered this point seriously.�� We have noted that expressions of ‘regret’ are impersonal, whereas ‘I’m sorry’ comes from the heart.�� We are also mindful that those who have been hurt and continue to be hurt are asking for an apology.�� When will their voices count?

The consultation paperwork assumes that the URC is completely white. We can’t ask Black people to apologise for what was done to them/is still being done.

When Caribbean/African partners demand apology from the UK, they do not assume the whole of the UK is white.�� Equally, the consultation paperwork does not assume the URC is completely white.�� In fact, the task group itself has included equal numbers of Black and white members.�� We are recommending that the URC, as a body, should offer an apology, because the URC as a body continues to benefit from the profits of slavery.�� We know there are Black and ethnic minority people within that body – and many of them are all too painfully aware that the body to which they belong includes racist attitudes and systems.�� Whilst we cannot speak for all, we know that many Black URC members would welcome acknowledgment of this reality, welcome an apology, and welcome a commitment by our Church to move forward positively.

The consultation paperwork does not tell the whole story / misses the nuances of the issues

The consultation document was never attempting to tell the full history of Transatlantic Slavery, but to provide an overview of the issues and the context of the Task Group’s work.

When people today experience racism, try to negotiate racist structures, or find themselves disempowered, they are not pondering the nuances of the issues – they are negotiating the day-in, day-out realities of life.�� This is what the overview sought to capture.

The URC should seek to address modern day slavery instead of focussing on the past

This piece of work specifically focuses on the legacies of transatlantic slavery, having grown out of the URC’s engagement with CWM’s Legacies of Slavery project.�� The work highlights that transatlantic slavery may be in the past, but its impacts continue into the present day.

Responding to the legacies of transatlantic slavery does not deny or preclude work on other areas of injustice, including modern day slavery.

We have not had long enough to engage / We don’t yet fully understand the issues

The task group has tried its best to give opportunity for engaging and responding.�� We were given a time frame in which to consult and feedback.�� We chose to consult as widely as possible via the Synod Meetings and through the Synod Offices.�� We have distributed consultation materials to Synod Offices 3 times – October 2021, December 2021, February 2022 – and asked for them to be circulated widely.�� We have followed up with synods where we became aware that the papers had not been circulated.�� We have extended response dates to encourage engagement.

We have offered ourselves, Racial Justice Advocates and Cascades of Grace as a resource to facilitate conversations.�� We have produced FAQs as a further resource.

None of us is ever going to fully understand all the issues – but we can understand enough to get a sense of whether there is an injustice to be addressed.�� There is nothing stopping us from continuing to engage - but how long is long enough?�� And are we really saying that no action should be taken for however long we feel we need to take?

There was slavery between Africans too.

Yes, but is ‘they did it too’ really an acceptable response from our Church to the issues being addressed about Britain, past and present?�� And we highlight again, that the task group’s work addresses the continuing legacies of transatlantic slavery today.

We can’t judge the past by modern standards.

No, but we can judge the past by the standards of the past.�� Several respondents to the consultation have highlighted that many of our forebears were abolitionists.�� Many people clearly knew that transatlantic slavery was wrong.�� That was also a value of the day, and one we are trying to take forward through this work to address the continuing legacies in the 21^st Century.����

The Legacies of Slavery Task Group -��July 2022

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By Karen Campbell and David Reynolds

Consultation document for distribution to churches,��December 2021

We live in a multicultural, multiracial Britain. People hail Black footballers and athletes when they do something great for ‘our’ country. But those same people are often subject to racist abuse on sportsgrounds, through social media, on the streets and in shops. The same is true for Black people in the entertainment industry, who negotiate racism behind the scenes in their chosen fields.

Black people who aren’t celebrities may suffer even more immediately – discriminated against in jobs, pay, housing, and educational opportunities because of prejudice against the colour of their skin, the way they dress or how they speak, even though most are UK citizens who have lived and worked in this country all their lives.�� The hurt has always been there, but it has been aggravated in the past two years by the murder of George Floyd and the inequalities highlighted by the particular vulnerability to COVID of people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. We have seen the upsurge of the Black Lives Matter movement among both Black people and white people in response to these global dynamics.

Racism has deep roots in our society. Slavery, one might say, was the original sin: the forcible removal of some 3¼ million Africans in British ships across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the southern parts of what became the United States. These enslaved people and their descendants were treated as essential labour in the cultivation of crops such as sugar, tobacco and cotton – which played a major role in Britain’s commercial and industrial revolutions.

The slave trade was abolished by Parliament in 1807, followed in 1833-8 by the abolition of slavery in Britain and the British Caribbean Territories – anniversaries that are widely celebrated in this country. Less familiar is the sequel. Slave-owners were granted £20 million as compensation for their loss of ‘property’ – equivalent to perhaps £340 billion as a proportion of government spending today. But not one of the 800,000 ex-slaves was compensated for their enforced hard work, the suppression of their freedom and that of their ancestors.

This glaring injustice has finally become a topic of public discussion in Britain. On 30 November 2021 the Prince of Wales, speaking on the eve of Barbados becoming a self-governing republic, used these blunt words: ‘From the darkest days of our past, and the appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever stains our history, the people of this island forged their path with extraordinary fortitude.’��Although the UK Government has ruled out any programme of reparations, such projects have been initiated by the institutional descendants of several prime movers in the British slave trade.

These include Lloyds of London (who insured most of the voyages), some of the major banks (which provided credit to slave-traders) and the Universities of Glasgow, Liverpool and Bristol (cities that grew rich from the slave trade). And many local community groups are revealing how the profits and products of slavery became woven into the fabric of British life in the 18th and 19th centuries, not just for wealthy men but also for ordinary families through commodities such as sugar, tobacco and cotton.

Some may respond that the transatlantic slave trade happened a very long time ago, and no one alive today is responsible. But what Prince Charles called the ‘appalling atrocity of slavery’ stains our present as well as our past, living on in racist attitudes of mind. In Roman and Saxon times many people in Britain were slaves – the Domesday Book of 1086 classified around 10% of the population as slaves – but the practice seems to have died out by 1400, especially after the Black Death.

The transatlantic slave trade revived the institution of slavery within the British world but applied it almost entirely to Africans, marked out by the colour of their skin. This equation of slavery with race solidified a sense of superior status among whites – ‘Britons never will be slaves’, proclaimed Thomas Arne’s Rule, Britannia! (1740) – and this assumption of racial hierarchy became the norm elsewhere in the British Empire, even where slavery had not been practised, such as the Indian sub-continent. The idea of racial hierarchy, one might say, is the default which continues to shape every aspect of our world and our relationships today.

Saddest of all for us, racist assumptions also conditioned the Christianity of our forebears in the United Reformed Church. The URC, of course, was founded only in 1972, and none of its predecessor bodies were created until the end of the slavery era. It’s also true that many Dissenters took leading roles in the campaign to abolish slavery. But some profited from the ownership of slave ships (William Coward, a London merchant and patron of religious dissenters) or of slave plantations (William Alers Hankey, treasurer of the London Missionary Society for twenty years).

The LMS focused on the saving of souls, rather than the welfare of the slaves, not least because missionaries were driven out of the Caribbean colonies if suspected of being troublemakers. And many Christians at home were willing to accept some of the compensation, even if they had scruples about the whole business. Their sense of morality (like ours, if we’re honest) was complex and flawed.

Although much about the history remains hazy, it’s clear that the URC (like other British institutions) is heir to a racist past that cannot fill us with pride. Most members of the URC have not thought much about the legacies of slavery – which have been whitewashed out of the familiar narrative of British history – but we are all implicated in the enduring culture of racism that those legacies fostered. George Floyd’s murder and the disproportionate impact of COVID on Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities have made us more aware of the need to act. Although we’re not responsible for the sins of our forebears centuries ago, we definitely are responsible for allowing them to poison our society in the 21st century.

That’s why the Task Group calls on General Assembly in July 2022 to make a Statement of Apology (for the original sin of enslavement) and of Confession (for the abiding sin of racism). It also calls on General Assembly to embark on a programme of ‘repairing justice’, both in the UK and in parts of the Atlantic world still scarred by the legacies of slavery. These acts should be regarded as the start of a journey for us all – part of our commitment to becoming an actively anti-racist church in God’s name. ��We ask congregations to consider the Task Group’s case, offering comments and, we pray, your warm support in preparation for the Assembly discussions.

• Lloyds:��
• – an example of a community-based research project

Apology and Confession by the United Reformed Church (Draft)

We, the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church, are mindful of our own current history, that of our antecedent bodies, the scriptural and theological groundings of our Basis of Union, and of our many declarations and resolutions over the years related to justice and the embracing of the humanity of all people, everywhere.

As a Conciliar Church, we have listened to one another as we received the report of Mission Committee on the ongoing Legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. We have heard the pain of sisters and brothers who have been hurt and are still being hurt today by its legacies and by the continuing scourge of racism. We have heard God in Christ speaking to us in what we believe to be a Kairos moment. We acknowledge our weakness, the ambiguities we embody, and yet, in a spirit of humility and vulnerability, we are urged on by a movement of God’s Spirit, calling us to a journey of words and actions born out of what we have felt and heard, a commitment to a future built on equity, justice and love.

To this end, we, the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church, gathered here in Swanwick in the year 2022

• humbly acknowledge our share in and benefit from our nation’s participation, and that of our own antecedent bodies, in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and British Colonial slaveholding.
• acknowledge that we speak as those who have shared in and suffered from the legacies of slavery and its appalling consequences for God’s world.
• offer our apology to God and to our sisters and brothers in Africa, the Caribbean, and their descendants, including those in our midst, for all that has created and still perpetuates such deep hurt, which originated from the horrors of slavery.
• collectively repent of the hurt caused by our Church and its antecedent bodies, the divisions we have created, our reluctance to face up to the sin of the past, our unwillingness to listen to the pain of our African and Caribbean sisters and brothers, and our silence in the face of racism and injustice today.
• admit that these sins are part of our continuing failure to see and hear God in all our neighbours, whoever they may be.
• commit ourselves, in a true spirit of repentance
  • to take what we have heard and learnt at this Assembly and share it widely across the whole of the URC and beyond,
  • to find constructive ways by which we can turn this apology and confession into concrete actions of ‘repairing justice’ and so contribute to the prophetic work of God’s coming kingdom.
  • to continue working to promote racial justice as part of our Christian commitment to justice for all

As we ask for forgiveness, we invite all of the United Reformed Church to recommit ourselves to walking together in the Spirit of Christ so that all peoples may be blessed, and God’s creation healed.

December 2021

• Download the Legacies of Slavery consultation (Word | 27kb)

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The Book of Reports and Record of Assembly since the formation of the United Reformed Church in 1972 are available below.

Please note: the General Assembly took place every two years from 2008 – 2019 and has taken place every year since 2020.

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The URC logo, available for download from this page, is the official logo of the United Reformed Church.

We encourage its use by all United Reformed churches, local ecumenical partnerships involving the URC, and any partner or associated organisations – all are permitted to use this logo on their online and print material.

Any use of the logo must be in line with the guidelines, which we recommend you read.

• Guidelines for the use of the URC logo 2024 (PDF | 299kb)

We also produce a visual identity guide to help you follow the URC’s visual identity in your print and online materials.

The main versions of the logo are available for download below, as are zipped folders for various other formats.

If you have any questions, please email the graphics team.

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As a Church of the Reformation which began in continental Europe, the URC has many links with pan-European churches and ecumenical bodies. It is a member of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) which includes Anglican, Lutheran, Orthodox and Reformed Churches. It is also a member of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE). The URC is the only church with a presence in England to be a member of the ��Ʒ��ҹ�������� Council of Reformed Churches.

In the wake of the EU referendum, the URC General Assembly passed a resolution celebrating our Reformed European heritage and identity, and promising to uphold our ongoing ecumenical relationships with partner European churches. If your church is actively involved in a link with a continental church please let ecumenical and inter faith relations at Church House have the details, by contacting��ecumenical@urc.org.uk. We would like to support and encourage you in this important ecumenical work.

Germany

For over 60 years the URC has had a Covenant of Pulpit and Table Fellowship with the Protestant Churches in the Palatinate region of Germany, the ‘Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz’. Around twenty local URC’s are twinned with partner German churches from the region. Regular exchanges and youth visits take place each year. There is a bi-annual theological consultation – the last one was in September 2018 and considered how the British and German churches can speak into an increasingly divided Europe.

For Remembrance 2018, a unique British-German commemoration booklet was published entitled:��One hundred years after the First ��Ʒ��ҹ�������� War: Looking back, looking forward, and the German and British churches share Advent and Lent resources. You can download them below:

• One hundred years after the First ��Ʒ��ҹ�������� War: Looking back, looking forward (PDF | 1mb)
• Accompanying worship material on the theme (PDF | 1mb)

Remembrance Hymn – For the Beauty of the Somme

In 2018 Pfarrer Martin Henninger, Minister of the Lutherkirche in Frankenthal, and the Revd David Pickering, then Moderator of the Synod of Scotland, wrote a remembrance hymn for the 100th Anniversary of the end of ��Ʒ��ҹ�������� War I, following their joint pilgrimage to the Somme.

The hymn has been arranged and recorded by Roo Stewart, Programme Support Officer (URC Church and Society) with vocals by Roo Stewart and Debs Brooks. The version posted��here (MP4) was used at the Bilton Grange and Knaresborough URC remembrance day service in 2020.

A solely instrumental version can be found��here (MP4)

Read a further explanation of the hymn by David Pickering (PDF | 107kb) .

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

Members of the United Reformed Church and the Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz met in Frankenthal from November 7-11 to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Many local URC and EKP churches are in twinning or similar partnerships.

On 9th November 2019, the day marking 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, 29 years since leading to the reunification of Germany, and the 81 years since Kristallnacht, leaders of the United Reformed Church and the Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz signed a statement that acknowledging with sadness that around the world, physical and imagined walls are once again being built. Later in the same month, this declaration was then endorsed by the URC’s Mission Council and the Landessynode of the Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz.

Mission Council and the Pfalz Synod wholeheartedly embraced the statement which declares that: differences of opinion, culture, faith and conviction are treated with respect;��that we all speak out against racism in all forms and report all incidents;��that we underline our commitment against anti-semitism and any form of religious hatred;��that refugees are not used as scapegoats but rather seen as those who enrich communities;��that we strive for unity lived out in our churches as an example for our societies;��that we recommit ourselves to the spirit of the first Covenant of fellowship signed in 1957.

• Read the statement in full (PDF | 105kb)

Keep up to date with the latest news, stories and pictures from this active partnership by clicking on the link for the newsletter (you can sign up to receive your own copy direct).

Italy

The relationship between the churches which formed the URC in 1972 and the Waldensian Church (Chiesa Valdese) in Italy, goes back to Reformation times – though the Waldensian ‘movement’ started in the 12th century. In 1655, Oliver Cromwell organised a collection to be made among English churches to give financial support, after the Waldensians had been attacked by the Savoy army, with John Milton writing his famous sonnet,��On the Late Massacre in Piedmont, for the occasion; and there were close ties in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries between the Waldensians and the Presbyterian Church of England, including regular moderatorial visits to Italy.

Since 1981 the URC-Waldensian Fellowship has been encouraging ‘ordinary’ church members to meet, through organised visits in both directions, individual and church contacts, and the biennial ‘Gathering’, which has a speaker from Italy. In 2018 a URC group visited Calabria and Puglia.

The Waldensians, noted for their strong commitment to helping the oppressed, and to clear thinking on ecumenical, ethical and theological matters. Anyone interested in further information should contact��ecumenical@urc.org.uk.

��is a��diaconal project��belonging to the��Waldensian Church in Italy. Founded in 1961 by��Tullio Vinay, a Waldensian pastor who became a Senator in Parliament, Servizio Cristiano today continues his social, cultural and educational commitment to helping the weakest in society.

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The term Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEP) describes the situation where more than one Christian denomination is working together under a formal agreement. The URC is involved in around 400 LEPs; our most common partnerships are with the Methodist Church, the Baptists and the Church of England.

The Methodist Church is our closest ecumenical partner with whom we share in approximately 300 LEPs, 100 of which also comprise one or more additional ecumenical partners. There are 12 LEPs which include the Roman Catholic Church and a total of four united congregations, with the Moravian Church. We have eight LEPs with the Church of Scotland. In Wales, LEPs exist with the Church in Wales, the Methodists, the Baptists, the Presbyterian Church of Wales and the Union of Welsh Independents.

LEP documentation

LEP arrangements are necessarily individual to each setting and are established by means of formal documentation. This takes the form of a constitution or model governing document, and usually a sharing agreement, to take note of the original financial assets contributed by each denomination. In the URC, each individual synod oversees this detailed work and will generally nominate an ecumenical officer to help guide the process. There is a good deal of helpful guidance in terms of LEPs and associated documentation available on the��.

Ecumenical areas

In several parts of the country we are part of Methodist-United Reformed Church ecumenical areas. In January 2019, the two denominations issued a model constitution for ecumenical areas.

The ecumenical county of Cumbria is a good example of how a willingness to work in unity builds the mission of the Church. Cumbria’s vision of ‘God for all’ sets the challenge that by 2020 every person in Cumbria will have had an opportunity to discover more of God and God’s purpose for their life. URC Special Category Minister, the Revd Sarah Moore, serves as area president for Cumbria.

See the 2018 CTE report on the work of .

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In an increasingly diverse society, local churches are often approached by other faith communities seeking premises where they can hold worship or events. The URC last issued guidance about how a local church might host another faith community back in 1974.

It seemed very appropriate therefore to provide more up to date advice. Working with Baptist interfaith colleagues, the URC has produced a brand new booklet for local churches entitled, ‘The use of church buildings by people of other faith communities’. The document gives helpful pointers to assist churches as they discern whether such hospitality would work in their particular context.

Download the booklet

• The use of church buildings by people of other faith communities (PDF | 6mb)

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Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), marked each year on 27 January, is the day for everyone to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution, and in the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2024

This year’s theme is Fragility of Freedom. Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) 2024 also marks the 30th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Forty-nine years after the Holocaust ended, 19 years after the genocide in Cambodia, the world stood by as Hutu extremists shattered the fragile freedom in Rwanda, following decades of tension and violence, culminating in the murder of over one million Tutsis in just one hundred days.

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The use of church buildings by people of other faith communities – In an increasingly diverse society, local churches are often approached by other faith communities seeking premises where they can hold worship or events. The URC last issued guidance about how a local church might host another faith community back in 1974.

It seemed very appropriate therefore to provide more up to date advice. Working with Baptist interfaith colleagues, the URC has produced a brand new booklet for local churches entitled, ‘The use of church buildings by people of other faith communities’. The document gives helpful pointers to assist churches as they discern whether such hospitality would work in their particular context.

��– The Inter Faith Network helpfully produce a calendar of faith festivals each year. It is not an exhaustive list, but it gives a good overview as well as the appropriate greeting for each occasion.

The Baptist Union of Great Britain has produced a pack of 12 cards – 12 myths of Inter Faith Engagement – that can be used in a variety of settings. They challenge such myths as: ‘Inter faith engagement means we sell out on our beliefs and weaken our faith’ and ‘There is no reference to Inter faith encounters in the ministry of Jesus’. The cards are an excellent resource for small group discussions and can be downloaded from the��.��Additionally, the Baptists have written a very accessible series providing a broad introduction to understanding other faiths with background information on their beliefs and practices, which can be found��.

Each year Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) produces a Lent course and in 2017 it was entitled,��. The resource explores how Christian faith has been deepened and enriched by encounters with people of different religions. It is downloadable from the CTBI website.

In 2011, a group of seasoned interfaith activists and young adult leaders, with a passion for inter faith relationships and culture, launched��The Interfaith Observer. It is a free monthly digital journal created ‘to explore interreligious relations and the interfaith movement as a whole’. It can be accessed��.

Useful books for further reference

Christians, Muslims, and Jesus��– Mona Siddiqui

A Heart Broken Open��– Ray Gaston

Eating Curry for Heaven’s Sake��– Barbara Glasson

The Word of God is Not Bound��– John Parry

God’s Unfailing Word: Theological and Practical Perspectives on Christian –��Jewish Relations��–��Faith and Order Commission, Church of England

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