United Reformed Church

An unrelated American church of similar name is the United Reformed Churches in North America. The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Christian denomination (church) in the United Kingdom.

History

The URC is the result of a union between the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church in England and Wales in 1972 and subsequent unions with the Re-formed Association of Churches of Christ in 1981 and the Congregational Union of Scotland in 2000.

Belief

The URC is a trinitarian church with strong historical roots in the Presbyterian (Reformed and Calvinist) and Congregational traditions.

Polity

Each congregation (local church) within the URC is governed by a church meeting consisting of all the members, with the counsel of the (elected) elders' meeting (similar to the Scottish Kirk's session).

Several congregations organize at roughly the county level to form a district, each with a district council (or area council in Scotland). Districts vary in size between 5 to 45 churches. The district council 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. They normally meet 4 or 5 times a year and do much of their work through committees, like district pastoral committee and the district finance and property committee. The district council has a president.

Several districts group into a synod (formerly 'province') in England, roughly at the size of a region; there is a national synod in Scotland, and another in Wales. All told, there are 13 URC synods in Great Britain. The synod is served by a moderator and often a training officer and other staff. 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.

The URC has a General Assembly which gathers representatives of the whole of the URC to meet annually; advised by the Mission Council, it plans the activity of the URC across the United Kingdom. It makes key policy decisions about the direction of the life of the denomination. It also appoints national (that is, UK-level) staff, receives reports from national committees, and deals with large reports and initiatives such as the recent Catch the Vision exercise ^*. Districts and synods are represented, along with national committee convenors.

In the Catch the Vision process, it has been proposed that:

Resolution 40: General Assembly resolves, subject to any legal constraints, that there shall be one level of council between the General Assembly and the local church.

Resolution 41: General Assembly resolves, subject to any legal constraints, that as from General Assembly 2007, there shall be one level of council between General Assembly and the local church, the thirteen 'new synods'.

These two resolutions have now been sent to district councils and synods for ratification. If at least 2/3 of districts and 2/3 of synods affirm them, then they will stand.

Ecumenism

The URC is a member of the many ecumenical organizations, a fact which reflects the church's strong commitment to Christian unity. There are different ecumenical bodies in the component parts of the UK. In the England, these include Churches Together in England, amongst others. In Wales, the URC is a member of Cytûn (Churches Together in Wales) and the Enfys covenant. In Scotland, the URC participates in Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS). Some UK wide work is co-ordinated by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. The URC is also a member of many international ecumenical organisations, including the World Council of Churches, the Conference of European Churches, the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Council for World Mission. It has a partnership with Christian Aid and the World Development Movement, called Commitment for Life.

FURY: Fellowship of United Reformed Youth

FURY, standing for the Fellowship of United Reformed Youth, is an umbrella organisation of which all youth in the URC between the ages of 11 and 25 are automaticaly members. Whether they attend a United Reformed Church or are associated with an organisation using a United Reformed Church such as the Scouts, Boys' Brigade, Girls' Brigade or Pilots, they are a member of FURY.

FURY stands to bring forward the views of young people on the URC and what it should be doing. Views are gathered through FURY Assembly, an event where "FURYens" as they have been termed, can meet and discuss the URC as well as worship God together.

FURY Council is an elected body charged with carrying out the desires of FURY Assembly, as given in motions and resolutions voted for at the Assembly.

FURY is currently undergoing a regeneration and hopes to become a nationwide forum for the young people of the URC rather than an umbrella organisation. It feels that it can offer a better service to young people in this way.

External links

United Reformed Church official website

polity information

The Basis of Union A statement concerning the nature, faith and order of the United Reformed Church
The Structure of the United Reformed Church
United Reformed Church Act 2000 The 1972 and 1981 Acts are not available at Her Majesty's Stationery Office website

organizations for young people

internal ginger groups

continuing Congregational churches that did not unite organically with the URC

continuing Churches of Christ that did not unite organically with the URC

Fellowship of Churches of Christ