july news continued

Dear Friends,
How strange it seems to be writing my last newsletter to you after thirteen years! Earlier this month I attended Minister’s Summer School – an annual conference for URC ministers from the West Midlands Synod – and was encouraged by the enthusiasm I was hearing from the ministers. We were asked to think about some of the things that we really value about the United Reformed Church and the thoughts were flowing! I wanted to share some of them with you to remind you of the great heritage which we share in our reformed denomination.
We believe in a Trinitarian God - Creator, Saviour and Holy Spirit.
We are an inclusive church, which welcomes a rich diversity of people.
The Lord’s Supper, in the URC, is open to anyone who is a friend of Jesus and wants to know him more.
The authority of our church is the Bible, discerned under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We are committed to ecumenism. (That churches of different denominations should join together to do God’s work).
The “governance” of our church is based on the authority of the church meeting guided by the Holy Spirit. Every Church Member has a voice in the decision making of the Church.
We believe in the “priesthood of all believers” and that we are all called to various ministries – whether you are a listener, a flower arranger, an elder, an administrator, a treasurer, a minister, a singer, a welcomer or all the other jobs that are done in our church – that is your ministry.
We are a church which is committed to challenging injustice in the world and working for peace.
We have a history of encouraging education for both children and adults. (The TLS course is recognised by other denominations as being an excellent course.)
We are a church which values equality. (For instance – our stipendiary ministers all receive the same stipend, whether they are a moderator or a local minister).
Elders in the URC are ordained to their special ministry.
Lay preachers in the URC are recognised as a hugely valuable resource.
We are a part of the Reformed tradition of churches around the world. ( We sometimes forget that the Reformed Church is bigger that the Anglican Church world-wide!)
We value the traditions which make up our church – Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Churches of Christ.
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