united reformed church

The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Christian denomination (church) in the United Kingdom.

History

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

Belief

The URC has strong historical roots in the Presbyterian (Reformed and Calvinist) and Congregational traditions.

Polity

Each congregations within the URC is run by a church meeting consisting of all the members, with the assistance of the elder's meeting (similar to the Scottish Kirk's session). Several congregations organize at roughly the county level to form districts, which in turn groups into provincial synods in England (national synods in Scotland and Wales). A General Assembly gathers the whole of URC to meet annually; advised by the Mission Council, they plan the activity of the URC across the United Kingdom.

Ecumenism

It is a member of the many ecumenical organizations. There are different ecumenical bodies in the component parts of the UK. In the England, these include Churches Together in England, amonst others. In Wales, the URC is a member of Cytn (Churches Together in Wales) and the Enfys covenant. In Scotland, the URC participates in ACTS (Action of Churches Together in Scotland). 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 and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. It has a partnership with Christian Aid and the World Development Movement, called Commitment for Life.

External links

Official home page
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

An American church of similar name is the United Reformed Churches in North America. It should be noted that the URCNA (United Reformed Churches in North America) is unrelated to the URC(UK).

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