We are still here after 50 years. What does that say to us? And what is God saying to us? What opportunities does it give us to reflect on our story, on who we are, on what we stand for, on who we follow - and to share that with others?
As local churches and as the URC, marking our 50th year can help us to plan for the future – not only to keep pursuing our ecumenical vision, but also to plan for how we will continue to be an active, engaged and faithful Christian presence in our communities and in new ones. Not least, marking our Jubilee will be an opportunity to give thanks.
50th anniversary tickets available
Free tickets to the URC’s 50th Anniversary Service of Celebration and Thanksgiving are now available.
On the afternoon of Saturday 1 October 2022, in Methodist Central Hall Westminster, London, where the Uniting Assembly of the URC took place in October 1972, a chance to give thanks and to celebrate the five decades of the United Reformed Church. We want as many people as possible from across the denomination to attend.
Several venues, including United Reformed Church House, local URCs and buildings of ecumenical partners, will be available for people to visit during the day, to offer activities, information, workshops, reflection, discussions, singing, catering and other support for visitors before the service.
This is a free event and we will be asking nearer the time for a confirmation of numbers.
Book your tickets through the Eventbrite booking system here: bit.ly/urc50.
A reflection on our upcoming anniversary
The Revd Dr John Bradbury, General Secretary of the United Reformed Church, reflects on the upcoming anniversary of the URC in 2022.
Watch our video below to see how we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2022:
Worship Resources Competition
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URC at 50: Worship Resources Competition
To celebrate the URC's 50th anniversary, choirs, bands, individuals, songwriters, composers, and poets are invited to submit an entry into the URC at 50: Worship Resources Competition.
There are four categories in which you can enter:
- traditional hymn/song
- poem
- contemporary hymn/song
- rap
Judges will select a winner from each category. Winning entries will be included in a digital version of the URC at 50 resource pack for local churches for them to use in jubilee celebrations and/or Sunday services.
Judging schedule
The closing date for entries is 8 April 2022.
Judges will assess each entry in May 2022.
Winners will be informed in June 2022.
Winners will be publicly announced at General Assembly in July 2022, at which the songs, or recordings, will be performed/played/sung.
The winning entries will be recorded and/or filmed in July 2022 for sharing online.
Criteria
To enter, you must be a member or active adherent of a URC or a URC local ecumenical partnership, or URC Youth.
Entries can be new lyrics submitted to existing music within the public domain.
Entries must have a jubilee/URC at 50 anniversary theme and be suitable for use in collective worship.
Musical entries to new tunes must include lyrics plus musical score (PDF or JPG) and/or an audio recording (MP3 or MP4).
The competition is open to people of any age.
One entry per person/group.
Submit entries to: mission@urc.org.uk
Prizes
Winning entries will be played/performed at General Assembly in the Jubilee year. Winners will be awarded a commemorative trophy.
Winning entries will be included in a URC at 50 resource pack for local churches for them to use in local jubilee celebrations and/or Sunday services.Please note: The URC reserves editing rights to ensure entries comply with copyright and are suitable for distribution across the denomination. Entrants will be contacted to ensure they agree with any changes made. In addition, the copyright of the work submitted needs to be with the individual/group or shared/managed by the URC, it must not be work published by any other body.
Download the documents below to find out more about the Worship Resources Competition for our 50th anniversary:
- URC at 50 Worship Resources Competition (PDF | 88kb)
- URC at 50 Worship Resources Competition (Word | 83kb)
Resources for churches
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Resource pack for local churches
To celebrate the United Reformed Church’s 50th anniversary, a resource pack is being designed to help local churches plan their own celebrations.
The pack will include:
- The script of ‘Breaking News’ – a drama about the formation of the URC in 1972, and a short film of it
- Celebrate Together, an intergenerational picture book to give away
- Winning entries of Worship Resources Competition
- Suggestions for worship with resources and a service outline
- Details about the 2022 Prayer Handbook
- Calendar of Jubilee events
- Celebratory materials to help get your party started
- A quiz … and more.
The pack will be available by January 2022.
50th Anniversary Logos
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The logos available for download from this page are the official logos for the United Reformed Church's 50th Anniversary. We encourage their use by all United Reformed churches, local ecumenical partnerships involving the URC and any partner or associated organisations – all are permitted to use the logos on their online and print material, noting that these must be used inline with the current URC guidelines for logo use which we recommend you read. The URC logo is currently available for download in the following colour ways:
Please contact graphics@urc.org.uk if the version you require is not in the list below (i.e if a printer requires eps or illustrator vector files).PNG version – specifically used for web/screen/email.
Black version (RGB):
- 50 logo with long strapline (PNG)
- 50 logo with short strapline (PNG)
- 50 logo with short strapline and no side text (PNG)
Blue version (RGB):
- 50 logo (PNG)
- 50 logo with logo strapline (PNG)
- 50 logo with short strapline (PNG)
- 50 logo with short strapline and no side text (PNG)
White version (RGB):
- 50 logo (PNG)
- 50 logo with logo strapline (PNG)
- 50 logo with short strapline (PNG)
- 50 logo with short strapline and no side text (PNG)
JPG print version – mainly for print
Black version for print (CMYK):
- 50 logo with long strapline (JPG)
- 50 logo with short strapline (JPG)
- 50 logo with short strapline and no side text (JPG)
Blue version for print (CMYK):
- 50 logo (JPG)
- 50 logo with logo strapline (JPG)
- 50 logo with short strapline (JPG)
- 50 logo with short strapline and no side text (JPG)
Multicoloured fish version for print (CMYK):
- 50 fish logo (JPG)
For white version contact the graphics office: graphics@urc.org.uk
Link to normal URC logos
