A project exploring the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade was launched by the Council for World Mission (CWM) on 12 November.

The hearings centre around the legacies after slavery of place and people, and include acts of lament and repentance, and the sharing of historical and social analysis. 

The programme started with a hearing in London, and three more are planned for 2018 – in Ghana, Jamaica, and the US.

Every morning at 6am the United Reformed Church sends out a daily devotion – a reading, reflection and prayer – to more than 1,700 people.

With hundreds more following online and through the dedicated Facebook page, the devotions emphasise the importance of biblical reflection and prayer as a practice of discipleship, and, from 1 December will appear with the Walking the Way: Living the life of Jesus today branding.

The Revd Richard Church, Deputy General Secretary (Discipleship), explains why. 

The moderator of the URC’s Eastern Synod, which has enjoyed a ten-year partnership with the Presbytery of Zimbabwe, has lent his support to the country’s Christian leaders who recently called for ‘peace and calm’. 

The Revd Paul Whittle was speaking after Zimbabwe’s army took control of the country, put veteran President Robert Mugabe under house arrest and announced it was targeting ‘criminals’ around him. 

His own party, Zanu-PF, has now stripped him of the party leadership, yet he remains determined to cling onto power.