The United Reformed Church welcomed a special visitor for a meeting with staff and tour of Church House on 12 March.

Dr Deidre Palmer, President-elect of the Uniting Church in Australia, visited the URC’s London office while on a short holiday with her family.

Dr Palmer met with the Revd John Proctor, URC General Secretary, and Mr Alan Yates, Moderator of General Assembly, along with other staff members, to explore how the Church has addressed issues surrounding the marriages of same-sex couples.

She explained: 'I'm very interested in the things (the URC) has done on same-sex marriages and how (the URC has) worked with the churches on issues in which Christians don't agree.'

Dr Palmer added that the URC and Uniting Church in Australia had many things in common such as the importance of lay people in leadership roles, recognising every member of ministry within the church family, and championing social justice issues.

The President-elect was introduced to the URC while on a visit to Iona in Scotland, where she met the Revd Phil Wall, Minister of St David’s Uniting Church, Pontypridd, Wales.

Dr Palmer called her visit ‘great’ and thanked Mr Wall for introducing her to Mr Proctor.

Mr Proctor said: ‘It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to share some of the things we have done, how we have handled making decisions, what we have done right and could have done better.’