More than 250 people braved the snow in Manchester, on 17 March, to attend the Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) conference ‘Brave New World? Faithful living in a time of change.’ Simeon Mitchell, the United Reformed Church’s new Secretary for Church and Society, shares insights on the day.

The conference, held at Methodist Central Hall, was organised by the JPIT team, which is made up of four church denominations – the URC, the Methodist Church, the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the Church of Scotland.

Day three –  Wednesday 21 March

Session nine

Paper L1: URC Trust, report on properties
The Revd John Proctor, General Secretary of the United Reformed Church, presented Paper L1, which provided a report on the remedial works at Church House and on the steps taken towards the sale of the Windermere Centre building. The paper was received with no discussion.

Day two – Tuesday 20 March

Session five

Paper N1: The future of General Assembly
This paper was presented by Dick Gray, who make it clear that Mission Council were not being asked to make the decision on the future of General Assembly; that decision would be taken by General Assembly in July 2018. The thrust of the paper favoured a slightly smaller annual Assembly, 72 hours in duration and always to meet at the Swanwick Conference Centre in Derbyshire.