The United Reformed Church

By Keith Forecast

I was brought up within the Reformed Tradition, with three principal influences, namely, a practising Christian family, a liberal Congregational Church and a Crusader class. From the first influence, I learned the value of Church-going and the ethical practicalities of Christian living. In the context of the second influence, I became involved in dignified and restrained corporate worship which drew me consciously into the presence of God and encouraged me to think about my faith and its implications. Under the third influence, I developed a knowledge of and love for the Scriptures and the value of a daily ‘quiet time with the Lord’. I don’t think I ever heard or used the term ‘spirituality’, either during my upbringing or, for that matter, during many years of ministry. Today, it is used much more widely and freely and can denote anything from a vague yearning for the infinite to the daily exercises of the priest or the religious community.

So what is ‘spirituality’ and is there such a thing as ‘Reformed Spirituality’?

By David Parkin

A number of years ago, I was invited to be part of a retreat at Launde Abbey in Leicestershire, the basic theme being ‘On The Edge’. Early on we met individually with the retreat facilitator and in my session I said that I had a picture of a sign in my mind, a sign that read ‘Way Out’, and I wasn’t sure if I simply wanted a way out of the retreat or if it signified something deeper. I remembered my time driving in Cyprus and being entranced that the motorway exit signs which read ‘Exodus’. My underlying theme for the retreat was settled. Exodus, the ‘way out’ for the people of Israel, was initially to the wilderness, a time of wandering that, despite an occasional wish to return to Egypt, was to lead to positive outcomes, not least a new understanding of the God they worshipped.

Sarah Moore

‘Do you crave for space in the midst of your busyness and wonder whether there must be more to life?’

‘The great need of our time is for people to be connected to spirit; for people to be connected in themselves that makes their lives vital and full of meaning, that makes life a mystery to be uncovered.’ (Harold Stone, Sandplay).

So went two statements on the publicity material drawn up for the weekly meditation group at Central URC, Darwen, Lancashire, when I was minister there. The group gathers for around 45 minutes and, other than sometimes some gentle music in the background, gathers in silence. No verbal prayer, no Bible readings, no teaching or exposition, no hymns. This group pushes the boundaries of what might be understood as worship in the Reformed Tradition but perhaps not in ways that one might predict. A brief centring exercise to open and close the space, beyond and between which participants receive an open invitation to use the time as they wish and need.

By David Helyar

‘Is it a mistake that you are still alive?’ Perhaps not the kind of question you expect to face when you attend a Synod residential retreat! But a real and a searching question, nevertheless. Should you dare to respond that ‘it certainly is no mistake!’, then the next question is just as searching, ‘So, what are you alive for?’

For two days at the Emmaus Centre in West Wickham, we were challenged to consider what it means for us to grow old. Using Bible passages, poems, stories, music, videos and plenty of silence, we were enabled, in a down-to-earth but spiritually uplifting way, to face the reality of old age. Admittedly, most of us were old already, so it was a fitting and challenging theme which even the one or two slightly younger members found to be an enriching and stimulating focus for reflection.