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Thursday 13 May marks the beginning of Thy Kingdom Come, an annual prayer movement that unites individuals and churches from around the world in ten days of prayer.
It begins after Ascension Day, which commemorates Jesus’ return to heaven after his resurrection, and ends at Pentecost when we celebrate God’s gift of the Holy Spirit which empowers us to live the life of Jesus today. Everyone connected with the United Reformed Church is invited to join this exciting journey.
For one person searching for God in Norwich, Eastern Synod, the answer came in an unexpected way; a call to walk with God. They share more with us:
For some context, I’ve moved from church to church a lot in my life. I’m in a same-sex marriage, and that means we’ve struggled to find somewhere to settle, but after prayer, we felt God leading us to the URC and have been blessed with a loving, welcoming place to call home.
God has given people many talents to share and as we go through this pandemic people are using these talents in many different ways. Nigel, a funeral director in Marton, Blackpool, North Western Synod, working on the front line, came up with the idea of making face masks for the community, as the need for them increased.
Nigel and his friend Val were able to call on their skills as keen members of the local theatre group, including skills in costume making, to take their plans forward, with Val cutting out the patterns from fabric, and Nigel sewing them together.
Walking the Way: Living the life of Jesus today is the United Reformed Church’s focus on whole-of-life discipleship, which is about how we can be more like Jesus in all we do, recognising that God is with us and working through us to make a difference in the world.
Scroll down to find resources which might be useful to you, your family and your church as you explore whole-of-life discipleship, as well as find contacts in your synod.
Check out the Walking the Way news page, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Please email or call 020 7520 2718. We’d love to help however we can.
Click the headings below for more information:
Here are resources which the Walking the Way steering group recommends:
Here are resources which Synods and local churches recommend:
Here are some wide-ranging resources to help you, your family and local chruch unpack what it means to be more like Jesus:
How might training or education help us in our journey with Jesus? Here are materials and courses which might be of use on your discipleship journey:
How can we move from learning about Jesus to actually being more like him? Here are some organisations and resources which might help you move from thought into action:
What does the Bible tell us about being more like Jesus? Here are some organisations and resources to help you read and engage with scripture:
How can talking with God help us become more like Jesus? Here are some organisations and resources to support you as you pray:
How can we grow closer to God as we grow closer to those around us? Here are some resources and organisations to help you explore discipleship with your frends, family and other people of faith:
What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus online? Here are some resources and organisations to help you consider this:
How can our worship of God bring us closer to Jesus in our everyday lives? Here are some resources and organisations which might be of help:
Click the headings below for more information:
This Synod covers Durham, Northumberland and Tyne & Wear. Contact Jane Rowell.
This Synod covers Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, parts of Cheshire and Derbyshire. Contact Daleen ten Cate (Lancashire) or Lawrence Moore (Central).
This Synod covers Liverpool, Merseyside, Wirral, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Crewe, and the Isle of Man. Contact Stuart Radcliffe.
This Synod covers the whole of Yorkshire. Contact Ashley Evans.
This Synod covers Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northants, Milton Keynes and parts of Cambridgeshire and Staffordshire. Contact Derek Graham.
This Synod covers Birmingham, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Coventry, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, the Black Country and Shropshire. Contact Nick Stanyon or Stuart Scott.
This Synod covers Cambridge, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Email wtw@urc.org.uk to find out more.
This Synod covers Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Wiltshire. Contact Synod Office.
This Synod covers Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands, half of Surrey and small parts of Buckinghamshire and Wiltshire. Email wtw@urc.org.uk to find out more.
This Synod covers Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Greater London and Hertfordshire. Contact Eddie Boon.
This Synod covers Kent, south London and parts of East Sussex, West Sussex and Surrey. Contact Andy Twilley or Martin Hayward.
This Synod covers the whole of Wales. Contact Branwen Rees.
This Synod covers the whole of Scotland. Contact Sarah Moore.
Email or call 020 7520 2718. We'd love to hear from you!
Youth work is all about relationships, but how can youth workers maintain those relationships when they can’t meet with young people physically? Leo Roberts, Children’s and Youth Work Development Officer for the URC’s Northwestern Synod, explains how online gathered youth groups have helped him, and the young people he works with, maintain their connections…
It’s important for young people to have the opportunity to talk about how they feel, what they’re experiencing and how they’re coping, especially during the current pandemic. Without being able to see young people physically, this can be done with phone calls, texts and internet messaging (ensuring you comply with Good Practice guidelines, of course!) But it’s also important that they feel connected to each other and the Church, and that they are able to have some fun.
Gathered youth groups are pretty much what they say on the tin. A place, date and time are advertised, and young people gather together to spend time with whoever shows up. Normally, in Northwestern Synod, we hold a gathered youth group session in a different area (known as a missional partnership) of the synod each month so that young people can have a chance to attend a session without needing to leave their own geographical area.
