Who we are
in the North Western Synod of the United Reformed Church
Who we are
Watch this short video – What is the URC?
The United Reformed Church is a family of Christians, serving our communities in the name of Jesus, in around 1,500 local churches from Orkney to Cornwall.
We are the North Western Synod –
one of 13 Synods, including The National Synods of Wales and Scotland, and 11 others across England.
Together, we are
The United Reformed Church
United is an important part of who we are. Our story began with English Presbyterians joining together with English and Welsh Congregationalists in 1972. Churches of Christ joined in 1981 and Scottish Congregationalists in 2000, and countless other Christians have found their home in our local churches.
We believe our calling is to always seek to work as closely as we can with other Christians of different traditions and styles.
Reformed means that we delight in the Bible and we embrace new ways of seeing God and being church. We work in ways that values everyone’s unique insight and contribution to who we are and who we want to become in Christ.
Church is a body of people committed to following Jesus, united in our diversity and accepting of difference.
Throughout our churches you will find a wide variety of theology, worship styles, contexts, and communities – with children, women, and men in positions of leadership, and people of different ethnic backgrounds, sexualities, and genders.
This is all part of who we are! Working and worshiping together, to make a difference in God’s world, for Christ’s sake.
The Churches ARE the Synod
The local United Reformed Churches in the North West ARE the North Western Synod. A family of over 4,000 Members, Elders, Community Workers (CRCWs), and Ministers, committed to God and to each other.
The Synod stretches from the Scottish borders into parts of Derbyshire and Cheshire, and is divided into 4 Areas for administrative and pastoral purposes – Cumbria, Lancashire, Central, and South.
Churches within each Area are grouped into Missional Partnerships for ministry, mutual support, mission and the development of whole-life discipleship. The gifts of all the members and ministers are at the disposal of the Partnership – to realise our shared vision of
“Jesus-shaped churches, full of Jesus-shaped people, making a Jesus-shaped difference”.
The Synod is its People
The Synod is also a team of people, both elected officers and paid staff, who’s work is to aid and resource our churches in their life and mission.
The Synod is also a Trust body with legal and financial responsibilities for all of our local churches.
The teams operate from our Synod Office in Eccles, Manchester, covering:
- Mission & Discipleship
- Learning & Development
- Administration
- Finance
- Legal, Trust, and Property
The Synod is a Council of the Church
The Synod is also a decision-making Council of the United Reformed Church. Representatives from each of our churches gather in the spring and autumn every year – to worship, pray, and explore the scriptures, and to “discern the mind of Christ” for our shared life together.
A Synod Meeting is a place to celebrate the life of the local churches, receive reports, and debate motions put to it by individuals, local churches, or other councils of the church. Decisions taken in these Synod Meetings are binding upon all our churches.
Synod Profile 2019
Members, elders, CRCWs and ministers, all working in teams, using their gifts and skills where they are most needed.
That’s the vision of Missional Partnerships and the strategy we are implementing to ensure our synod, and its local churches are robust and quipped for the future, the changing nature of church and the many challenges we face.
All this and more is explained in our 2019 Synod Profile.
Come and join this Pioneering Synod!
The beliefs of the denomination are perhaps best summed up in our Statement concerning the Nature, Faith and Order of the United Reformed Church.
Want to learn more about the URC? You can by visiting our ‘What is the URC?‘ page, where you will find a short booklet explaining who we are, materials for a discussion group, and other booklets about membership and our life together.
To discover more about, Who we are, What we do, and Why we do it!
We are
the United Reformed Church
www.urc.org.uk