The URC is a family of more than 70 million Christians. The URC has around 42,000 members in about 1,200 congregations with more than 600 ministers. More than 48,400 people worship in our Churches each week and many more take part in weekday activities of the Churches.
What we believe
God loves you. And as Christians, we do too.
Regardless of who you are, your background, your family, your past, your present or future, we are in this church because we believe that God is alive and listening to us through prayer, guiding and speaking to us through the Bible, forgiving us for what we have done wrong, and waiting for us in Heaven after we pass away.
We believe that each one of us can find contentment through loving and serving Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
A lack of hierarchy, and a respect for individual principles, means that the URC is not rigid in the expression of its beliefs, and embraces a wide variety of opinions.
At the same time, in the words of the URC’s Statement of Nature, Faith and Order, together we are committed to ‘God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit – the living God, the only God, ever to be praised.’
You Are Welcome Here
We are proud to be an intercultural Church, where people with varied ethnic and cultural roots meet, worship, discuss and learn from one another.
We were pioneers in ordaining women – our first female minster was ordained more than 100 years ago in 1917.
Most jobs and roles in the URC, whether voluntary or paid, are open to all
History of the URC
In 1972, the URC was a culmination of the merging of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church of England and Wales. The denomination expanded when Churches of Christ joined in 1981; followed by the Scottish Congregationalists in 2000. Many Churches have become Local Ecumenical Partnerships that have united with other denominations in the process.
Organisational Structure
There is a three-tier structure which is open for everyone to participate in. Local Churches have an Elders’ Meeting in which the Ministers and Elders share pastoral and spiritual oversight and leadership. There are also Church meetings, where all members gather to seek God’s will and to discuss the life and work of the Church.
The URC has 13 synods: the national Synods of Scotland and Wales plus 11 regional Synods across England. Each Synod provides oversight of about 100 local Churches and is led by a Synod Moderator.
The General Assembly of the URC is the ultimate decision-making body. It meets every year to celebrate, discuss and make decisions about the life and work of the Church.
The General Assembly also has different committees including communications, education, learning, discipleship, safeguarding, ecumenical work, global justice and Church and society.
To find a congregation, please visit the URC directory.
To find details on how to contact other synods, please visit Synod contacts.