Ministers’ Gathering

The Ministers’ Gathering of the URC takes place every four years for Ministers and Church Related Community Workers to find refreshment, encouragement, affirmation and appreciation through keynote addresses, workshops and space for conversation and reflection.

Here you can download resources, watch videos and read updates from the 2022 event.

Resources

In the closing session of the Ministers’ Gathering, General Secretary John Bradbury shared some reflections about what had been explored at the event: 

• Life in the Spirit (Word | 15kb)

The Revd Najla Kassab, President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, spoke at the Ministers’ Gathering. Here are resources from her talks: 

• Jubilee is a time of celebrating Hospitality (PPT | 108kb)
• Jubilee is a time of celebrating Hospitality (Word | 22kb)
• Jubilee is a time of celebrating life in the Spirit (PPT | 5mb)
• Jubilee is a time of celebrating life in the Spirit (Word | 27kb)
• World Communion of Reformed Churches logo (JPG | 2kb)
• Download logos for the URC 50th anniversary
• Hymn: The earth is yours, O Lord our God (Word | 24kb) – a hymn incorporating themes and phrases from sessions delivered at URC Ministers’ Gathering 2022 by Najla Kassab, Pádraig Ó Tuama, and Dr Meg Warner. Written by Dominic Grant. Suggested tune: “How can I keep from singing”

Workshop presentations

• Who do you think you are? (PPT | 118kb) – by the Revd David Cornick
• Who do you think you are? (Word | 42kb) – by the Revd David Cornick
• Handling an inheritance (PPT | 107kb) – by the Revd David Cornick
• Handling an inheritance (Word | 40kb) – by the Revd David Cornick
• Rewilding the church (PPT | 17mb) – by Steve Aisthorpe
• Using our church building for change (PDF | 765kb) – by Sarah Rogers and Jo Beacroft-Mitchell
• Using our church building for change – business model canvas (Word | 20kb) – by Sarah Rogers and Jo Beacroft-Mitchell

Bible studies by Dr Meg Warner

• Bible study 1: Aliens and tenants (Word | 15kb)
• Bible study 2: Spirit, Word and slavery (Word | 16kb)
• Bible study 3: “But if there’s a murder …” (Word | 15kb)

Music

Where possible we have listed links to the daily music played at the Ministers’ Gathering.

Monday

• 10,000 Reasons – Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin
• Lord have mercy – Joel Payne
• Come and find rest in Christ – Swee Hong Lim
• Gospel Greeting – Bernadette Farrell
• Come to the feast – Marty Haugen
• Holy, holy, holy – Grayson Warren Brown
• Taste and see – James E Moore Jr
• O for a thousand tongues to sing
• Amen – South Africa

Tuesday

• God The Maker of the Heavens – Sam Hargreaves
• Alleluia – South Africa
• The earth belongs to God alone – sung to Rowan Tree
• Touch the earth lightly – Shirley Erena Murray/Colin Gibson

Wednesday

• Come ye faithful raise the strain
• Oh Lord have mercy – traditional
• Sometimes our only song is weeping – Adam ML Tice
• Senzeni na
• The Lord will listen – John L Bell
• Amazing grace my chains are gone – Chris Tomlin

Thursday

• The kingdom of God is justice and peace – Taizé
• God of all comfort – Joel Payne, Matt Weeks
• Spirit of the living God – Daniel Iverson
• Lead me, guide me – Doris Akers
• Guide me, O thou great Redeemer

Updates from the event

• Ministers’ show Bishop support with signed Ukraine Reform poster Ministers have ensured that their support for Ukraine was conveyed loudly and clearly last week when hundreds of ministers and Church Related Community Workers (CRCWs) signed the back of a poster version of the cover of Reform’s April edition

• Ministers Gathering 2022: A time of celebrating hospitality The Revd Najla Kassab, President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, spoke at the United Reformed Church (URC) Ministers’ Gathering on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Ministers’ Gathering 2022: Before the jubilee Pádraig Ó Tuama’s first address to the United Reformed Church’s Ministers’ Gathering 2022 was a reflection on the temptations of Jesus as retold in the Gospel of Luke.

• Ministers’ Gathering 2022: Who is the United Reformed Church? The Revd David Cornick, former Principal of Westminster College Cambridge, and former General Secretary of both the United Reformed Church (URC) and Churches Together in England, led a workshop at the Ministers’ Gathering which explored the history of URC.

• Ministers’ Gathering 2022: The URC at 50 The Revd Dr John Bradbury, the United Reformed Church (URC) General Secretary, spoke to the URC’s Ministers’ Gathering on Monday afternoon, in a talk entitled: ‘The URC at 50: Maturing nicely or mid-life crisis?’

• Hundreds attend Ministers’ Gathering 2022 Two hundred and fifty of the United Reformed Church Ministers and Church Related Community Workers from the denomination’s 13 synods, are spending four days being refreshed and encouraged at the 2022 Ministers’ Gathering.