The United Reformed Church

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Reform magazine: June edition

Cover June21 This month in Reform, Steven Tomkins talks to Chine McDonald, author of God is Not a White Man, about race and faith.

Are the sexes equal in church is a question answered by four contributors, Nadia Bolz-Weber offers a prayer for resurrection; now is the perfect time for churches to be creating community gardens; Church Related Community Worker Simon Loveitt tells the story of food justice and financial inclusion in Sheffield; and Andy Jackson shares some tips about how to tell what’s false and what’s genuine on email.

George Floyd anniversary: URC releases new collection of praise and protest songs

Sunflowers and thistles cover news banner As the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd approaches, the United Reformed Church (URC) has published a new collection of praise songs and protest, Sunflowers & Thistles.

Written by the Revd John Campbell, Minister of High Cross URC, Tottenham, the book of 36 songs was inspired by the global Black Lives Matters (BLM) protests and devastating impact of Covid 19.

Available to download for free from www.urc.org.uk/sunflowers-and-thistles, John explains how it became important for him to express the emotions of his congregation:

Call for a people’s vaccine reaches 450 signatures

The URC General Assembly Moderators joined 450 academics, politicians, charities, faith leaders, and healthcare workers on 10 May to urge the prime minister to waive vaccine patents.

In an open letter, organised by Global Justice Now, STOPAIDS, and Just Treatment, the group called on Boris Johnson to "stand on the right side of history".

The letter urged the UK to follow the US example which saw the Biden administration announce on 5 May that it would support a waiver to help scale up global vaccine production to produce safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines for all people, in all countries.

URC joins coalition to show it stands together with refugees

The United Reformed Church has become a founding member of new campaign coalition Together With Refugees.

The coalition, made up of more than 100 national, local, refugee-led and grassroots groups, calls for a better approach to supporting refugees that is kinder, fairer and more effective, and believes in showing compassion to people fleeing war, persecution or violence.

URC Eastern Synod divests from fossil fuels ahead of G7 and COP26

The United Reformed Church (URC) Eastern Synod has joined 35 faith institutions from 11 countries in announcing its divestment from fossil fuels.

The announcement, made on 17 May, comes from institutions in Brazil, Argentina, India, the Philippines, Uganda, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, the UK and the US, along with the URC, Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, and Baptist churches, among others.

These commitments highlight the urgent need to divest from fossil fuels and invest in clean alternatives in response to the growing climate crisis.