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URC
Daily Devotions from the URC
A monthly look at one of the URC's 'Daily Devotions' series.
Available to view, subscribe to and download as a podcast,
as well as see back in their archive content, at
https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Thought For The Week - April 2024
This sermon was written by Sue Knight. Sue is a local church leader at Reigate Park URC & Ordinand. New devotions available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Read Mark 12: 1-12
Reflection
The servants, seen as the prophets that God had sent to His people/Israel, were rejected and killed by the very people who were claiming to be of God, and obedient to Him. Jesus used this parable to remind the religious establishment what they were like. The landowner, God, sent his own son, believing that he would be respected. The tenants saw an opportunity here; they believed that if they killed the son they would receive his inheritance. The tenants probably thought that the fight for the property was over, but it wasn’t; the owner now appeared on the scene.
Up to this point, Jesus has been dealing with the immediate situation of Israel and its past disobedience; now He leaves open the question of what Israel’s leadership is going to do with the Son of God, whom He refers to as the “chief cornerstone”. Jesus now stands over the Church in His rightful position of honour, guiding the Church to fulfil its divine destiny. This verse makes clear prophetically how Jesus will be rejected by the religious establishment and ultimately be crucified.
We can apply this parable to our lives by asking two questions; first, have we come to know Christ as our Lord and Saviour, or have we rejected Him like the religious leadership did? The process is simple, as long as we are sincere in seeking a relationship with Christ. We need to recognize our sins, and then accept Christ as the only One who can save us from the penalty of our sins. Second, if we are a believer, what have we done with Jesus? Are we like the bad tenants, rejecting His Word and living a life of disobedience? If we are, we need to study God’s Word and pray for guidance, seeking His will for our lives and living out that will as best as we can, moment by moment, day by day.
Prayer
Dear God
Remind us always that the truth lies in you and not ourselves.
Help us to work with you and not against you
so that your kingdom may grow
through the renewing power of your Holy Spirit. Amen
Thought For The Week - March 2024
This sermon was written by Rev'd. Walt Johnson. Walt serves in the Bolton & Salford Missional Partnership in the North-Western Synod. New devotions available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Read: Mark 11 v1-11
Reflection
As we begin to read through the events of Holy Week, all four Gospels recount the events, each in its own way. Our recollection and understanding is likely to be a merging-together (or synthesis) of these.
But what does Mark tell us? Seven of the eleven verses in today’s reading are about the colt/donkey.
We tend to read Jesus’ knowledge of the donkey as divine foresight. It could have been a prior undocumented arrangement Jesus made with the owner. In Mark, it is bystanders who challenge the disciples about taking the donkey – the mention of Jesus’ words is sufficient to allay their concerns.
The donkey is tied up in the street, so he/she is probably familiar with the human noise and bustle. (I am deliberately writing “he/she” as a reminder that we are discussing a living, feeling animal, part of God’s creation, who is more than the fulfilment of a prophecy about Jesus.)
Maybe the donkey was used to carrying things on his/her back, but today was a new experience: someone got on his/her back and rode! Did the donkey try to shake Jesus off? Or readily go where Jesus led?
The journey from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem is about 3km on hilly terrain, probably quite a strain for a young donkey carrying a human for the first time.
The donkey was used to walking on stony ground. Today, there were cloaks and leafy branches. Did the donkey want to pause for a snack? Did he/she pee or poop on those cloaks, no doubt to much annoyance from the cloaks’ owners? Was he/she frightened by the shouting, wanting to run away?
And once Jesus had reached the Temple, who took the donkey back home – as promised?
And a thought about those shouting “hosanna” – we tend to assume that they were the very same people who five days later were shouting “crucify”. Every crowd comprises individuals, each made in the image of God in all diversity, each with their own thoughts and feelings.
Prayer
Creator God,
as we read through familiar passages,
inspire us afresh through Your Spirit,
that we might always encounter You in new ways.
Open our eyes and minds and hearts
to behold Your love for us in creation –
the plants, the animals and each individual. Amen.
Thought For The Week - December 2023
This sermon was written by Rev'd. Terry Hinks. Terry is Minister of Trinity High Wycombe and Cores End United Reformed Churches. New devotions available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Read: Ezekiel 11: 14 – 21
Reflection
In this first month of a new year we look again at our own hopes and fears for the future – the future of our nation in the lead up to a General Election, the future of Europe, troubled by warfare in Ukraine and mass migration, the future of the Holy Land with a just and comprehensive peace for Israelis and Palestinians still a distant dream, the future of the planet and its diverse life, in the face of climate and many other environmental crises. When Ezekiel spoke of ‘detestable things and abominations’ we find many echoes in the corruption, lies, acts of violence and injustices of today.
Ezekiel heard God speaking out to the exiles of his own times – the prophet’s own people who feel that God is so distant. They are so removed from their homeland, so far from Jerusalem and its temple – the holy dwelling place of God – that they assume God is far away too. The temple and city have been destroyed and occupied by a powerful and brutal empire and Ezekiel and his fellow exiles feel helpless and powerless.
Yet God has not abandoned his people – God (rather than a building or a city or a nation) is their sanctuary and has always been, through the grim experience of destruction and brokenness. More than that, God promises a future filled with hope and promise, one that is not imposed from outside or above, but grows up within the community and its people. Alongside the promise of return to the land is the more vital promise of renewed hearts and spirits. The transplant operation, replacing the heart of stone with a heart of flesh that feels and beats and lives, is about to take place. Will the people hold onto the stone – the thing they can possess – or will they allow God to begin the operation?
Prayer
Lead us to the operating table,
Lord Jesus Christ,
to remove the heart of stone
and place that beating heart of love and truth
you want for all.
Feed us at the table with your body and blood,
that we may live anew,
in the power of your vibrant and vitalising Spirit. Amen.
Thought For The Week - December 2023
This sermon was written by Rev'd. Ruth Dillon. Ruth is a retired URC minister, member at Glenorchy URC, Exmouth and the Quakers Community, Exmouth and an End of life Doula with End of Life UK and with Dying with Grace, affordable South Devon Doula Support. New devotions available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Traumatic death - A Reflection
There is nothing that can replace the absence of someone dear to us, and one should not even attempt to do so. One must simply hold out and endure it. At first that sounds hard, but at the same time, it is also a great comfort. For to the extent of emptiness truly remains unfilled one remains connected to the other person through it. It is wrong to say that God fills the emptiness. God in no way fills it, but much more leaves it precisely unfilled and thus helps us preserve.. even the pain… the authentic relationship. Furthermore, the more beautiful and full of remembrances, the more difficult the separation. But gratitude transforms the torment of memory in silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past, not as a thorn, but as a precious gift deep within, a hidden treasure of which one can always be certain
Deitrich Bonhoeffer
Reflection
I remember exactly when and where I was, when I heard that my close friend had taken his own life. It was January 1980, and I was cradling my eldest daughter in the maternity unit. Only a few hours earlier, Ian had come to see us both, and he held her for a long time. We recalled how we sneaked into the side room so he could hear her heartbeat when she was a 20 weeks old foetus. We drank hot chocolate and he wrote in her baby book. I was so pleased he managed to come as he had had a busy day in surgery. I had known Ian since I started my nurse training, when he was a first year medical student and I was living in the nurses homes adjacent to the Doctors’ Homes. We just clicked, and over the years, we remained friends.
On that fateful day, another of our friends came and drew the curtains around my bed, her red eyes and shaky voice explaining that Ian had taken his life. I cannot recall precisely what I said or did, but I can remember my emotions and the intense feeling loss, and that has stayed with me all my life.
All I kept recalling was the last conversation I had with him, whether I missed the signs of sadness behind his masked smile, and I regretted not having my camera near me. I often think of Ian, and others who feel the need to take their life. Now, I give thanks for his life and how his impact has shaped my Doula and Samaritan roles 44 years after his death. Whether the person is called Ian, Jess, George or …yes Judas, a sudden or traumatic death leaves a mark within us.
In the space of 24 hours the Divine Midwife was revealed in the birth of my daughter and the death of Ian. The Divine Midwife left a mark on me…. and that mark is called Love.
Prayer
God in whom I live, breathe and have my being,
can you hear me through my tears and pain?
Can you reach out to touch my foggy emotions?
Can you feel my aching lungs struggling to breathe?
Can you truly understand my lamentations?
My deepest desire is for peace for those who have:
taken their life, died alone, died violently, or died with no hope.
My deepest desire is for them to finally encounter Love.
Amen
Thought For The Week - November 2023
This sermon was written by Jacob Holme. Jacob is an Anglican Youth Minister at St Andrew’s Fulham Fields in London, where he heads up the Youth Ministry in Communion project. He is also a graduate in Christian Theology & Youth Ministry. New devotions available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Read: Luke 6 v16-21
Reflection
We are faced daily with issues of injustice, it is a reality in which we live. How often do we fail to notice those who suffer? How often do we fail to speak up? My recent trip to Israel-Palestine with Sabeel-Kairos and Sabeel Jerusalem was incredible, it evoked feelings of joy and warmth, whilst also instilling in me a deep sadness, even anger.
How far removed from present Bethlehem do the lyrics of the famous carol ‘O little town of Bethlehem’ now seem as a wall imprisons the Palestinian people, watch-towers with armed Israeli soldiers intimidate and belittle passersbys, gunship helicopters loom over head the movement of their blades echoing through the valley, and frequent clashes bring bloodshed, tears and cries of pain to the streets. The picture we paint in our minds of Bethlehem at Christmas is far removed from the Bethlehem of the twenty-first century. The holy sights of Bethlehem and the surrounding areas encourage deep spiritual encounter, but this is pointless without engagement in the current crisis in the region.
‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’; in this present moment we are called to recognise and share the liberating and life-giving love of God, and this is exactly what many Palestinians are declaring in the Middle-East whether they be Christians, Muslims, Jews, or other. As we approach Advent, I encourage you to study further the situation, to advocate for reconciliation, justice, and peace, and to maybe even consider a witness visit for yourself with organisations such as Sabeel.
Visiting Israel-Palestine is like living out the formation of the fifth Gospel of Christ, whilst there is darkness now, the light will come. But we, like Christ in the synagogue, are called to proclaim good news, justice, and liberation.
Prayer
God of Love, help us through word and deed
to dispel the darkness of this world.
Enable us by your Spirit,
to live as advocates for justice and reconciliation and empower us to be bold in seeking liberty
and release to all those who are oppressed.
Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer
Thought For The Week - September 2023
This sermon was written by Pat Stannard, Elder at Muswell Hill URC. New devotions available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Read: Romans 16 v17-27
Reflection
This passage and the one before are what makes Paul’s message to the Romans a personal letter rather than just a long-distance “sermon”.
One can imagine the recipients wrestling mentally with the difficult themes – then breathing a sigh of relief as they remember that the writer is a flesh and blood friend. Paul tells the readers that Timothy and three of his relatives – Lucius, Jason and Sosipater – are with him. He is lodging with Gaius, while Erastus and Quartus send greetings too. And his scribe, Tertius, inserts a cheeky little message from himself. The personal touch counts.
A few weeks ago, I spent an hour reading especially valued old letters kept in a box. They shared news from family and friends, near and far. Few (if any) are likely be added to the box now. Personal letter-writing by hand on a pristine sheet of Basildon Bond is becoming a thing of the past.
Thank God we have developed new ways to cross communication barriers and share our news, fears and hopes in person, even from far away. The pandemic lockdown and the desire for human contact it caused brought home to us the worth of telephone calls, emails, Zoom calls, WhatsApp, and a host of other new resources, enabling us to communicate in a meaningful way. They offered us the personal touch when other contact was denied.
Now we are back together in life and in church. We can talk over coffee, hug our families, chat to friends we bump into in the street and invite people into our homes. We can laugh and cry together.
The personal touch counts too when strangers cross our church thresholds. Warm and inclusive reception of all, regardless of their backgrounds or their needs, may serve to bring them closer to knowing God than even the most enthralling sermon!
Prayer
Lord of all,
We remember that Jesus said: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
Grant that we may always greet strangers as new friends,
offering the same care and personal warmth that we extend to existing friends.
You tell us that everyone matters; no-one should feel excluded.
So be it.
Thought For The Week - May 2023
This sermon was written by Simeon Mitchell, the URC’s Secretary for Church and Society and Team Leader of the Joint Public Issues Team. Available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Read: St Matthew 20:1-14
Reflection
Hope for a just economy that enables the flourishing of all life (part 1)
Like many young children, my offspring have an acute sensitivity to unfairness. Rarely a day goes by without one of them exclaiming “That’s not fair!” – usually when it’s they that are on the receiving end of the perceived injustice.
In Jesus’ story, the workers who had laboured all day in the vineyard were likewise up in arms to discover that those who had started work after them were receiving the same pay.
But the parable suggests we might need to re-examine what we think it means for something to be fair.
Today is International Workers’ Day. Over the last few years, the UK has seen an unprecedented growth in the numbers of people who are in work but also in poverty. Real-terms wages for workers are lower than they were in 2008, and a long way from keeping up with the rising cost of living. The Trussell Trust recently reported that 1 in 5 people referred to its food banks were from households where someone worked.
Is it fair that wages do not provide enough to meet people’s needs, and benefit rates are insufficient too?
In the parable, we see an alternative approach taken to fairness. At the end of the day, the generous landowner provides all the labourers with a full day’s wage. In God’s economy, everyone should have enough to live.
One of the six hopes for society which guides the work of the Joint Public Issues Team is for ‘a just economy that enables the flourishing of all life’. The Bible offers us a vision of abundant life where the economy serves the dignity and wellbeing of people and communities, within the bounds of the sustainability of creation. When, by contrast, our current economic system leaves many in poverty, as well as degrading our planet, is it time to call out “it’s not fair”?
Go to jpit.uk/justeconomics for a free six-part Bible study on the economy using non-technical language.
Prayer
Generous God,
help us see the world with your eyes
and imagine a future where none go hungry,
all who labour receive fair reward
and everyone has enough to live.
Give us the courage to question our assumptions
about how things have to be
and work towards a just economy
that enables the flourishing of all life.
Amen
Thought For The Week - April 2023
This sermon was written for Saturday 1st April by Rev’d Carole Elphick, a retired minister worshipping at Muswell Hill URC . Available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Read: Matthew 25 v31-46
Reflection
Many years back when training for ministry, I crafted a sermon on this passage and delivered it with some fluency and insight, or so I thought, in the church near Cambridge, where I was a member. I no longer recall the details, but I’m sure it was pretty strong on how the way of Jesus is about starting on the edges of life and serving those who are hungry and thirsty, and naked, etc as a priority, and not as an afterthought. It probably didn’t pay much attention to the eternal punishment angle nor the severity of the judgement of the Son of Man on “those who did not do it to me”. It did polarise the story into sheep, good – goats, bad, rather like a Middle Eastern ‘Animal Farm’.
That congregation was blessed by the regular presence of at least two retired moderators and other URC luminaries. It was a rigorous training ground and so it proved on that Sunday particularly. The next day, I received a handwritten note from one of those people. It pointed out that on the hillsides of Palestine, especially when seen from a distance, it was practically impossible to tell which animal was a sheep, and which animal was a goat as they look so very similar. They often roam together on the hillside during the day and that would explain why the Shepherd needed to separate them on occasions. I had been working on the narrow British-based pictures of fluffy sheep and wiry goats and that was not the reality of the context. It was a helpful correction, although I didn’t fully appreciate the note at the time!
But it also carries with it a powerful message about judgement. Not about the judgement of the fiery pit as a result of our actions in life, but the judgement that we so easily exercise when looking at what other people are doing around us. Life would be so much more simple if we could tell at a glance who were the good people, and who were not but the reality is they look very similar. We look very similar. What is significant is not what we look like or what we profess, but the outcome of our actions. Sheep and goats may look similar, but their behaviour and their feeding habits are very different. Jesus does not hide in plain sight to be mischievous, or to be misleading, but simply to teach us to love without judgement and without prejudice all of the least, who are by definition “members of my family”.
Prayer
Holy One,
Let me never despise those who seem to be your little ones; rather, free me from judgements and let me be humbled, recognising those who live with generosity and courage, love and faithfulness as my teachers and guides.
Amen.
Thought For The Week - March 2023
This sermon was written for Sunday 5th March by Rev'd. Dr Susan Durber, World Council of Churches President from Europe and Moderator of the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC. Available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Reflection
There is a thread in the Bible, and in human thinking more widely, that says that the good will be rewarded and the wicked will be punished. This thinking underpins most soap opera plots – in the end (even if the end is a long time coming), the misdeeds of the protagonists are found out and there is a reckoning. There is something in us that wants to know that good will be rewarded and that ill (in the sense of bad) will be repaid with ill. Psalm 125 seems to be there too. God’s promise is eternal for those who live aright (in this version). All the faithful will find their full redemption. But the first verse of this metrical version recognises that this isn’t in fact our experience of how the world is. Those who place their reliance on God sometimes fall into despair, and need to be embraced by God and be comforted. ‘Just rewards’ are not always our fortune. If they were, we would not despair or need God’s comforting embrace.
Perhaps there is another theme in the witness of the Bible, another way to understand how goodness and wickedness are (or aren’t) related to reward. Is there a message, embodied perhaps most perfectly in Jesus himself, that righteousness, goodness and loving justice are not always rewarded? But, even if they are not rewarded, they are worth living. No matter what happens to you it is always right to pursue goodness. Goodness, if you like, does not need a reward. That is why those who lean on God do not despair, because they know that however unbalanced and unfair the workings of the world are, God is with them. I’d like to think I could hold onto that wisdom, and welcome God’s embrace, as I seek to be and do what is good, for no reward but knowing that I do God’s will.
Prayer
Eternal God,
as I pray today,
embrace me with your love
and let me find in your arms,
whatever I need to face the day.
I relinquish the search for rewards
and welcome instead your unexpected blessings.
I ask forgiveness for all I have done amiss
and your mercy for my mistakes.
I offer to you my hope to do what is good
and my intentions to live a better life today.
Redeem me this day and every day,
from your grace and for your world.
Thought For The Week - February 2023
This sermon was written for Tuesday 31st January by Rev'd. Geoffrey Clarke, Moderator for the East Midlands Synod. Available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Read: Matthew 8 v5-13
Reflection
The humble approach of the centurion contrasts with how others saw him. In Luke’s version the elders tell Jesus: “He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us”. (Luke 7: 4-5) Clearly his military superiors considered him worthy of the rank of centurion. But in Jesus’ presence he does not pull rank. Despite being a respected Synagogue benefactor he pleads as one unworthy.
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.” His words have found their way into the liturgy of the Church; for centuries Christians have used these words just before receiving Communion. Until recently the words used were, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed”. Since 2011 the Catholic liturgy changed to “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed”. The centurion’s words have been the inspiration for the Prayer of Humble Access from the Anglican liturgy: We do not presume to come to this your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table …
Sometimes it is others who convince us we’re unworthy; sometimes we convince ourselves by comparing ourselves unfavourably with others we deem to be more worthy. The centurion’s prayer is a great leveller – reminding us that no-one is worthy in their own right and yet, amazingly, thanks to God’s “manifold and great mercies”, each of us is welcomed at God’s banquet – God comes to us.
Prayer
God, we come to you, trusting in your mercy
and not in any worthiness or achievements of our own.
We come, with the centurion, to plead for those
who are paralysed by fear and guilt, distressed by sickness, anxiety and grief.
May your love be known – under our rooves –
and the beauty of your word
silence the discord and unrest of our world.
Only say the word and our souls shall be healed.
Through Christ.
Amen.
Thought For The Week - January 2023
Written by Rev’d Dr Michael Hopkins. Michael is minister of a group of Methodist and United Reformed Churches in and around Farnham, Surrey, and Clerk of the General Assembly. Available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Read: Psalm 116
Reflection
I'm not sure how many Daily Devotions readers would want to stake their life on their prayer life. It isn’t always a hot topic of conversation around the URC. If your life depended upon your prayers, how would you fare? I heard a story about a ship that was sinking in the middle of the ocean and the captain called out to everyone on board, "Does anybody here believe in prayer?"
And one person said, "Yes, Captain, I do."
"Wonderful, we'll all put our life jackets on and you can pray, because we're one life jacket short."
I'm not certain that I would want to be the one on that ship without a life jacket praying and depending only on prayer. But there is a challenge to us in this Psalm. Ought to be more confident not in our own ability to pray but in God's ability to hear us and to respond? This is why the Psalmist, despite clearly having been through some awful situation, is confident in thanking God for hearing his prayers.
Many people tell me that they’re quite uncomfortable about praying, or that prayer is one of the most difficult things in living a Christian life. When Michael Ramsay was Archbishop of Canterbury he was asked how long he prayed for each morning. He replied that he prayed for one minute, but it took him up to half an hour to prepare for that one minute.
Today’s Psalm encourages and challenges us to pray, and not only to pray, but to pray with confidence and therefore pray more because we have confidence.
Prayer
Loving God,
Give me strength:
strength to hold on,
and strength to let do.
Amen.
Thought For The Week - 9th October 2022
Written by Rev'd. Ruth Browning for the United Reformed Church. Available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Read: Acts 28 v1-10
Reflection
Reflection
The last time we visited Malta in search of some winter sun it was cold all week. The wind seemed to whistle straight from the Alps, down the coast of Italy and hit Malta. The island in the picture (St Paul’s Island) is said to be where the shipwreck happened as it gets the full force of the northerly wind. The site of the shipwreck in fact is generally thought to be to the east of the main island of Malta.
As a result of Paul’s encounter with the viper, and miraculous escape from death, the survivors are treated with a mixture of hospitality, courtesy and awe. This combination allows Paul the opportunity to demonstrate the healing power of God. The outcome was a replacement or repaired ship being fully provisioned for the final leg of the journey. According to St John Chrysostom this shows Paul converted a large number, though there is no account in Acts of mass conversions. Also according to tradition, Publius became the first Bishop of Malta.
Paul’s determination to appeal to Caesar drives them on, where it might have been thought he would have taken the opportunity to remain in a place of safety with some status. The effect of Paul’s ministry is still celebrated with a festival each year on February 10th with fires lit in braziers or as bonfires outside churches.
Prayer
God, creator, we do not know what effect we have on the lives of those we meet. May we greet with grace and love all those we meet especially when our own situation seems less appropriate than we would like.
Amen
Thought For The Week - 9th October 2022
Written by Rev'd. Dr Elizabeth Welch for the United Reformed Church. Available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Read: Acts 21 v27-36
Reflection
Paul had his life turned round from being a persecutor to becoming a follower of Jesus himself. Saul became Paul, as a sign of the new life he was now living which took him to many different places, testifying to the Good News of Jesus Christ, bringing about the possibility of change in people’s lives.
However, on this journey, there were also moments of struggle and persecution, of challenge and distress. In today’s passage, he’s not welcomed, but faces accusations and opposition. He’s accused of teaching against the Law, and of bringing foreigners into a holy place. A crowd comes and drags him out of the Temple, and tries to kill him. Then the authorities arrive and, instead of killing him, arrest him, carrying him away to temporary safety.
Over the centuries in the West there have been many conflicts within the Church, leading to separation and division. Now, the Christian faith is seen as being in decline in the West. In the UK, Christian values are quietly disappearing, as, for example, in the change from the priority given to care for the homeless and refugees replaced by policies such as deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda. Another example is the move away from offering health care free to all at the point of delivery, in the establishment of the National Health Service, with policies of outsourcing and charging being explored.
While in this country we can give thanks that we do not yet get persecuted for our faith, we do face the challenge of standing up in the face of less than Christian values in order to testify to what we believe. Standing up for our faith in the God who is good, loving, and just, who is particularly revealed as three-in-one and one-in-three, and who draws us into the relationality within the Godhead to live relationally with others rather than as individuals in isolation. We can take both wisdom and courage in the face of indifference and opposition.
Prayer
Loving God,
I give thanks for the strength and courage you gave Paul,
to remain faithful to You even in the midst of opposition and persecution.
I pray for those who are today persecuted for their faith.
I pray for the courage to speak out, even in the face of an opposing crowd.
May I be bold, not in putting others down,
but in proclaiming Your love for all.
Amen.
Thought For The Week - 9th October 2022
Written by Rev'd. James Breslin for the United Reformed Church. Available every day at https://devotions.urc.org.uk/
Fifty years ago the United Reformed Church was presented as the first step towards a greater union. There were many who, unimpressed by that rhetoric, saw it as the end of a process that had been debated for centuries.
During the 16th century “Marian Exile” Presbyterians and Independents argued over the nature of the Church and how it should be governed. The return to England, after the death of Mary Tudor, enabled these arguments to continue. Whilst the Presbyterians gained a victory during the English Civil war the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 and the subsequent enforcement of Episcopacy led Presbyterians and Congregationalists, now persecuted religious minorities, to the first of several attempts to overcome their differences. The Happy Union of 1690 proved neither happy nor a union and collapsed after a mere four years. Nevertheless, attempts to reconcile the differences between the two communions continued. The 18th Century saw most English Presbyterian Churches drift into Unitarianism leading to a de facto union as many orthodox Presbyterian Congregations became Congregationalist. The 19th Century saw several Presbyterian groups unite to create the Presbyterian Church of England and, at the same time, Congregationalists organise themselves into County Unions - later into a Church in its own right. Presbyterians and Congregationalists then had several attempts to unite until finally, in 1972, union was achieved by the creation of the URC.
Sadly at each stage some found themselves unable to join into the larger union and remained outside. Both Presbyterianism and Congregationalism, and later on the Churches of Christ which joined the URC in 1981, experienced the pain of having to part from those whom they considered family. Thus while for some the fact that after 50 years the URC still exists is seen as a failure of ecumenism, for others it is a successful conclusion of a four hundred year struggle.