Latest news and features
from URC Mersey
Book Now: Synod Meeting Saturday 12th October 2024
The next meeting of our Mersey Synod is Saturday 12th October 2024 at Allerton United Reformed Church, Mather Ave, Allerton L18 7HD
Booking is essential and anyone can attend (although only members can vote). We shall gather as leaders of the churches so that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit we may discern the mind of Christ for the future and to give thanks for work that has been completed since we last met.
URC Mersey Synod Job Vacancy: Grant (Bid) Finder and Writer/Office Admin Support (part time)
Are you interested in working for a Charity as part of a small and friendly team? Your main role will be to write funding applications and bids for church projects and assist churches in their applications, from external funders. In the Synod Office you will cover the Reception Area and provide general office administrative support to the Staff Team, the Synod committees and local churches.
CORRYMEELA June 2024: Living in community and spiritual memories at a Synod retreat
St John’s URC Warrington’s Maggie Eldridge-Mrotzek and Rita Griffith discuss living in community and spiritual memories at Corrymeela Peace and Reconciliation Centre in Ballycastle, Northern Ireland.
The Presidents of Churches Together in England call on churches and communities to work together: Statement
The Presidents of Churches Together in England, named below, have issued a statement calling on churches and communities to work together to end racism, division and disorder. They write…
A URC statement on the ongoing civil unrest in the UK
No-one should suffer intimidation and violence because of their religious beliefs or ethnic background. People fleeing from threat and persecution in other places should be able to find a safe place in the UK.
NEW ASSEMBLY MODERATOR INDUCTED: MERSEY'S REVD TIM MEADOWS
The Revd Tim Meadows, Minister of Allerton and St Stephen’s Wavertree in Mersey Synod, has now begun his moderatorial year as General Assembly Moderator 2024-2025..
URC Mersey Synod Eco Group and Eco Updates
Following the Mersey Synod meeting on 9th March, a Synod Eco Group has been formed to help churches fulfill our commitment of caring for God’s Creation and to exchange information and experiences on ‘green’ issues.
New Talking Faith Event: Courage, Confidence & Complicated Questions
Why do bad things happen to good people? Doesn’t religion just cause wars? How can we as Christians respond to these challenges the world is facing today? This event with the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics (OCCA) will help us all to engage with the big questions of our life and faith.
A Call to Worship and a Prayer for Pentecost
A call to worship and a prayer for Pentecost from Revd Murray George, Ministering to the churches of Mersey Synod South Cheshire Pastorate of the URC.
COMMITMENT FOR LIFE: Mersey does Mercy
Bringing together people from across the Synod, the Mersey does Mercy event took place at Hoole URC on Saturday 11th May. Church members found out more about supporting global justice and what that might look like in our local churches.
Christian Aid Week 12th -18th May 2024
Every Christian Aid Week people across Britain and Ireland raise funds, act and pray for their global neighbours in a celebration of hope for a fairer world. Please read this article for resources to support Christian Aid Week.
Mod’s Plod Log Day 4: Follow Revd Geoff Felton on his Holy Week Prayer Walk across Mersey Synod
Mods Plod Log.
Day 4. Warrington.
Matt 26:41
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Maundy Thursday marked the final day of the Mod’s Plod and it was also the shortest only being five miles.
Engaging with Schools: Children and Youth Development Resources
Steven Mitchell, Children and Youth Development Officer, URC Mersey Synod, spoke to three churches about the work they do with schools and how they got started. The video is a way of encouraging churches to make the step to reach out to their local schools.
Mod’s Plod Log Day 3: Follow Revd Geoff Felton on his Holy Week Prayer Walk across Mersey Synod
Mods Plod Log.
Mods Plod Log.
Day 3. Wirral.
Matt 21:12-13
Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’
Today we left Liverpool early for a ferry across the Mersey and found ourselves on the banks for the Wirral at Seacombe.
Mod’s Plod Log Day 2: Follow Revd Geoff Felton on his Holy Week Prayer Walk across Mersey Synod
Mods Plod Log.
Day 2. Liverpool.
Psalm 150 –
Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
A 12.5 mile prayer walk that couldn’t have been more of a contrast to yesterday if it had tried. The route today took us from Crosby through to Waterloo and over to Seaforth.
Mod’s Plod Log Day 1: Follow Revd Geoff Felton on his Holy Week Prayer Walk across Mersey Synod
Mod’s Plod Log.
Day 1. Southport.
Psalm 100 - Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his,
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
The day began with drizzle and a chilling wind as the intrepid pilgrims set off from Churchtown Village URC and headed across Southport to Lord Street West a URC/Methodist LEP.
MERSEY SYNOD MINISTER'S PRAYER WALK
During Holy Week, our Moderator, Revd Geoff Felton, will be prayer walking the Synod. The walk will take him from Southport to Formby on 25th March, Crosby to Allerton on 26th March, Seacombe to West Kirby on 27th March and finally from Thomas Risley Church to St. Johns Warrington on 28th March.
Talking Faith, Talking Creation: Mersey Synod Meeting looks at faith and the environment
Our theme at the March Synod Meeting, held at Trinity URC Wigan, was ‘Talking Faith, Talking Creation’ and we looked at how faith informs our approach and attitude to the environment. We also celebrated the news that URC Mersey Synod has achieved both the Bronze Eco Synod Award and the Bronze Eco Church Award Certificate.
Encouraging one another to Talk Faith
In Mersey Synod we’ve been trying to encourage one another to Talk Faith and be more courageous when it comes to responding to current day issues. Please see a letter from Revd Geoff Felton published in the March 2024 issue of Reform, outlining and explaining Mersey Synod’s Talking Faith initiative.
