About 100 participants representing the various congregations of URC gathered at the High Leigh Conference Centre for a 48-hour symposium entitled “Conversations at the Crossroads” (CatC) in January to explore current practices and to learn from ongoing challenges and success stories, in order to establish new Christian communities.
URC defined new Christian communities as anything from a full church plant, to a full-blown constituted unincorporated association or local ecumenical partnership.
Participants included mission enablers, training and development officers, children and youth work development officers, special category ministers, church-related community workers and others doing pioneering and missional work.
The Council for World Mission was also present as an ecumenical partner, contributing its experiences and insights via key conversations and reflections.
“This was a first for the URC in gathering people on the frontline of mission and discipleship. We benefited from input from our ecumenical partners as we discussed the shape of potential new communities and the way in which we could nurture and invigorate existing ones. This will form a platform for the direction of future work as the denomination adapts to new contexts,” said Philip Brooks, URC Deputy General Secretary for Mission.
CatC concluded with a renewed commitment towards ‘midwifing’ new communities, but also highlighting the need for palliative care for some, and for nurturing and/or reinvigorating others.
URC has also assembled a taskforce as a support to a new Church Life Review working group which will map the next steps.
