Station Road, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands B93 0HN
A personal view of the Christian beliefs of the URC
Beliefs of the United Reformed Church
Beliefs of the United Reformed Church
A Member's viewpoint
The United Reformed Church's beliefs in the Trinity, the divinity of Jesus and the Nicean creed are common to those of all the main Christian Churches in the UK (The Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, the Society of Friends (Quakers) etc. etc.).
The difference between these Churches and the United Reformed Church (URC) vary, but the key points are that the URC:
- does not see the Pope or any other individual as a supreme authority for religious decisions on earth. Instead we pray, read the Holy Bible and attempt to determine God's message to us, here and now.
- that we see our ministers as 'First among Equals'; individuals who persuade rather than dictate. Churches in the URC respect their minister's leadership, but the decision making body for each church is the family of members - the Church - who make decisions at Church Meetings and meetings of the 'Elders' (elected leaders from the Congregation).
At Knowle, our actual building was traditionally called 'the Chapel', but most members now use the term 'Church'. Our service is similar to that in most churches; it has hymns, a sermon, bible readings and prayers. Hence the major differences between us and other main stream Churches is how services are carried out. We can use Lay preachers, readings made by members of the congregation, Communion during which all are invited to take part at the same time, including the minister and elders (we use individual glasses for the 'blood of Christ').
Graham Tall
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