Safeguarding Online Training via Zoom with Nicola.

The complete course is delivered in three 1.30 hour weekly sessions. 

Part one:   Tuesday   20th July         either 2.30pm - 4pm or 7.30pm - 9.00pm  
Part two:   Tuesday   27th July         either 2.30pm - 4pm or  7.30pm - 9.00pm

I have divided the course into two modules, so to complete the course you will need to attend both part one and part two.  Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to book a place. This is great time to catch up on overdue training as when we are able to meet together again there is the possibility of a long waiting list and delays to training.

Church Leadership Training

Leadership training, suitable for Elders, Deacons, Stewards, Ministers and all on church leadership teams. The final Leadership session in this series will take place on Thursday 8th July 2021 at 7.30pm by Zoom. This is the rescheduled session on Pastoral Care. If you were already signed up you will receive a link on the day: if not please get in touch with Lindsey. Start at 7.30pm, 90 mins. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to register.

Supersleuths Holiday Club

Set in a 1950s detective agency, Supersleuths investigates seven Bible characters in five sessions.

There are advisory sections on how to set up and run the holiday club, how to consider using Zoom or doing some sessions outside, suggested session plans, and four appendices for adapting the material for other ages.

This is free, published in 2021 by the United Reformed Church Children's and Youth Work national team. It contains suggestions for a holiday club for five to eleven year olds and also contains appendices for intergenerational, toddlers, 11 to 14s and for vintage holiday club.  Download all you need here: Supersleuths Holiday Club Materials

Holiday Club Grants

GOOD NEWS: SMALL GRANTS REMIT EXTENDED TO INCLUDE HOLIDAY CLUBS Children's and Youth Work Committee Grants

The Children’s and Youth Work Committee hopes to encourage churches wanting to engage with children and young people in these challenging times by widening the remit of their small grants.

One of the innovative ways that churches may be considering is running a holiday club this year, maybe even using the Supersleuths material. The Committee have agreed to make available grants of £50 or £100 to help with the purchase of craft materials, snacks, decorations, games equipment, Zoom licences etc.

Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to explore how we might be able to help.

To provide a way to learn, contribute, as well as equip young people and adults involved with the United Reformed Church (URC) in as many ways as possible, URC Youth is launching Youth re-ASSEMBLED. Each month throughout the year, URC Youth will focus on a different theme or topic.  These are:

July – World Church August – Community  September – Environment  October – Anti-racism 
November – Mental Health   December – Faith, hope and joy

For each theme there will be a range of social media posts, along with Trialogues (URC Youth’s live discussion panel broadcast on YouTube fortnightly), free Zoom events as well as practical ways that people can use to make a difference from the comfort of their own homes.

Reuben Watt, URC Youth Moderator, said: “One of the most important parts of Youth Assembly is the workshops that take place. This is where we delve deeper into topics that interest and matter to us as URC Youth. As the Assembly was cancelled, we have explored ways in which we can continue to bring young people together despite the lockdowns and restrictions. “URC Youth (dis)ASSEMBLED turned out great, and we look forward to continuing to bring young people and adults together through URC Youth re-ASSEMBLED. Do keep an eye out on URC Youth’s social media channels or speak to your Synod Youth Representative/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. + to find out more. “We really hope that anyone between the ages of 11 to 25 with links to the URC will be able to engage with this content.”

Christians on Ageing - Conference Calls 

20th July - Importance of Faith amongst Black Older Christians   17th August - Other people and spiritual strength in the world of nature. 

Conference Calls are discussions on important issues open to anyone interested in the work of the Churches with and for older people. They are free and involve no commitment to membership. Each session starts at 10.30 am and lasts for an hour and a half. You join the discussion via a Zoom link which will be sent to you following registration of interest. All sessions over the last twelve months have been fully subscribed within a short while of registration opening.

All sessions will start at 10.30am and end at midday, and have a lead speaker.  Conference Calls are open to all and there is no charge for taking part. If you would like to join one or all of the new series just write to David Jolley using the e-mail link This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. You will need to be able to access Zoom to take part  You will be sent an e-mail with a link allowing you to join the discussion nearer the time of the Call.

Each session is led by someone with knowledge of the subject who will usually give a short introduction to the theme. Numbers for each session are limited to around a dozen in order to allow meaningful discussion. A report is produced and is circulated to all participants before publication on our website. Please ask any more questions when you register your interest or enquire about places by e-mailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Holiday Forum 2021 - 21st to 27th August 2021

It's time to secure your place for Holiday Forum 2021! 21-27 August 2021. Whether you'd like to join us in-person at The Hayes or online this August, now is the time to book your place to avoid disappointment.

Jane Rowell leads our daily worship and Anthony Reddie brings us our theme of LIVING WITH & LOVING DIFFERENCE: the challenge of being human in a fractured world. 

It promises to be fantastic, so don't miss out!

You can find our conference flyer here - please share this far and wide with your Churches, friends, families and colleagues.  All are welcome and we all need a holiday this summer!

Bookings via our holiday Forum website (for both in-person and online places) or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Steering Group is busy finalising our plans to stream parts of our programme online - more details to come soon. Don't forget our Bursary Fund, which is available to help provide financial assistance - open to all.
Please see our website for more information.     Why I come to Holiday Forum Video

The East Anglia Dunamis Project - In the Spirit's of Power 4th to 8th October 2021

Jesus gave his followers a mission and promised the Holy Spirit to equip them for the task. Yet many Christians today have little first-hand experience of how to cooperate with the Spirit.

Our understanding and expectations may be limited by a lack of teaching. Perhaps past experiences and hurts make us cautious about exploring the various spiritual gifts that Jesus offers through his Holy Spirit. In the Spirit’s Power looks at how Christians today can know the presence and power of the Holy Spirit for themselves. Through a mix of Biblical teaching, discussion, practical experience and thoughtful reflection, you can grow in:

● Understanding a variety of spiritual gifts      ● Learning to cooperate with the Spirit’s activity
● Discovering useful tests for discernment      ● Being filled with the Holy Spirit for service

Join us for this life-changing event, and discover how much more God can do in and through you !
Cost: Including accommodation, food & Student Manual: £317 per person (en suite)  (There is no price difference for sole/shared occupancy.) Booking fee is £80, with the balance due by 11th September 2021.

To book a place contact the Bookings Administrator Mrs  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 07940 823 135          Download - Booking Details from the Dunamis Website

Future events (prices TBA)  Mon 14 – Fri 18 March 2022 – The Power of Prayer  Mon 3 – Fri 7 Oct 2022 – The Healing Ministry of Jesus  
TBA Spring 2023 – Spiritual Warfare     TBA Autumn 2023 – Listening Evangelism

Encourage your Church to hold a Climate Sunday in 2021

Holding a Climate Sunday as a church is a great way to galvanise further action on Eco Church and contribute to progress on international action! Organised by a coalition of Christian charities and denominations,  the Climate Sunday initiative's goal is to facilitate 1000s of churches to take long term action themselves on climate change in the critical years ahead. By participating in the initiative, churches will also be able to raise a loud and united Christian voice for bolder action by governments in the run up to the COP26 UN climate negotiations, to be hosted by the UK in Glasgow in November 2021. This relates to the Global and Community Engagement sections of the Eco Church programme. Read more about encouraging your church to get involved here. 

This issue is critical to us as church for two main reasons, with regard to the theology of creation and for urgent justice issues. The Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) are urging us to engage.

CoP26: The UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, November 2021

• Climate Sunday – your church is encouraged to hold a Climate Sunday service at any time before September 5th, when there will be a national service that will draw together our commitments and experiences. Register your service with Climate Sunday And let us know, too – we would love churches’ feedback and pictures as we journey towards becoming an Eco Synod.
• Relay to CoP26 – the Young Christian Climate Network is organising a Relay to COP26 to show our care about climate justice and creation care, walking from Cornwall to Glasgow. They hope that by collectively walking this route, they can raise awareness of COP26 and our imperative as Christians to engage in creation care theology, individually and corporately. The main route doesn’t go through our Synod, but the organisers welcome ‘tributaries’ to be formed locally, to join in with the initiative of walking to Glasgow! There are currently two tributaries from Norwich:

Stepwise

Stepwise is the URC’s discipleship development programme, which we had planned to launch at last March’s Synod Meeting. This meeting was cancelled, due to COVID.

We will now be launching an online Stepwise group in late January as a way of introducing the programme to the Synod. If you would like to learn more, please watch this Stepwise film on YouTube, or to join us please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

URC Black History Monthly A one-hour conversation every month Third Monday Evenings @ 7.30pm on Zoom

June's Black History Monthly takes place on Monday 21st June, 7.30-8.30pm, when we will be considering 'The Case for Reparations' - focused on an article written by Ta Nehisi Coates. For details how to join in the conversation contact Veronica Daniel.    

United Reformed Church Legacies of Slavery Task Group. Black History is so important to our shared story that we surely can’t confine it to one month a year. We need to break out and make it something we keep learning about and exploring. So, here in the United Reformed Church we’ve decided to take a dip into Black History every month of 2021, from February onwards. Each month we’ll identify a particular nugget or sweeping overview of Black History which we’ll all be encouraged to review for ourselves, then we’ll come together on Zoom to share an hour’s discussion, exploring and teasing out how it affects all of us in our situations and settings today.

Website: URC Black History Monthly for details  

Church Leadership Programme - Transforming leadership from the inside out - 2021 to 2022

The Church Leadership Programme (CLP) is a comprehensive programme to refresh experienced lay and ordained leaders in authentic leadership, helping church leaders to develop external skills from their core sense of being. A mix of physical and virtual learning, the course threads from September to June every academic year. Each year, participants form into a faith community, committed to each other for encouragement and support. Participants learn in joint sessions and become part of smaller learning groups with a dedicated tutor. Each participant has an individual spiritual accompanier throughout the academic year. Strengthening personal qualities, insights and skills for effective Christian leadership  2021 The residential elements of the programme are to be held  at Hinsley Hall, Leeds. View Dates below:

First residential - September 17th-19th 2021 at Hinsley Hall, Leeds
Virtual sessions 2021 10am until 1pm - October 6th, 13th, 20th; November 3rd, 10th, 17th
Second residential - February 11th-13th 2022 at Hinsley Hall, Leeds
Virtual sessions 2022 10am until 1pm - March 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th; April 6th
Third residential - June 10th-11th 2022 at Hinsley Hall, Leeds
Final virtual session 2022 10am until 1pm, - 29th June 2022

What does it seek to achieve?

• to continue to place Christian leadership within the context of vocation and ministry within the United Reformed Church
• to enable growth in personal formation for participants, and extend the knowledge and skills necessary for effective Christian leadership
• reflection on personal leadership experience, alongside new ways of leadership discernment
• to develop leaders who enable United Reformed Churches to become communities of more faithful disciples, better equipped to share in the Mission of God - Walking the Way of Jesus Today.

To be accepted on the programme you will need a recommendation from an authorised person in your synod, usually the Training and Development Officer.    
View:  YouTube link:  Church Leadership Programme video  - Download - Programme Education for Ministry

Please register your interest to PA to the Secretary for Education & Learning, The United Reformed Church, 86 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9RT General office number: 020 7916 2020 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.