Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The first organised congregationalism in the area covered by the Southern Province (the area south of the River Thames) was the Surrey Mission formed in 1797 by James Bowden of Tooting, established to organise the visits of ministers to villages with the object of teaching the Gospel. The mission was not however purely congregational and increasingly there was a need for the development of organised congregationalism in its own right.
The Surrey Congregational Union was formed in 1863 'to promote the union and efficiency of the churches, and the spread of evangelical religion, to advance the principals of Nonconformity and to uphold and enlarge civil and religious freedom'. Main work was aiding smaller churches and fostering new congregations in the districts. It included the London geographical area of the ancient county of Surrey up to River Thames. With the extension of the London Congregational Union, churches belonged to both Unions until 1946 when a line of demarcation was agreed and the London Union was extended south. The Surrey Union formed part of the Southern Province of the Congregational Union of England and Wales.
In 1972 the United Reformed Church (URC) was formed following the union of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church of England and Wales. The URC is divided into 13 Synods or Provinces and throughout England, Scotland and Wales there are around 1750 URC congregations served by some 1100 ministers, both men and women. The Church is governed through democratic Councils. The Synods give practical help to churches in legal and property matters, encourage training, discuss matters of faith and policy and provide links to Assembly. Each has a Moderator who is a minister with a pastoral and leadership ministry within each Synod Province. The Southern Province Trust was formed in 1981. In 2003, the Registered Office for the Southern Province was based at the Synod Office, Croydon and covered 7 districts and 181 churches.