United Reformed Church

The United Reformed Church formed in 1972 following the union of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church in England and Wales. The United Reformed Church is a part of the historic Reformed tradition, whose member denominations make up one of the largest single strands of Protestantism with more than 70 million members world-wide. The Re-formed Churches of Christ joined the union in 1981, followed by the Congregational Union of Scotland in April 2000. The United Reformed Church also has over 400 local churches united with other denominations. The United Reformed Church is divided into 13 Synods and throughout England, Scotland and Wales there are around 1750 United Reformed Church congregations served by some 1100 ministers, both women and men. The Church is governed through democratic Councils.

The Presbyterian Church is composed of presbyters (elders), all of equal status, and deacons and trustees who manage temporal affairs. The presiding ministers and elders make up the 'session' or 'consistory', the first in the hierarchy of courts. Since both the minister and ruling elders are elected by the congregation, the Presbyterian polity is ultimately determined by the people. Appeal from the session may be made to the 'presbytery' or 'colloquy', the next highest court. The presbytery includes equal numbers of ministers and lay elders, and holds jurisdiction over church properties and ministers. The next court in the hierarchy is the 'synod' which exercises limited supervisory authority over both presbyteries and congregations. Finally there is the 'general assembly' which meets annually to supervise the interests of the entire denomination.