Today’s worship explores our own prejudices, even about religion, and how thinking that you know everything and having your mind made up actually prevents us from discovering a whole world. With reflective meditation.

We are delighted to be running a free online Lent course.
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This will run for five weeks from Thursday 25 February 2021, with sessions starting at 4pm and ending at 5:30pm.

The Mystery of Everything is a new and original Lent course by Hilary Brand, which takes the multi-awarding winning film about Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything, as its starting point.

The course explores ways in which the mysteries of the universe and of everyday life - and the acceptance that we have more questions than answers - can reinvigorate our faith and spiritual journey.

The course is based around five weekly group sessions entitled:
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1. The experience of wonder
2. The enigma of weakness
3. The complexity of relationships
4. The encounter with frailty
5. The hope beyond brokenness

Each session includes an extract from the film, group discussion questions and a meditation. There are also short introductory and follow up chapters for individual reading each week, and a chapter of Bible passages for further daily reading.

Rev Ulrike Bell will be running this course via Zoom.

There will also be an advanced screening of the whole movie via Zoom on Saturday 20 February at 7pm.
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The sessions will not be recorded or streamed live, and you can switch off your camera if that makes you feel more comfortable.

These sessions are free. Advance purchase of the course book by Hilary Brand is recommended but not necessary.

For more information and to obtain the Zoom link, please contact ulrike.bell@btinternet.com.

We are thrilled to have Solomon Aryee-Brown, a placement student for Ministry of Word and Sacrament, in our midst.

Please come and meet him at our services or study courses - everything is on Zoom at the moment!

Solomon, a Christian with a Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist background, is a fifth year student training for the URC ministry at the Northern College in Manchester as a stipendiary minister. 

He and his wife Paulina have four children: Michelle, Bridget, Rachel and Nathanael.

Solomon was commissioned as an assembly accredited lay preacher of the URC in 2007/8, became a local church leader at Ray Lodge URC and was thereafter with the East London Group of churches in 2012.

He is very passionate about pastoral care and evangelism. He considers himself to be an enabler who strives to encourage God’s people to put their faith into action.

He is open to exploring God’s love with people of different faith backgrounds and talking to people about spiritual sustenance and wellbeing. He looks for ways of opening platforms where experiences, knowledge and skills are shared to improve and build relationships.

We are delighted to be running a free online bible course.
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This will run for eight weeks from Sunday 31 January 2021, with sessions starting at 4pm and ending at 7pm.

This course is open to everyone and may be of particular interest if:

• you’re curious about the Bible
• you've always found the Bible a bit difficult to read
• you've been put off by stories you read in school or in church
• you're looking to find guidance, strength and wisdom for your life

Rev Ulrike Bell will be running this course via Zoom. There will be video clips, group chat and personal reflection.

The sessions will not be recorded or streamed live, and you can switch off your camera if that makes you feel more comfortable.

These sessions are free. Purchase of accompanying booklet is recommended but not required.

For more information and to obtain the Zoom link, please contact ulrike.bell@btinternet.com.

In today’s worship, Ulrike uses pictures of her recent interfaith pilgrimage to the Holy Land to tell the story of Jesus’ baptism in the river Jordan, and to think about the meaning of baptism in Christian tradition, compared to ritual washings in Judaism and Islam.

​She explains why some Christians sign themselves with the sign of the cross (using water) and encourages you to try it out as well!

​In this New Year's service, Ulrike reflects on the year gone past and on the story of the magi from the East who visited baby Jesus (Mt 2, 1-12). 

How can we identify with them for our journey ahead into 2021?

Does anybody have an old camping bed sitting in their loft or shed that we can use for a Christmas display? With or without mattress; broken or in working order.

Please contact Gerald Lee at St James' URC in Buckhurst Hill on 020 8505 0300 or bookstjames@outlook.com.

Thanks.

On Remembrance Sunday, Rev Ulrike Bell leads a family 'parade' service with some of the uniformed organisations of her churches. She takes everyone on a virtual walk to the war memorial in Buckhurst Hill, where she pauses at various points to remember the wars of the past and ongoing conflicts. 

She leads prayers for people who have been - and are still - affected by these wars and by the physical and mental damage and trauma caused by them.

A two-minute silence is held, and “Make me a channel of your peace” is sung. There are pictures and music for reflection.

The following documents relate to the proposed Installation of two automatic barriers within the front boundary wall to facilitate car park control at Woodford Green URC.

10/07/2020 Drawings from Mathews Serjeant Architects
10/07/2020 Planning Statement
10/07/2020 Heritage Statement
​10/07/2020 Acknowledgement of valid application from LBWF
16/07/2020 Application to Synod Property Committee to carry out works

Additional information can be viewed on the LB Waltham Forest website. Application ID: 201851.

The URC is running a Virtual Holiday Forum this year for the very first time. 

​This means you can join in for a weekend of faith, fun and fellowship from the comfort of your own home!

I thought it would be lovely if we could all 'meet up' there and spend the weekend.

Have a look at the programme: www.urcholidayforum.org.uk/wpsite

Please think seriously about registering!

This year would have been my first Holiday Forum so I'm hoping that to get a taster in a virtual way may be very helpful.

Hoping to see you there,
 
Margaret Minoletti