The South Western Synod of the United Reformed Church – stretching all the way from Lands End to Swindon – has a new moderator who is no stranger to journeying. The Revd Ruth Whitehead, who takes up this ministry in July next year, says her own faith journey has been shaped by being involved with different fellowships, with a wide variety of theological views.

She said: “As I travel to churches, large and small, from Cornwall to Wiltshire, I look forward to sharing the joys and challenges of us following Christ’s path together. As we meet and talk, I pray we will seek and find the part we are called to play in God’s mission to bring love, hope and healing to our world.”

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A fire, which forced a Roman Catholic congregation in Northumberland to leave their church, has brought about a new closeness with their United Reformed Church neighbours.

When the Revd Ron Forster, minister at St George’s URC in Morpeth, heard about the Catholics’ plight, he responded immediately. “Almost without thinking I said they could come to us” he said. “I then thought I should have checked with other people, so I rang and wrote emails to the elders and they were all enthusiastic.”

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The governors of Westminster College, Cambridge, have announced that the Revd Dr Susan Durber, college principal, has decided to leave her current role in the summer of 2013.

Her departure is intended to coincide with the start of the college’s major building and refurbishment project; Dr Durber believes it is the right time for her to leave and for the college to seek new leadership. She hopes that, by giving an extended period of notice, the college will have plenty of time to appoint a principal who will be able to take the college forward.

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Representatives of two of the nation’s largest free Churches have met to discuss the opportunities and challenges of working more closely together.

The groups met in Sutton Coldfield, 17-19 October, for the second joint meeting of the United Reformed Church’s Mission Council and the Methodist Council. 

They engaged in wide-ranging discussions about the relationship between the Churches and the challenges that need to be overcome for greater unity, both locally and nationally. 

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