This morning at Trinity Church in Abingdon we celebrated 50 years since the founding of the United Reformed Church or URC. The URC was created by the union of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church in England and Wales.

The Congregational Church in Abingdon was where Ask now is.

Timeline
1700 – Erection of the first Congregational meeting house in the sheep market. Most of this still stands today and was a building about 40 feet square. The roof was upheld by two ships’ masts.

1862 – The Congregational Church was extended in the Square in 1862. Part of the old meeting house became a schoolroom and part was incorporated into the new church sanctuary. Three cottages were taken down and rebuilt in Spring Road to make more room.

1968 – The Congregational Church closed its building in the town centre and moved in for joint services with Trinity Church, Conduit Road, on an informal basis.

1972 – The Congregational Church nationally united with the Presbyterians to form the United Reformed Church.

1978 – The signing of sharing agreements between Trinity Methodist Church and Abingdon United Reformed Church formed the current church.

In 1972 it was hoped that the forming of the URC would be a catalyst for bringing more churches together. That has not happened nationally but has happened locally. The Church in Abingdon was formed in 1992 and allows 14 Abingdon churches to work and worship together. Trinity is a Methodist, URC union. The Peachcroft Christian Centre is an Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, and URC union.

On Wednesday we went to a funeral at the same church where we were married. All the statues were covered with purple cloths and the lights were low. The 2021 Easter candle was lit for the last time. The Priest said that on Good Friday all ornaments would be removed and the candle extinguished. But on Sunday lights would be on, the statues uncovered, and the church would be decorated with flowers to represent the resurrection.

I walked by the Thames early this morning.

The sun rose soon after 6 am.

It is now 7:50 am and the bells of St Helen’s Church are ringing for the 8 am service.

Happy Easter!

It was Easter Sunday and Trinity Church building was open for a service for the first time since Christmas Day morning.

The volunteer gardeners have kept the garden in good trim.

Flowers on the window sills round the church were lit up by the sun. We had the usual Easter Day hymns, most were videos shown on the screen, but Kate sang one live with Revd. Ian playing the piano. He also preached. The reading was Jesus greeting Mary Magdalene in the garden. She thought it was the gardener until he said ‘Mary’!