The spring meeting of Mission Council, the executive body of United Reformed Church (URC) General Assembly, was held from 15-17 March. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the meeting was held digitally.

Opening worship
After a welcome from Peter Pay, one of the Moderators of the URC General Assembly, Mission Council began with worship.

Day three of Mission Council opened on 17 March with worship led by the Revd Helen Everard, Chaplain to the Moderators of the United Reformed Church General Assembly.

Session five

Paper A2: General Assembly 2021
The Assembly Officers shared their thinking about the decision to hold a virtual General Assembly in 2021 instead of a regular meeting.

Major events planned for this summer have been cancelled or postponed, including the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Glastonbury and the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is taking place virtually this year.

Church leaders across seven denominations, including the Revd Clare Downing, Moderator of the United Reformed Church General Assembly, have made the following statement following the publication of the government’s integrated review of foreign and defence policies:

“The government’s decision in the integrated review of defence, security and foreign policy to increase the number of Trident nuclear warheads the UK can stockpile by more than 40 percent is a retrograde step that will not make any of us safer.