Each remembering a grandfather­ who fought in, and survived, the 1916 battle of the Somme on opposing sides, friends the Revd David Pickering, Moderator of the United Reformed Church National Synod of Scotland and Pfarrer Martin Henninger, Minister of the Lutherkirche in Frankenthal, travelled to the Somme together and then wrote jointly to a future generation:

‘To our grandchildren in Britain and Germany, and wherever they may live:

‘Five years ago, we discovered that both our grandfathers fought in the battle of the Somme. David’s grandfather had left him a box with name-tag, horseshoe and German war biscuits. Martin’s had left an account of his time as a soldier and a box of letters to his wife. Interestingly, these men had the same Christian names: Frederick and Friedrich.

The United Reformed Church General Secretary, has joined six churches and Christian organisations to speak out in support of Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, following her resignation as the minister responsible for gambling on 1 November 2018.

The government have delayed introducing a £2 limit on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) until October 2019. Following a wide-ranging consultation, the government announced earlier this year that the stake on these machines in betting shops would be cut from £100 to £2 to provide greater protection for the most vulnerable and limit the harm caused by problem gambling.

Colleagues gathered for cake and heartfelt speeches at the United Reformed Church’s (URC) London office, on 2 November, to say a fond farewell to Gill Nichol, Head of Communications.

After nine years at Church House, and five leading the communications department, Gill is moving on to pastures new.

Jane Baird, Deputy General Secretary (Administration and Resources), explained to colleagues how much Gill will be missed.