The United Reformed Church (URC) Youth Executive has condemned practices known as ‘conversion therapy’ – sometimes called ‘reparative therapy’ or ‘gay cure therapy’ – as unethical and potentially harmful.

The Youth Executive, the URC’s decision-making body made up of young people and adults, expressed the view through the UK government’s consultation on the practice, and echoes the sentiment of the emergency resolution agreed at the URC’s Assembly Executive, held from 22-24 November, which called on members and Ministers to refuse to offer, or to participate in offering, conversion therapy in any form.

“The workshops were most helpful”, “I found the steep learning curve needed”, “lots of my questions were answered” are just some of the positive comments received about recent training workshops.

In collaboration with Education and Learning, the United Reformed Church (URC’s) Children's and Youth Work offered a series of eight workshops over the summer and autumn, designed to build skills, confidence, and capacity in communications.

Sharon Barr, Safeguarding Officer for the United Reformed Church (URC)  Wessex Synod, has been appointed the Designated Safeguarding Lead for the denomination.

Sharon has been offering limited cover as Interim Safeguarding Lead since February, following a series of changes in the department.

Members of St Columba’s United Reformed Church (URC) in Wolverhampton have praised the generosity of a kind-hearted local who replaced lifesaving equipment that was stolen.

The church had purchased a defibrillator from donations made in memory of Isabel Ward, an Elder of the church.

The defibrillator was placed in a locked cabinet on the outside of the church during the summer, so it could be used by the whole community of Finchfield and registered on The Circuit – a national defibrillator network supported by St John’s Ambulance, Resuscitation Council UK, and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives.