Object Of The General Assembly Of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches

We, the constituent congregations, societies and individual members, uniting in a spirit of mutual sympathy, tolerance and respect; and recognizing the worth and dignity of all people and their freedom to believe as their consciences dictate; and believing that truth is best served where the mind and conscience are free, acknowledge that the object of the assembly is to:

• Promote a free and enquiring religion through the worship of God and the celebration of life; the service of humanity and respect for all creation; and the upholding of the liberal Christian tradition
• Encourage and unite in fellowship with bodies which uphold the religious liberty of their members, unconstrained by the imposition of creeds
• Affirm the liberal religious heritage and learn from the spiritual, cultural and intellectual insights of all humanity

We are also affiliated to the UNITARIAN CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION:

• http://www.unitarianchristian.org.uk

Services

Sunday Morning Service 10.30am-11.30am

Sunday Evening Service 6.30pm-7.15pm

Our services are simple in form. In the morning (Sunday, 10.30 am) this usually consists of hymns, prayers, meditations, readings, music and an address. It lasts about an hour and afterwards we go through into the hall to share tea, coffee and conversation. We have two readings. The first is always taken from the Bible, that storehouse of spiritual experience and wisdom. But, in doing this we recognise that not everything in it is of equal value. It is a thoroughly human book. We reverence the wisdom it contains, but we do not look upon it as infallible. Our second reading is generally taken from a non-Biblical source. For example we have recently read from, Arne Naess, Benedict Spinoza, George Santayana, Josiah Royce, Leo Tolstoy, the Bhagavad Gita (Song of God), the ancient Indian Upanishads, the Dhammapada, M. K. Ghandi, The Jesus Sutras, Al-Ghazali, Rabindranth and Debindranath Tagore, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Dag Hammarskjold. They are read because they are memorable expressions of spiritual experience. The sermon draws on the faith and experience of the preacher and it is offered to the congregation as encouragement to further reflection and thought. It is most certainly not a definitive statement with which you must agree. As our sixteenth century Polish Socinian forbears said: "Whilst we declare our own opinions, we oppress no one. Let every person enjoy the freedom of their own judgement in religion; only let it be permitted to us also to exhibit our view of divine things, without injuring and calumniating others."

In the evening (Sunday, 6.30 pm) we hold a more meditative service centred around two short periods of silent prayer and the lighting of 'candles of joy and concern'. It lasts about three-quarters of an hour and afterwards we remain together in conversation over tea and coffee.

Four times a year on Christmas Eve, Good Friday, Whitsunday and around mid-summer, we celebrate a form of liberal Christian communion. This service is a simple memorial of Jesus' life and of all those who have given themselves in the service of God and humankind. It is open to all, whether of this church or none. The services on Christmas Eve and Good Friday are separate services. Those on Whitsunday and at mid-summer take place immediately after the main service.

We also hold marriage services, same-sex blessings, christenings/namings/ dedications, and funeral and memorial services. These are always carefully prepared by the minister in collaboration with those involved.

Photos

Click here to see photographs of the church