Wheatley URC aims to be an open and inclusive church in the Reformed tradition, with a strong commitment to good ecumenical relations. We are rooted in a serious engagement with Scripture and the wisdom of the Christian past as they help us in our daily lives and shed light on the important issues of our own time.
Among our members are people from different Christian traditions, and none, who have been drawn to the sense of community the church provides and to the way in which it seeks to relate the life of faith to the problems and possibilities of the world around us. Our worship style is varied, but always thoughtful and reflective, looking to nourish the mind, the heart and the spirit. We are not afraid to ask difficult questions and do not expect easy answers. Rather we search for an understanding of God’s Word and for the leading of the Holy Spirit to broaden and deepen our faith, believing that God’s radical love is still at work in the world in new and surprising ways, facilitating spiritual growth and helping God’s people to find ways of giving practical expression to their faith.
After each Sunday morning service we gather in the Hall for refreshments, served by a team of helpers. We have found this to be an effective way of getting to know visitors and potential new members, as well as of sharing concerns and building up the community. The Hall is usually full and there is a real buzz about the place.
We have a strong commitment to social justice and to the environment. We are a Fairtrade church, an eco-church (bronze), and are involved in several projects, including taking part in Amnesty’s annual ‘Write for Rights’ campaign (writing cards to prisoners of conscience) and raising funds for and fostering close links with a school on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe, helping it in its early stages to construct buildings, employ teachers and buy necessary equipment. Our commitment to inclusiveness means that the church is registered for same-sex marriages. We understand these various forms of service and outreach to be a true expression of mission.
We believe that worship, service and mission are central to the life of the whole Christian Church and that each is part of the other. We try to do a few things well, recognising that this is the best way of using our resources. We are open to new ventures, and we are not afraid to let go of old ones when the time is right.
At the heart of our church life are our ministry teams (see later), which have a range of responsibilities under the oversight of the Elders’ and Church Meetings. They plan our worship and they organise our activities. These include courses, such as ‘Living the Questions’, mindfulness retreats and creative spirituality days, a very successful Memory Café and a range of social events, such as lunch clubs, coffee mornings and afternoon teas. Monthly all-age services and a Dance Chapel (see left) have more recently brought new elements into our worship.
- The church has maintained its membership numbers over the longer term, with around 50 members at the inception of the United Reformed Church in 1972, and 55 today. Around 45 people attend the main weekly worship, though like many churches, the age profile has changed with fewer younger families.
While many churches report suffering losses since the COVID pandemic, Wheatley URC has seen sustained growth in numbers attending services and participating in the activities which take place on the premises. We are helped by the church’s position at one end of the village High Street, and by ensuring that our website and our noticeboards are regularly refreshed. We are also the only Free Church in the area. But we think that the commitment we made when our new facilities became available, to offer them for a nominal donation (to cover costs) to groups which are based in community activities, has begun to bear fruit. It may also be the case that our style of worship and our desire to approach our biblical and theological traditions with intellectual honesty appeal to those (usually but not always older) whose own journeys of faith have taken them in unexpected directions. From time to time the Sunday sermon is replaced by an individual’s giving an account of their own journey of faith. These have been collected in a file, and anyone wanting a flavour of what is distinctive about Wheatley URC is welcome to read them.