St Columba's United Reformed Church is a congregation of the United Reformed Church (URC) in the centre of the city of Oxford. It is located on Alfred Street, off the High Street.
St Columba's United Reformed Church is a congregation of the United Reformed Church (URC) in the centre of the city of Oxford. It is located on Alfred Street, off the High Street.
It was founded as a chaplaincy to Presbyterian students in Oxford in 1908 [1] and was initially a joint initiative by the Church of Scotland, the United Free Church of Scotland, and the Presbyterian Church of England.
It became a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of England in 1929, and on the union of the Presbyterian and Congregational churches in 1972, a congregation of the United Reformed Church (URC).
The church continues to provide a chaplaincy to students in the University of Oxford from Reformed, Presbyterian and Congregational church backgrounds.
The congregation has included John Buchan (an elder), Ran Laurie and his son Hugh, and Guy Warrack (organist).
The church building dates to 1915, and was designed by T. P. Figgis. The foundation stone was laid by James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce in 1914. Funding for the building was provided in part by Agnes and Margaret Smith, the 'Sisters of the Sinai'. The church has a long nave and shallow, rectangular chancel. The stained glass in the chancel was made by Theodora Salusbury. The front courtyard was replaced in 1960 when a vestibule, designed by E. Brian Smith, was added to the church. Pevsner described the building as 'well-mannered'. [2] [ full citation needed ]
St Columba's performs same-sex marriages and blesses civil partnerships. The church also hosts First Sunday, fellowship for LGBTQ Christians. [3]
Among the Ministers to have served the church are:
Since 2001, the church has shared ministry with Cumnor United Reformed Church.
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church. Presbyterian churches derive their name from the presbyterian form of church government by representative assemblies of elders. Many Reformed churches are organised this way, but the word Presbyterian, when capitalized, is often applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that formed during the English Civil War.
Presbyterianpolity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply. Groups of local churches are governed by a higher assembly of elders known as the presbytery or classis; presbyteries can be grouped into a synod, and presbyteries and synods nationwide often join together in a general assembly. Responsibility for conduct of church services is reserved to an ordained minister or pastor known as a teaching elder, or a minister of the word and sacrament.
The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it had approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers.
Congregational churches are Protestant churches in the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs.
Westminster College in Cambridge, England is a theological college of the United Reformed Church. Its principal purpose is training for the ordination of ministers, but is also used more widely for training within the denomination.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales (EPCEW) is a reformed and conservative evangelical Presbyterian denomination based in England and Wales with churches in Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. Founded in 1996, the denomination is small but growing.
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