{"id":1965,"date":"2025-07-05T18:33:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T18:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urc.org.uk\/?p=59613"},"modified":"2025-07-05T18:33:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T18:33:06","slug":"general-assembly-2025-day-two-round-up-5-july","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/standrewsurcrustington.org.uk\/?p=1965","title":{"rendered":"General Assembly 2025: day two round-up 5 July\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day two of the 2025 meeting of the United Reformed Church General Assembly at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick opened with worship led by the Revd Andrew Mann-Ray and Andrea Heron, the chaplains to the General Assembly Moderator, the Revd Tim Meadows.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The reading was from Romans 4, about Abraham\u2019s hopeful faith in God\u2019s promise. Andrew shared his poem \u201cHope is a four-letter word\u201d.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The Moderator, the Revd Tim Meadows, introduced Dr Francesca Nuzzolese, <\/span>Professor of Pastoral Care at the <\/span>Waldensian Theological School in Rome, who led a Bible study on the words of Jesus in Matthew: \u2018Come to me all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.\u2019<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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Dr Nuzzolese invited members of Assembly to receive those words as spoken to them here and now. Are any of us, she asked, carrying a burden, needing the kind of rest that can sustain our holy work of giving hope and care and strength?<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Those of us who minister to others, Dr Nuzzolese said, need to be first fully present to ourselves. Burn out, exhaustion and spiritual despair are among the deadliest dangers for those in ministry. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Why are those called to care often the most reluctant to receive care? Professional care givers need to be care receivers. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

When weariness becomes chronic, it cannot be fixed by a couple of weeks off but requires something much deeper: repenting the hubris of acting as if we were indispensable, a martyrdom complex, masochism. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

What the world needs most is our presence filled with the Spirit. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Nuzzolese reflected on Jesus\u2019 invitation, \u2018Come\u2019. Care begins with receiving not doing. We cannot offer what we do not have. Rest is not selfish, but the best act of care we can offer, including care to those closest to us. Rest is not a luxury or a reward but spiritual obedience. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

When we receive rest, we are not alone but yoked with Christ. Rest is part of ministry. She said she wanted to remind us as gently as Jesus does: yield to the invitation to go often to Jesus.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Session three<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

Paper B1 Children\u2019s and Youth Work Committee Final Report<\/a><\/strong>
<\/span>At General Assembly 2025, the Revd Samantha Sheehan, Convenor of the Children\u2019s and Youth Work Committee (CYWC) reflected on seven years of strategic work and introduced a renewed vision for the future. Rooted in the call to \u201cfan into flame the gift of God\u201d (2 Tim 1:6), the committee highlighted the importance of nurturing thriving, inclusive, intergenerational churches where children and young people are central to God\u2019s mission.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Framed around the biblical call to \u201cfan into flame the gift of God\u201d (2 Timothy 1:6), Samantha emphasised that tradition should be understood not as \u201cworshipping the ashes\u201d but as \u201ctending the flame.\u201d Since 2018, CYWC has focused on strengthening congregations in five key areas: faith, community, identity, engagement, and growth. Milestones have included Youth Assembly, training programmes like Youth Mental Health First Aid and Godly Play, and the creation of practical resources such as Go with Greta, Faith Adventures, Youth Mental Health First Aid for churches of all sizes. <\/span>
As CYWC hands over its work to new structures, the new wider Faith in Action committee, CYWC calls on the Church to continue empowering young people, embedding their voices in decision-making, and building a truly intergenerational future for the URC. In light of this, Assembly was reminded of two key resolutions previously passed:<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n