A Christian fellowship that has been at the heart of a Suffolk market town’s life for nearly two hundred years hosted a well-attended and hope-filled service last Sunday (9 February) celebrating its closer cooperation with five other fellowships in the Ipswich and coastal areas.

Hadleigh United Reformed Church (URC) is located in the town’s Market Place and occupies a number of early nineteenth century buildings that includes the Ansell Centre, which is used by dozens of community groups.

The United Reformed Church (URC) was founded in the early 1970s through the merger of a number of longstanding denominations, including the Congregationalist Church, which was Hadleigh URC’s predecessor fellowship.

The URC is part of the worldwide family of Reformed Churches, with over 70 million adherents worldwide.

Hadleigh URC is now part of the URC’s Ipswich & East Suffolk Pastorate which also includes Castle Hill, St John’s (both in Ipswich), Felixstowe URC and Leiston & Saxmundham United Church.

Whilst Hadleigh URC will continue to retain its unique identity, decision-making and focus on serving the people of the town and the surrounding villages, it now benefits from the additional guidance and leadership of the Pastorate’s ministerial team: Revd David Rees and Revd Adam Earle, as well as being able to cooperate more closely with everyone in the other fellowships on projects aimed at helping others, especially the most vulnerable and with a focus on the environment, as all the churches in the Pastorate have achieved the bronze level Eco Church Award

Revd David Rees said: “Central to the URC’s spiritual DNA is a desire to bring Christians together to work in witness to the love of Jesus Christ for all. The communities we serve, in Felixstowe, Hadleigh, Ipswich, Leiston and Saxmundham, are facing unprecedented challenges – everything from the housing, jobs, mental and physical health crises to worries about the environment and world peace.

“By working more closely together across the towns, we believe we have a bigger impact in both helping people and showing them that a real alternative way of life is possible.”

Claire Coster, secretary of Hadleigh URC, added: “This new arrangement means that we can better share our combined knowledge, skills and energies to turn up the light of hope to full beam at a time of growing darkness for the communities we love and serve.” The 9th February service brought together members from across the Ipswich & East Suffolk Pastorate plus many residents of the town, including the Mayor of Hadleigh Town Council, Councillor Sue Monks and Suffolk County Councillor Mick Fraser. The service was led by Revd Lythan Nevard, moderator of the Eastern Synod of the URC.