About Us
Worship
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Regular Services:
Sunday 10.30 a.m.
Communion 1st Sunday in the month
Baptisms
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Two forms of baptism
Within Tavistock United Reformed Church we practise two different types of baptism:
(i) infant baptism at which parents make promises and
(ii) baptism by profession of faith at which the person makes their own promises (also known as believer’s baptism).
Both forms of baptism involve water.
Infants are usually baptised at a font. A believer’s baptism can be at a font or by immersion in a pool, river or baptistry.
One baptism:
Within the United Reformed Church a person can be baptised only once – whether as an infant or later in life.
Alternative to baptism:
An alternative to a baptism is a thanksgiving and dedication service. This allows your child to be baptised later in life, by profession of faith, at an age of responsibility. At Tavistock United Reformed Church, baptisms and dedications normally take place during the Sunday Morning Worship.
For more information about infant baptism/dedication
If you would like your child to be baptised or dedicated then you will need to meet with the Minister in order to discuss the arrangements and to find a suitable date. Baptisms and dedications are usually conducted during our Morning Worship so that the whole church family can welcome the child into the church.
For more information about believer’s baptism
Believer’s baptism includes a public declaration of faith and a commitment to the church. If you would like to be baptised, or would like further information, the first step would be to meet with the Minister to discuss all that is involved. At Tavistock United Reformed Church we can use a portable baptistry for those who wish to be baptised by immersion.
You can contact the Minister, Robert Weston by email tavistockurcminister@gmail.com
Marriages
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Introduction
Every marriage is slightly different because each couple is different. At Tavistock United Reformed Church we allow you to design your wedding service with guidance from the Minister. The most important thing to remember is that planning a wedding takes time – at the outset you need to book the church and begin to make arrangements for the service. When you meet with the Minister you will be able to decide how many meetings are required and whether you would like any marriage preparation discussions to talk about life as a married couple.
The church is registered for all types of marriage. It is one of the few churches offering same sex marriage in Devon.
The Church
The church has a seating capacity of 200, with 80 seats in the main space and 120 on pews in the gallery above. There is both an organ and an electric piano. It is also possible to play music over the sound system. If you wish to invite your own musicians, this can be accommodated.
Provision for Disabled People
There is ramped access to the building for wheelchair users and toilet facilities for people with disabilities. There is an excellent amplification system and a loop system for people with impaired hearing. We can also produce large print versions of the order of service. The data projector and screen can be used for pictures and for hymn words.
Photography
During the service it is possible to take photographs, but not flash photography. It is also possible to video record your wedding; please ask for a copy of the copyright guidelines.
Car Parking
The church does not have a car park of its own but a public car park is very close by and there are other public car parks within walking distance. Tavistock bus station is also within a five minute walk from the church.
You can contact Robert Weston by email: tavistockurcminister@gmail.com
Funerals
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Funerals
Each service is special
Within Tavistock United Reformed Church we recognise that just as each person is special, so each funeral needs to be specifically tailored to the wishes of the person and their family. Although there is sadness because someone you know and love has died, in every funeral there will also be a message of hope in life after death.
Whether the funeral takes places at the church, local cemetery or local crematorium, whatever your link to the person who has died, Tavistock United Reformed Church is available for you at any time. It doesn’t matter whether the funeral has happened recently or many years ago, we are available to offer a listening ear, to offer prayers, to offer a place for you to discuss your beliefs.
Normally the funeral director will contact the Minister to make the arrangements, then you will meet with the Minister in order to discuss the details of the service, the hymns/songs you would like included.
You can contact the Minister, Robert Weston, by email: tavistockurcminister@gmail.com
Progressive Christianity Network
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As a church we accept the 8 points of the Progressive Christianity Network: PCN Britain Tavistock Group
We are Christians who…
1. Have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus;
2. Recognise the faithfulness of other people who have other names for the gateway to God’s realm, and acknowledge that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us;
3. Understand the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus’ name to be a representation of an ancient vision of God’s feast for all peoples;
4. Invite all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become like us in order to be acceptable (including but not limited to):
- believers and agnostics
- conventional Christians and questioning sceptics
- women and men
- those of all sexual orientations and gender identities
- those of all races and cultures
- those of all classes and abilities
- those who hope for a better world
- and those who have lost hope;
5. Know that the way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the fullest expression of what we believe;
6. Find more grace in the search for understanding than we do in dogmatic certainty, more value in questioning than in absolutes;
7. Form ourselves into communities dedicated to equipping one another for the work we feel called to do: striving for peace and justice among all people; protecting and restoring the integrity of all God’s creation; and bringing hope to those Jesus called the least of his sisters and brothers;
8. Recognise that being followers of Jesus is costly, and entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of privilege.
About the United Reformed Church
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What is the United Reformed Church? We are a family of Christians, worshipping in the name of Jesus in about 1500 local churches from Orkney to Cornwall.
- ‘Reformed’ means that we delight in the Bible, we do not fear change, and we try to run our churches in ways that take everyone’s insight and contribution seriously.
- ‘United’ is an important part of our story. We started when English Presbyterians merged with English and Welsh Congregationalists in 1972. Churches of Christ joined in 1981 and Scottish Congregationalists in 2000. We still work as closely as we can with Christians of all traditions and styles.
- And we are one ‘Church’. We aim to grow through supporting one another and taking decisions together.
All our tasks and posts are open to women as fully as to men. We are an intercultural church, where people with varied ethnic roots enrich each other’s Christian living. Our people hold a range of opinions about theology and church life. In the words of the denomination’s Statement of Nature, Faith and Order (1990) together we are firmly committed to ‘God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The living God, the only God, ever to be praised.’
Find out more by exploring this website, or (even better) by coming to meet us and worshipping with us.
Find out more at: http://www.urc.org.uk/about-us-2.html
Where We Meet
Tavistock United Reformed Church
Russell Street
Tavistock
PL19 8BD
When we Meet
Sunday Morning Worship 10.30 am
With Communion 1st Sunday in month
Wednesday Discussion Group 2-30 – 4pm
Midweek Topics 7.30pm Wednesday Evenings see Events for dates.
Art4Fun Tuesdays 10 – 12am Term time
Lower Deck Cafe every Friday 10 am – 2pm