An event on Thursday 30th May at Waddington Street URC, Durham 10.30 am – 3.30 pm We are privileged to welcome expert speakers to address and update us on the complex situation in the Middle East and to outline how we can support the work of Commitment for Life (working with Christian Aid & Global […]

Over the past year our links with Josephine Butler College have strengthened as we have hosted a series of lively student evenings. These have focused on a variety of topics, but many of them have included food, and all of them have allowed plenty of time for conversation – contributing to the broadening of our […]

Some 35+ college students from Josephine Butler College together with their chaplain, Andrew Tinkler, attended a student night hosted by David Thornborrow and church elders. David presented a historical quiz showing places of interest and personnel associated with the historic and cultural life of Durham. This was later followed by a display of colourful  indoor […]

On Remembrance Sunday our morning service included the customary two minutes silence and the laying of a wreath beneath the church’s war memorial. Later in the day an Ecumenical  Afternoon Vigil was held with the focus on prayer for world peace. The ecumenical service was led by the minister Revd Marcus Hargis in conjunction with […]

The scaffolding that has surrounded our spire since the summer has now disappeared, as the restorative work is completed. We hope that the spire will stand proud for a further 150 years While the work was underway the steeplejacks were kind enough to take one or two of our phones up to the highest point: […]

 A Prayer Vigil praying for World Peace will be held between 3.00 pm and 4.00 pm on Remembrance Sunday in our Church. Everyone is welcome. The vigil will be lead by our Minister, Revd Marcus Hargis, and an invitation has been extended to the other churches in our group and through Durham Churches Together. November […]

Our informal get-togethers are continuing: every Thursday starting 1.30, finishing by 3.30. Everyone is warmly invited! Here is this month’s programme: Nov 2 Sharing our favourite poems Nov 9 Talk on “Waste and its effect on the Environment” Nov 16 Table tennis Nov 23 Scrabble ( in German or English or ???) Nov 30 Palestine and Israel: sharing thoughts and […]

In recognition for the church’s hospitality in providing a weekly venue for the choir’s rehearsals, church members and friends were invited to a free evening concert on Wednesday 29th March at 7:30 pm. Durham Scratch Choir, is a community choir that prides itself on drawing members from all backgrounds and walks of life. The choir […]

A Pear Tree (Pyrus communis ‘Conference’) was planted in memory of Dr Arthur J Banister (1932-2021)  Emeritus Chemistry Reader, Durham University, in Flass Vale Local Nature Reserve, Durham. Family and friends gathered around the tree to remember the many happy memories of Arthur, his joy and faith, husband, father and grandfather, a chemist and founder […]

Students from Josephine Butler College, Durham University together with their chaplain Andrew Tinkler joined with church friends for their last social evening of the year. The evening was led by the minister, the Revd Marcus Hargis who presented a visual journey aboard the X21 bus, from Durham to Newcastle. Local refreshments were served, stottie bread […]

After some 20 years, former leaders of the church’s Pilot and SWAPS groups came together to reminisce over dinner at ‘Tia’s’ Mexican Restaurant, Claypath, Durham, to remember the ‘good old days’ and to enquire ‘what ever happened to all those children?’ For those who may not know, Pilots is a non-uniformed ecumenical Christian organisation for […]

Students from Josephine Butler College together with their chaplain, Mr Andrew Tinkler joined friends and members of the congregation to attend the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake feast in the church hall. Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent the next day, Ash Wednesday. Lent – the 40 […]

Church Christmas Lunch Our Christmas lunch was held after worship on the last Sunday in Advent – just a week before Christmas Day. As ever, we all enjoyed a splendid meal, with good company – and raised £300 for Christian Aid.  Thanks to all who made it such a good event!    Photos by Ray […]

Ukrainian Christmas Party Around 150 guests attended the Ukrainian Christmas Party, held at our church just a week before Christmas Eve.  Santa and his Elf helper distributed over seventy children’s gifts; and Ukrainian carols were sung.  The hall was  crowded, full to overflowing with delicious food and a wonderful atmosphere. As a congregation we have […]

On the third Sunday in Advent we joined with other members of the Gateshead and Durham URC group of churches for a Group Carol Service led by our minister, the Revd Marcus Hargis.  The service was followed by delicious seasonal refreshments served in the church hall.. A few days later Santa’s ‘senior elfers’  wrapped some […]

It was standing room only at the back of the church for a special celebration that drew on the talents and enthusiasms of the many groups that meet at Waddington Street United Reformed Church. Minister Marcus Hargis, arrayed in his best Christmas jumper, welcomed everyone, pointing out that through knowing the church as a meeting […]

We are looking forward to a special celebration planned for Friday 2nd  December 7.00 pm,  when we are inviting all our regular hall users to a shared evening of community Christmas music. And of course there is a warm invitation for everyone to join us. So far we we know that at least one choir, […]

Our Christian Aid DIY Climate Justice Tour Event on 29th October was inspired by the fact that all great movements (like the abolition of slavery or universal adult suffrage) started with conversations, leading to action. Our starting point is that everyone on this wonderful planet is loved equally by God and so it is intolerable […]

Our latest students’ evening went with a bang – or rather a number of bangs, that caused some consternation among other users of the premises at the time. But it was only the sound of indoor fireworks, which finished off our regular presentations  and conversations with students from Josephine Butler College. And we are now […]

We warmly welcomed back to Waddington Street, for the first time since Lockdown,  St John’s College Chapel Choir, who gave us a splendid concert focusing on works by Vaughan Williams and Parry. The choice of Vaughan Williams was specially appropriate as 1872 is both the 150th anniversary of his birth, and the 150th anniversary of […]

Together members and friends celebrated harvest thanksgiving, 50 years of the United Reformed Church, and 150 years of our church’s life at Waddington Street in a joyful service led by our minister, the Revd Marcus Hargis. Through prayer and reflection we remembered the faithful witness of church members no longer with us, and commended one […]

The sun shone on Flass Vale, just a few hundred yards from Waddington Street, as members and friends of our church gathered for the first of our Anniversary Weekend activities. Our Synod Moderator, the Revd David Herbert, wielded his spade to plant the third of the rowan trees that are our contribution to the late […]

Members of Waddington Street URC were among the many who came together and on-line on Sunday 9th October 2022 at 3.00pm to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the United Reformed Church. The service was held in the beautifully refurbished Jesmond United Reformed Church (Grade II Listed), Newcastle upon Tyne and was led by the General […]

Our Talking Climate Justice Tour  will be held at Waddington Street URC at 2.30 pm on Saturday 29th October There are many aspects to the environmental crises and there are many things, big and small, that can be done by us as individuals as well as by schools, universities, charities, councils, governments, business and industry. […]

A fundraising evening concert will be given in our church by St John’s Chapel Choir on Saturday 12th November 2022 at 7.00 pm Tickets £10 (includes buffet supper) Contact: [email protected] 0191 3843702 for advance purchases Proceeds to Disasters Emergency Committee – Ukraine Humanitarian and Pakistan Floods    

Friday 14th – Sunday 16th October The synod moderator, the Revd Dave Herbert, will dedicate three trees in Flass Vale Local Nature Reserve, as part of her late Majesty The Queen’s Green Canopy Platinum Jubilee Campaign.  Church members and friends are invited to attend,  meeting outside the church on Friday 14th October at 11.00 am. The Three Rowan […]

Waddington Street members were delighted to welcome the Revd Fiona Bennett to Durham over the weekend June 17-19, as part of our church’s 150th anniversary celebrations. From July Fiona, who is minister of Augustine United Church in Edinburgh, will serve for one year as Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church. Her […]

A programme of creative and story telling activities to celebrate our church community is being planned for this summer. Get the dates in your diary now! – more details to follow. June 7 Intergenerational Night Takeover June 23 Sketchbook Drawing Night July 21 Writing Poetry Night August 18 Memorial Art Making August 20 150 Years […]

Details of an evening with EmilyAbdeni-Holman on Thursday 17th March at 7.00 pm  

The churches of the Durham and Gateshead Group called the Revd Marcus Hargis to be our minister towards the end of 2020.  Marcus and his family moved into the Manse in Gateshead in the following February, with the expectation that a service of induction to the pastorate would follow a few weeks later. But then […]

September 2020 As university students are set to return to the city, we hope that this will mark a revival of the Intergenerational Project that has been part of our church life over the past few years. Originally intended as a means of welcoming international students, particularly from Josephine Butler College, to the city, more […]

A letter to all members and friends –  July 2020 We hope this letter finds you and your family safe and well after what has been a challenging time for us all. Now that we are seeing the easing of the lockdown and with it the government advice that churches can plan to reopen, the […]

We look forward to the concert to be given by the St John’s Chapel Choir in our church on Saturday February 8th, in aid of Hope for Justice  – a charity seeking to end Modern Day Slavery Here are details of some of the composers to be featured Thomas Tallis (born c. 1505, died 1585) is […]

1914-1918       1939-1945 Download printer friendly version  (29 Mb file)     WW1 MEMORIAL DEDICATION Excerpt from the Durham Chronicle dated 29 October 1920 DURHAM PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Memorial Tablet Unveiled On Sunday, the Rev. A. R. Paton M.A., of Seaton Delaval, returned to his old charge and preached both morning and evening in the […]

“Making a difference in today’s world” Since 2010 the church meeting has voted annually to financially support Christian Aid and at least one charity or community project each year in addition to any other commitments. The total raised now exceeds £45,000. The activities undertaken to raise the money have brought real benefits to the members […]

Halloween saw this year another of our student nights: some twenty international students from the university braved the ghouls and the darkness to walk done the hill and spend an hour or two with church members, keen to share with them some of our seasonal pursuits and activities. There was bobbing for apples and, looking […]

A fund-raising coffee morning realised over £350 – part of our church’s support this year for The Christian Blind Mission (CBM).  According to the figures on the CNM website, that one coffee morning should be the means to restore the sight of fifteen individuals through cataract surgery. And what’s more, for all who attended it was […]

It was the end of the second week of October, and the leaves were turning a glorious colour.  A small group of us met at the wonderful Saxon Church at Escomb, just beyond Bishop Auckland, for a splendid morning walk that took us into quite unfamiliar parts of Weardale. Unfamiliar to most us, that is: […]

Where to start – well August Bank Holiday and four days of wall to wall sunshine in the company of 11,000 fellow Christians in the grounds of Boughton House the home of the Duke of Buccleugh in Northants. A Christian festival of music, comedy, ideas and exploration around the theme “The Common Good” with time […]

The second of our evenings welcoming overseas students to Durham took place on August 8th, which must have been the wettest day of the summer. Despite the rain, more than 20 students found their way to Waddington Street, mainly on foot and walking down from the hill colleges. For most of them this was still […]

Half a dozen church members, keen to share the life of our church more widely, had a one-day session on getting our website up to speed. iChurch supermo Rebecca Gudgeon (right in the pic) gave us the low-down on how to bring the site upto speed, and challenged us to think more creatively on what […]

Barbara Tinsley writes about the recent church weekend  (June 23-25) A group of us spent a truly wonderful weekend at Rydal Hall Ambleside (www.rydalhall.org ). The hotel was clean and comfortable, the company friendly and stimulating, the food excellent and the grounds beautiful. There is a formal garden designed by Thomas H. Mawson between 1909 and […]

The Moderator of General Assembly, the Revd Kevin Watson, presided and preached at our quarterly Communion Service on Sunday June 11th. The United Reformed Church elects two Assembly Moderators, one a minister and one a lay person, at its Assembly held every other year. As well as chairing the Assembly meetings, they visit churches across […]

Retired minister Alan Smith, a member of our congregation, ended a week of celebrations of his 90th birthday with a fund-raising lunch in our church hall on Sunday June 11th, following the service led by the Assembly Moderator. Members of Alan’s family had travelled from as far away as Fiji to share in the celebrations, […]