Without vision the people perish
 Each of the churches in the Norwich Area United reformed church has a vision of how it should be as a people of God in its own particular community or neighbourhood. The United Reformed Church in Norwich (URCN) - the group of four city churches also have a vision for the group as a whole. Here we set out these visions, hopes and expectations, recognising that they are open to development and rely on active Christian discipleship to give them faith and meaning. In its pamphlet "Vision to Action" there is a call that fits well with each churches hoopes for the future:
Whilst scripture tells us that “without vision the people perish”, it also says “the Kingdom of God is not a matter of words, but of action”. The challenge for us now is how we take our vision and mission forward. We are clear that however we go forward it should be:
- Prayerfully
- In faith
- Ready to take risks
- Realistically
- With effective planning
- With real commitment but recognising that for some it might not be their “passion”
- With support across the whole congregation
- Linked to preaching and teaching
- In a context which allows us to grow in faith
- Remembering the need to nurture those already within our congregation
We also recognise our need to travel in partnership with others both locally, ecumenically, and in fellowship with the URCN of which we are a part.
Fairland URC, Wymondham
 We believe that the Fairland United Reformed Church exists to worship God by sharing our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. This we will do by living out our faith as individuals and as a community and caring for our neighbours.
Ipswich Road
 As a Church we believe that it is our goal to be a vibrant and sustainable community, called by God to grow actively in faith, love, and commitment to Jesus Christ, our Lord. We believe he invites us to follow him and, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to live the Gospel by proclaiming its message of truth, forgiveness, freedom, transformation and justice, bringing hope, comfort and healing into a hurting world.
Jessopp Road
 Jessopp Road URC is a Community Church, that is, a church that sees itself as being their for the local community and serving those who live and work in the neighbourhood. The Congregation has a vision of offering “cradle to grave” care for people whether it be through its work with children and young people or through the service of the luncheon club which regular provided friendship, food and entertainment to thirty older citizens every Friday.
Princes Street
 The purpose of the Church at Princes Street is in an ecumenical spirit, to deepen relationships with God through public and private worship, fellowship, learning and service. And by so doing to bring others to Christ
Trinity
 To love God, and to help people of all ages, cultures and nationalities to discover God’s love. To be a uniting, praying, caring church, dedicated to Christian worship and responding to human need by loving service. To respond to social and spiritual human need using our church buildings as a centre of friendship, healing, reconciliation, celebration, worship, tranquillity and peace. To help people explore life’s deepest questions, providing creative opportunities for the neighbourhood and community to discover Christian faith in today’s world.
Welgate URC, Mattishall
Wroxham and Hoveton
 In November 2000 Wroxham and Hoveton U.R.C. entered into a local ecumenical covenant; this reads: ‘We (the Anglican United Benefice of Wroxham, Hoveton and Belaugh; St. Helen’s Roman Catholic Church, Hoveton; and Wroxham and Hoveton United Reformed Church) declare our common belief in the love of God, the Lordship and saving grace of Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of participation in the Holy Spirit. We believe that God wills the unity of His Church, which we can forward locally by working together more and more closely.’
United Reformed Church in Norwich
 1. The URCN Vision (as agreed in 2004)
The vision of the churches worshipping at Ipswich Road, Jessopp Road, Princes Street and Trinity in Norwich is one church serving at present in these four places, responding to God’s mission together, and offering diversity in mutual respect and team-working based on a variety of gifts
2. The Objectives (as contained in the constitution)
In order to make the Vision real the four churches agreed to work together to foster and strengthen the life and witness of each congregation through prayer, planning and shared activities, form a Team Ministry to serve the four churches and their wider communities, give priority to mission and work ecumenically wherever possible
3. Vision from October 2006 Joint Elders’ and TMG Away Day
The following is an extract from December 2006’s Interdependent:
We are people of God who feel loved, free and forgiven. We feel called to serve in response to God’s love in Jesus Christ, to seek out and serve God among the people and within the communities around us. We feel challenged by the way society is shaped and the global interconnections which shape all our lives. We want to bring a Christian perspective to bear on the world around us, because we believe that Jesus Christ offers us all we need to be better people and help create a better world. We want to be one Church, serving (at present) in four places, responding to God’s mission together, offering diversity in mutual respect and team-working based on a variety of gifts:
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worshipping and growing in our spiritual life through prayer and teaching
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making the best use of people’s gifts and all our resources within our local congregations, as a group and with our ecumenical partners
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developing a common life together (across the congregations and facing difficult questions together)
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engaging with the community – challenging the community and being challenged by it
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challenging unjust structures in our society locally, nationally and globally. Being passionate about justice and working for justice
4. Taking forward the October 2006 Vision: progress to date:
The Interdependent article recognised that we already do many things to realise the vision:
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shared joint worship and preaching
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studying the Bible together
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ATOM – a learning programme we are using called ‘All Together Offering Ministry’
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praying together
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joint house groups
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youth leadership and outreach
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working ecumenically wherever possible
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shared pastoral responsibility
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drawing out people skills and gifts (locally and jointly)
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identifying local church mission priorities, based on our strengths, and acting on them
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enabling and affirming the ministry of every member
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collaborative team ministry which is supportive and exciting
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interdependency
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pool and sharing resources
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church community work
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ensuring our work in community informs and infects our worship
5. Taking forward the October 2006 Vision: for the future
The URCN considered how we develop its vision and decided to agree on a year to year basis a number of targets which are SMART to indicate who/which Group within the organisation is responsible for taking them forward. A monitoring and review process is built in. Various groups then considered what might be done over 2008 to take forward the vision. This was done, in particular, in respect of each of the following broad activities of our church life:-
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worship and prayer
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study
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outreach
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social activities
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resources
In each case we are concentrating on what we can do jointly. To facilitate this exercise the Team Ministry Group, Manse Committee and Social Committee have contributed their ideas for “action” in 2008, and these have been set out in the pamphlet "Planning for 2008".
Eastern Synod Aims
The primary aim is to advance the work of the churches within its areas of responsibility, this to be achieved through 9 stated actions of which the following are most relevant to local churches to improve the quality of church buildings in order that they might engage with the local community more effectively, to continue striving to develop and support ecumenical alliances within the Synod and surrounding counties and to continue encouraging Elders, Ministers and Lay Preachers to take advantage of the training opportunities that the Synod makes available through activities such as continued ministerial education, collegial events and festival days
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