Farnham United Reformed Church began as a Congregational Church in 1793 and moved to the present building in 1872. In 1973 we became part of the new United Reformed Church in England, Scotland and Wales which united the Congregational, Presbyterian and Churches of Christ traditions. The United Reformed Church is a Protestant church, in the Reformed tradition, the largest world-wide family of churches.
However, there is an earlier history. In
1643 the Anglican Minister was ejected from St Andrew's Parish
Church and Puritan Ministers were installed there. In 1660, Samuel
Stileman, a Presbyterian Minister, was ejected from St. Andrew's,
and gathered a Presbyterian congregation separate from the Church
of England. A Presbyterian Meeting House was later built in West
Street. In 1792 William Gunn, an evangelical preacher, was also
ejected from the parish church, and he gathered an Independent
congregation, who quickly built the Ebenezer Independent Chapel
in East Street.
By 1794 the Presbyterian congregation had become extremely moribund,
with only a handful of members, and they decided to merge with
the new Independent congregation, taking with them a large endowment.
In 2010 we are marking the 350th anniversary of Samuel Stileman's
separate ministry with a series of events, including services
to be led by distinguished
preachers from the United Reformed Church.
Farnham United Reformed Church is part of the Wessex Synod of the United Reformed Church.
In common with all United Reformed Churches, members elect Elders, who share with the Minister in the spiritual and pastoral oversight of the church. All members of the church share together in the Church Meeting, the decision-making body of the church.
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Our minister, the Revd Michael Hopkins. Michael was ordained in September 2002, when he was 26. He began his ministry with us in September 2005. Michael studied science at Durham University, worked in a hostel for the homeless in London, and trained for the Ministry in Oxford. Before coming to us, Michael served for three years as Minister in a United Reformed Church - Church of England ecumenical partnership in the village of Twyford in Berkshire.
The photograph shows the Rev.Michael Hopkins at Bordon Shared Church in November 2005, courtesy of Chris Jaques, the photographer. Click on the photograph for a larger version.
To send an e-mail to the Minister, click here.
To download a pdf file giving information about baptisms, click here (Adobe Acrobat required - for a free copy click here)
To download a pdf file giving information about weddings, click here (Adobe Acrobat required - for a free copy click here)
For a map showing where the church is, click here.