St Columba's United Reformed Church, Oxford

St Columba's United Reformed Church is a congregation of the United Reformed Church (URC) in the centre of the city of Oxford. It is located on Alfred Street, off the High Street.

History[]

It was founded as a chaplaincy to Presbyterian students in Oxford in 1908 ^[1] and was initially a joint initiative by the Church of Scotland, the United Free Church of Scotland, and the Presbyterian Church of England.

It became a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of England in 1929, and on the union of the Presbyterian and Congregational churches, a congregation of the United Reformed Church (URC).

The church continues to provide a chaplaincy to students in the University of Oxford from Reformed, Presbyterian and Congregational church backgrounds.

Building[]

The church building dates to 1915, and was designed by T. P. Figgis. It has a nave and shallow rectangular chancel. The stained glass in the chancel was designed by Theodora Salusbury. The front courtyard was replaced by an extension by E. Brian Smith in 1966. Pevsner described the building as 'well-mannered'.^{[2][full citation needed]} Funding for the building was provided in part by Agnes and Margaret Smith, the 'Sisters of the Sinai'.

LGBTQ Ministry[]

St Columba's performs same-sex marriages and blesses civil partnerships. The church also hosts First Sunday, fellowship for LGBTQ Christians.^[3]

Ministers[]

Among the Ministers to have served the church are:

• Revd David Lusk (father of Mary Levison)
• Revd , later Principal of Westminster College, Cambridge
• Revd Ray Bailey
• Revd John Thornton
• Revd Caryl Micklem (1978–1990)
• Revd Wesley Workman (1990–1992)
• Revd Dr (1995–2007), later Principal of Westminster College, Cambridge
• Revd Dr Carla Grosch-Miller (2008–2016)
• Revd Helen Garton (since 2018)

Since 2001, the church has shared ministry with Cumnor United Reformed Church.

References[]

Coordinates: 51°45′06″N 1°15′21″W / 51.7517°N 1.2559°W / 51.7517; -1.2559