Wales & the World
Courage, Conscience and Conviction
Events to mark the Great Ejectment of 1662
Now that we are well into 2012, the year that marks the 350th anniversary of The Great Ejectment, when more than 2,000 ministers were turned out of their livings because they could not 'conform' to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, events to mark this significant date are crowding in.
The spirit of the year is captured in the title to a conference at Oxford University – Courage, Conscience and Conviction. The Act of Uniformity obliged all ministers to conform to the practice of the Church of England. Those who refused suffered persecution and harassment. Yet so many did refuse. They faced prosecution, imprisonment and fines. They could not take public office, they could not go to university.
They had to meet in secret but meet they did and from those early 'Nonconformist' gatherings a number of our URC congregations have grown. URC Synods up and down the country will be marking The Great Ejectment this year and Wales Synod will celebrate it at March Synod Meeting.
The first major event was the historic Service of Reconciliation in Westminster Abbey in February, held by the United Reformed Church and the Church of England. The service came from the joint URC / CofE report 'Healing of Memories' and included testimonies about martyrs of the past and stories of shared work in the present, leading to an act of commitment for the future.
Significant events that tell us why we are what we are include:
16-18 March 2012
Courage, Conscience and Conviction
Mansfield College, Oxford
This weekend conference is being organised by the United Reformed Church and the Congregational Federation, to reflect on the contemporary relevance of 350 years of dissenting history. Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, one of Britain's top lawyers, who has recently taken up the post of principal of Mansfield College, said: 'The glory of Mansfield for me is its dissenting tradition – providing education for those originally excluded from Oxford.' Cost: £200. Apply: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 020 7916 8635.
Saturday 26 May 2012
1662 Revisited
Dr Williams's Library, 14 Gordon Square WC1H 0AR
Implications of the Great Ejectment will be explored by panels of distinguished speakers. Areas covered will include Politics, Religion and Literature. The conference will run from 10am – 5pm. A sandwich lunch and tea are included in the registration fee of £15, payable at the door (students £5). To register email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
9 June 2012
Celebrating the Great Ejectment
Dr Williams's Library, London
This conference will look at the influence of the Great Ejectment through the centuries to the Free Churches of today. It will reappraise the Ejectment and consider its ecumenical significance. The conference is organised by Friends of the Congregational Library. Sponsored by the insurance company Congregational, the day is free and lunch and tea will be provided. To book a place email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (tel: 020 7387 3727).
Saturday 22 September
Annual Lecture: URC History Society
Highgate URC, London N6 6BA
The Rev Dr David Thompson will consider ways in which 1662 and its memories have been recorded through the ages and what this may have to say about Dissent. The annual lecture is being held in Highgate, where the origins of religious dissent probably go back to 1665 when Five Mile Act decreed that Ministers ejected in 1662 had to live at least five miles from the boundaries of cities or towns. Highgate is (just!) five miles from Charing Cross and also at the far reaches of the parishes of St Pancras and Hornsey, making it far enough away from the religious establishment to become a gathering place for religious dissenters.
Jean Silvan Evans