The Congregational Federation is a small Christian denomination in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

comprising 235 congregations, down from 294 in April 2014. The Federation brings together Congregational churches, and provides support and guidance to member churches both financially and otherwise.

History

The Federation was formed in 1972 from those Congregational churches which did not enter the union of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

Church of England with the Congregational Church in England and Wales to form the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

. The leaders at the time were Reginald Cleaves, Margaret, Viscountess Stansgate, John Wilcox and Elsie Chamberlain. Margaret, Viscountess Stansgate became the Federation's first President. The Federation was expanded in 2000 by member churches of the

Congregational Union of Scotland The Congregational Union of Scotland was a Protestant church in the Reformed tradition. The union was established in 1812, by 53 churches in Scotland. Its aim was to conduct missions in Scotland, and to support the existing Congregational churc ...

that chose not to join their merger with the

. It is a member of the

International Congregational Fellowship The International Congregational Fellowship is an international coordinating body formed in 1995 from among those Congregationalist groups that had not joined with other reformed churches during the heyday of ecumenical mergers in the 1960s and 197 ...

, an international network of Congregational churches and their national associations. Some of its churches are also in membership of the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches. The offices of the Congregational Federation are in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, England.

Ecumenical relations

The Congregational Federation is a member of: * Action of Churches Together in Scotland * Churches Together in Britain and Ireland * Churches Together in England * Cytûn

Churches

The churches are organised into 10 geographical regions. CC stands for Congregational Church/Chapel.

Eastern

References

External links

*
Official website of the Congregational History Society
Congregationalism in the United Kingdom Congregational denominations established in the 20th century Organisations based in Nottingham Reformed denominations in the United Kingdom Christian organizations established in 1972 {{christian-denomination-stub