Over a year ago we started to make arrangements for this weekend in which to recognise One Hundred and Fifty years of Reformed Worship in Redhill.

It started with twelve people covenanting together to form a Congregational Church and to erect a building for public worship. The church opened for worship in Chapel Rd in 1862 and stayed on that site until the 1990s when it was demolished.

In the late 1890s a group of people felt a need for a slightly different style of worship (but still in the Reformed Tradition), moved to Shaw's Corner and a Church in the Presbyterian tradition was built on the border of Reigate and Redhill, the one we now worship in.

In 1972, after twenty seven years of negotiations, the Congregational Church in England and Wales merged with Presbyterian Church of England.

The two U.R.C.s in Redhill for a number of years carried on worshipping in their own way until the autumn of 1988 when the two fellowships agreed to become one Church worshipping in the one place. At Pentecost 1989 the two fellowships became one at Shaw's Corner.

Since that time a number of former members of both Churches have move on for various reasons, and I would say that, by now, we are about half and half people who were part of the two reuniting churches and people who have since joined the fellowship.

Let us hope and pray that some people, who read this, will in Fifty Years' time meet together to celebrating Two Hundred Years of Reformed Worship in Redhill.

The Elders are distributing invitations and details of this weekend. If you haven't received them by the time you read this, please contact your Elder (this is shown in your copy of the Year Book). We look forward to seeing as many folk who can make it.

Albert Read