Minister's Welcome

"Hello. I'm delighted to share in the ministry here at Thornbury URC and welcome you to our website. I have been here since 2020 and am also the minister at Trinity-Henleaze URC in Bristol. 

Before this chapter of my service I was, for fifteen years, tutor and then Principal at Westminster College in Cambridge, one of the URC's theological colleges. Part of what I bring to ministry is a passion for creativity and imagination. In Cambridge I helped to develop and teach courses exploring the arts and theology, and I'm an artist and writer myself. 

I was ordained back in 1992 and have also served in Yorkshire and Hertfordshire. Ministering in a congregation, sharing the highs and lows, discovering all it means to follow Jesus in a place and time, is one of the great privileges of life. I know that God is blessing us here and am thankful to share in it. 

Thornbury URC is right at the heart of the community and shares fully with our friends in the other churches of our town. Alongside the centrality of our worship and prayer, we treasure the many ways in which we connect with so many people and groups across Thornbury. As our website reveals, our building is a meeting point for all sorts of gatherings and performances just as it has been for the 200 years it has stood here. 

Why not come along and see for yourself? I promise you a warm welcome and, very often it seems, cake!"

Revd Neil Thorogood