Ever wondered what an archivist does, or how to become one? Our archivist has written a blog post to explain how we try to preserve and promote our historical collections, keep them safe, and help enquirers find what they're looking for! https://westminster.cam.ac.uk/library-archives-history/from-the-archives (And by the way, that document on the table is what a Call from a church used to look like! It's part of the URCHS archives.) (fb)

Online Lecture! Thurs 11th September, 4pm: Join us to hear Dr Suzanne McDonald of Western Theological Seminary speaking on "Three Ministers, One Parish, and Seventeenth-Century Church Turmoil in a Nutshell". For Zoom link, email michael.hopkins @ urc.org.uk Ashton-under-Lyne near Manchester had just three ministers from 1619 until 1700. Their stories give us a window into the bewildering reality of being on the front lines of church life from before the Civil Wars until after the Restoration. What happens when your bishop thinks you are a ‘Puritan', but members of your congregation call you a ‘popish priest’? How does it come about that yesterday’s radicals are today’s conservatives in the 1640s and 50s? What choices do you make after the Restoration? Ashton-under-Lyne offers a microcosm of the situation across England during these turbulent decades, and shows us how hard it was for ministers to keep their footing when the political and ecclesial ground was constantly shifting beneath them. (fb)