United Reform Church apologises over Holocaust Memorial Day social media post

The United Reform Church (URC) has apologised after posting a ‘Daily Devotion’ on social media marking Holocaust Memorial Day which said that “the disciples were bound by the Pharisee’s rigid legalism and the Sadducee’s sceptical unbelief, both of which distort God’s truth.”

The URC, a Protestant non-conformist denomination in the UK with more than 1,200 congregations across Britain, had specifically referenced Holocaust Memorial Day in their post, published on BlueSky on Tuesday. Though the “devotion” itself had no reference to the Holocaust, being concerned with a verse from the New Testament book of Matthew, social media users were highly critical of the post, linking it to the doctrine of Christian Supersessionism – the idea that Christians supplanted Jews as God’s ‘people of the Covenant’.

On Wednesday, following a query from Jewish News, the URC deleted their original social media post and released a statement saying that “Yesterday, a social media post included a reference to Holocaust Memorial Day which was unsuitable, for which we apologise.

“The URC has marked Holocaust Memorial Day for many years and is a member of many interfaith dialogues. We deeply regret any distress caused.”

A spokesperson for the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) said: “We are extremely disappointed to see the devotion shared on Holocaust Memorial Day by Revd Nicola Furley-Smith on United Reformed Church platforms.

“We know that many within the URC do not share these views and celebrate living in diversity amongst people from different faiths and perspectives. Whether intentional or not, it is especially unfortunate on this day of commemoration, to read such negative construals of the Pharisees, views which have been contested and rejected by many Christian leaders and people of Christian faith.

“We welcome the swift response and apology from the URC and we hope that they will take greater care in future to consider how devotions and pieces may be received by other faiths. We invite them to continue their learning and to continue their work in interfaith forums.”