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Adapted from ACNS
USPG, one of the oldest Anglican mission agencies, has returned to its historic name. The 315-year-old charity, which called itself United Society (Us) for several years, has responded to calls from its supporters to reclaim its former name. USPG returned this weekend at the Greenbelt Christian arts festival in Northampton, England.
The agency changed its name from USPG (United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel) to United Society in 2012. The initialism now stands for United Society Partners in the Gospel.
“We have listened to our supporters and our partners around the world and recognized that there is a lot of love for the original USPG name,” said Rachel Parry, USPG’s director for global relations. “In particular, while the gospel has always been at the heart of our work, there was a desire to see that word back into our name.
“At the same time, we wanted to acknowledge how mission has changed through the centuries, and so we’ve employed the term Partners in the Gospel to recognize our shared way of working with the world church.”
Visitors to the USPG booth at Greenbelt were pleased.
“I welcome the return to USPG,” said Mike, from Shropshire. “I grew up knowing about USPG and its radical world-affirming stance. It’s good to have USPG back.”
“I love the new name. Partners is much more appropriate than propagation,” said Liz, from Oxford.
“I’ve had a lot of positive comments from people saying they are so glad that USPG is back,” said James, a volunteer at the booth. “They like the phrase partners, and they like that we’ve kept the pink color of the brand.”
The focus on USPG’s presentation at Greenbelt was its work with the Anglican Church in Athens to support refugees.