What we Are ...
Three Fundamental Principles:
Churches should act together in all matters except those in
which deep differences of conviction compel them to act
separately -
There is no virtue in churches doing things together
which they ought not to be doing anyway -
Churches should not do on their own what they can do with
the community -
Its official objects and aims are:
1. to advance the Christian religion through:
a. facilitating common witness to the Christian
Religion by member churches; and
b. working for Christian unity; and
c. offering advice and guidance to those running
schools connected with member churches
2. to relieve financial hardship anywhere in the world by
making grants from funds raised either directly by the
group or by co-
member churches.
Relationships:
a. participates in the life and work of Churches Together in
England (CTE) as an intermediate body;
b. sponsors Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEPs)
c. accepts affiliation of local Churches Together (CT) groups.
The denominations of the Christian Church that are members of CTH are:
The Central Baptist Association
The Church of England (Diocese of St Albans)
The Methodist Church
(Bedfordshire., Essex and Hertfordshire District)
The United Reformed Church
(North Thames and East Midlands Provinces)
The Roman Catholic Church (Archdiocese of Westminster)
The Salvation Army
(Central South and London North East Divisions)
The Religious Society of Friends
Then there is the umbrella at what is sometimes called the intermediate or county level such as Churches Together in Hertfordshire(CTHerts). More of its role in a minute.
Churches Together in England with its General Secretary, two Field Officers serving north and south and a small admin staff form the basic paid national administration with four unpaid Presidents representing the
In regard to the Intermediate Body, we have two main areas of work, first to service, support and encourage the local Churches Together groups of which there are 35 in the county and to similarly look after the Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEPs) in Hertfordshire of which there are 23.
As the County Ecumenical Development Officer (CEDO), I am employed officially for 20 hours a week to do this work, although I often exceed the contracted number of hours in common with many others in ministry.
Servicing consists mostly of the paper work, keeping in contact with the elected officials, maintaining records and of course our various methods of communication – predominately the publishing and circulation of our newsletter and the web site.
Support often includes verbal contacts, attendance at the various local committee meetings, running seminars or meetings that teach ecumenism and help the churches understand their biblical challenges. This can also take the form of being an advice and resource source when groups have queries of one kind and another.
Encouragement takes many forms including the sharing of best practices and showing how groups are functioning and working, so that others can copy them. The preaching invitations that I receive together with the speaking ones, also gives me an opportunity to encourage those I meet this way.
The subscriptions go towards the expenses of the intermediate organisation (although we have to operate on a deficit budget), and all services provided, including attendance and travel of the CEDO come freely as part of that contribution.
One CT group e-
But what about Local Ecumenical Partnerships, how do we define them? Churches Together in England says they exist where: ‘there is a formal written agreement affecting the ministry, congregational life, buildings and/or mission projects of more than one denomination; and a recognition of that agreement by the Sponsoring Body, and authorisation by the appropriate denominational authorities.’
There are six kinds of LEP, but we basically come across four as follows:
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Single Congregation Partnerships – usually either the merger of two or more different congregations or a new one planted or established by two or more denominations.
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Congregations in Covenanted Partnerships – usually continuing to worship in their own buildings but with a strong commitment to united witness and ministry.
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Shared Building Partnerships – having a Sharing Agreement under the 1969 Act to permit the property of one church to be also used and supported by others.
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Chaplaincy Partnerships – usually in Higher & Further Education Chaplaincy, Prisons, Health Care etc.
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Every few years, usually about five, a representative of CTHerts, often either the CEDO or Chair of the LEP Sub-
As CTEngland reminds us, we need to ‘remember that we are part of the ecumenical movement. This means that the Partnership hopes to move on to a growing unity and every member can be an agent of that growth.’