In a nutshell...
Nurtures and sustain relations among Baptists and with other ecumenical partners.
Explores issues of faith and doctrine across different church traditions.
Shares and develops prayer and worship resources.
Promotes campaigning and action on issues of social justice.
Contact Faith & Unity
Email: faithandunity@baptist.org.uk
Tel: 01235 517755
In more depth...
There are three key aspects to our work:
1. The nurture of relationships with Christians both in this country and throughout the world.
We want the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) to play its full part in the wider church, offering the distinctive insights that reflect our Baptist way of being church, and contributing to the strengthening of Baptist witness throughout the world. Many BUGB churches have close links with Christians of other denominations, perhaps ministering and witnessing within Local Ecumenical Partnerships, and we work to deepen and sustain these relationships. This involves representing BUGB within the national and international ecumenical structures, including Churches Together in England, the Conference of European Churches and the World Council of Churches. We also oversee our participation in the European Baptist Federation and the Baptist World Alliance. Of particular significance is the development of a covenant partnership with the Independent Methodist Connexion in this country, that is drawing us towards union.
2. Reflection on issues of faith and doctrine, and the deepening of our shared life of prayer and worship.
As Baptists we have a distinctive identity, and our aim is to draw on the riches of our tradition to help us understand what it means to be God's people today. At the same time, we recognise that there is much to learn from other church traditions as we grow in mutual understanding and deepen our togetherness in Christ. So the Department seeks to provide space to think through issues of faith that affect the life and witness of our churches, a task often fulfilled in partnership with others who are not Baptists. We aim to produce resources that can guide reflection within a local congregation, and that can also contribute to the enrichment of our continuing life of prayer and worship.
3. Promote campaigning and action on issues of social justice.
The call of the gospel is to work for freedom, peace and justice, and we believe that this is part of what it means to be a missionary people today. So, working in collaboration with ecumenical agencies and partners, we enable Baptists to be actively involved in creating a movement for change in our world. We facilitate campaigning against poverty and the structures that keep people oppressed, partnering closely with Christian Aid. We represent BUGB in responding to government initiatives, including new legislation going through parliament, working through a Joint Public Issues Team with the Methodist Church and United Reformed Church. And that Team also seeks to enable our local churches to engage with the national social and political agenda.
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