Ecumenical Relations (UK)
Over half of Baptist churches are involved in some kind of ecumenical relationship: many are part of a 'Churches Together' group in their town or city, or join together with other local churches for occasional worship or mission events. Some churches are part of a more formal Local Ecumenical Partnership, covenanting with other churches to share aspects of their life together – from buildings, to ministry, to a Single Congregation Partnership sharing the whole of their worship and mission life.
Nationally, BUGB is a member Churches Together in England, and Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, which coordinate and encourage ecumenical working.
We are currently engaged in a new round of conversations with the Church of England. Following on from earlier conversations which resulted in the publication of Pushing at the Boundaries of Unity, and the PBU Studies, this time the intention is to look at what it means to proclaim and witness to the Christian faith today from within our two different traditions.
Faith and Unity aims to encourage Baptists to engage ecumenically at whatever level they feel able. Please do contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to talk further.
Current Work
Current work in this area includes:
- Advising LEPs needing apply for Charity Registration. Churches with an income of over £100,000 now need to register with the Charity Commission, and this includes Single Congregation Local Ecumenical Partnerships. Working together with the other three denominations most often involved in Single Congregation LEPs, Model Governing Documents have been prepared. There is a suggested process for getting the documents agreed by all the denominations involved, and more details about this can be found on the Churches Together in England website. 'Union' churches are joint Baptist/URC churches which pre-date the arrangements for Local Ecumenical Partnerships. The need for charity registration applies to them as well, and separate documents have been prepared to facilitate this.
Key Resources
For a full list of free resources please click on the link on the menu on the left and for resources to buy please visit the BUGB Online Store.
Key resources in this area are:
- Model Governing Document - LEPs (and the associated Help File)
- Model Governing Document - 'Union' Churches
- LEPs and BUGB Pensions
- PBU Studies
Faith & Unity News
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