Many Churches, one purpose

There are many different Christian churches and denominations, but all have the same basic calling:
to worship God, to share the good news about Jesus Christ and to work for the good  of all people.
So they often need to work together - and to co-ordinate the work they each do separately.  When they do, they are acting as Churches Together.
But being Churches Together means more than that.  It means commitment by each church and denomination to deepen its fellowship with the others, and - without losing what makes each interestingly different - to work with them towards a greater visible unity.
To help the churches live as Churches Together, a number of small organizations have been created to ease their way.  There is one in almost every town or community, to help them to work together locally.  There are others in the regions, and for each of the countries of Wales, Scotland, Ireland and England.  And there is Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
(From Churches Together in Britain and Ireland)

What is Churches Together in England?
 
Churches Together in England is the national body set up by the churches in 1990, and has partner bodies in . Churches Together in Britain and Ireland is the successor body to the British Council of Churches, and co-ordinates the work of the four nations.

 

Churches Together in Shrewsbury is formed in accordance with the constitutional basis and aim set out by Churches Together in England. These can be seen below or in the full context on the Churches Together in England website at www.churches-together.net

CONSTITUTIONAL GUIDELINES FOR A GROUPING OF CHURCHES TOGETHER IN A NEIGHBOURHOOD OR SMALLTOWN
 
 
1. BASIS
 
CHURCHES TOGETHER IN SHREWSBURY unites in pilgrimage those Churches in Shrewsbury which, acknowledging God’s revelation in Christ, confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures, and, in obedience to God’s will and in the power of the Holy Spirit commit themselves
-        to seek a deepening of their communion with Christ and with one another in the Church, which is His body; and
-        to fulfil their mission to proclaim the Gospel by common witness and service in the world
to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
 
2. AIMS
 
The aims of Churches Together in Shrewsbury shall be -
 
(a)     to enable the churches, as pilgrims together, to explore the Christian faith together, to develop mutual relationships, to seek a common mind, and to make decisions together
(b)     to encourage churches to worship, pray and reflect together on the nature and purpose of the church in the light of its mission - each church sharing with others the treasures of its tradition
(c)     to enable the churches to live and share the Gospel, to evangelise together and to take further steps towards fuller unity
(d)     to enable the churches to respond to the needs of society and to witness to the Gospel together.

Churches Together in Shrewsbury is led by a democratically elected Executive and representatives from each of the member churches.
The Executive are:-

President 2006 -2008: Rev. Mark Thomas. St. Chad's C. of E.
Vice-President: Denise Williamson. Belle Vue Methodist Church.
Secretary: Gill Leah. Church of the Holy Spirit. LEP
Treasurer: David Eccleshall. St. John's Hill @St. Chad's. Methodist
Publicity Officer: Duncan Jones. St. Chads.

Fr. Stephen Coonan. Roman Catholic Cathedral
Fr. Stephen Maxfield. Church of the Holy Fathers of Nicea. Greek Orthodox
Rev. Sue Caddy. Oxon. C of E.
Rev. Tim Harwood. URC
Andrew Wright. Christ Church. C. of E. Bayston Hill
 

 

Lord, bless Your Church around the world and especially here in Shrewsbury.
Gracious God, your church is made up of your people. So, may we all be led by Your Spirit,
filled by Your Grace, committed to Your Will and devoted to Your Service.
May we find the words to say to all who ask to know the hope we have within us.
As we seek to come closer to our fellow Christians in other denominations, may we find the
things that unite us.
As we work and worship together, so may we grow ever more close to each other so that
those outside our church will see that we are one in owning your son, Jesus, as our Lord.
Amen.

(Taken from Leaders of Worship and Preachers Trust)

A Short History of CTIS

When the fledgling Christian Centre was first opened amidst a flourish of great intentions, in Old St Chad's Churchyard way back in 1972, the then Chairman of the Shrewsbury Council of Churches presided. We must assume that SCC was by then well established, and certainly the two organisations have been closely linked from the start.

Christian Aid, One World Week, the Christian Forum, Lent Groups and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity were amongst the early projects of the Council and some years later we embarked on the Good Friday Walk of Witness.

The structure was transformed in 1992, two years later than the national body, into Churches Together in Shrewsbury. A covenant sub-committee agreed upon a covenant which was signed by all participating churches to the effect that they would not do separately what they could better do together. There is still a long way to go before we achieve this, but a solid core of committed supporters have carried the torch through the years, outstanding among whom has been Lawrence Edbrook, Secretary for many years, who delivered all the minutes by hand; cycling far & wide to do so.

Churches Together has had a long association with supporting the young people in our churches and the community. CTIS supported the work of The Church Army with the Shrewsbury Churches Youth Project (SCYP) and more recently churches of all denominations and theological outlooks support the Shrewsbury Youth for Christ (SYFC) project which works with young people in our schools and colleges in and around Shrewsbury.
CTIS also supports the work of One World Week as it goes into every school in Shrewsbury before the October half term to give assemblies on a related theme and also the annual Open Door project, organised by the Lichfield Diocese, which takes place at the Abbey.
Young people from all denominations take part in the Soul Purpose project based at Holy Spirit Church each year.
Churches in the Belle Vue area of the town were involved at an early stage in the provision of a new youth club for the area and now run a youth club every friday evening in the purpose built modern premises.

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