Ecumenical Partnership

St Paul's Church Marton in partnership with St John Vianney's Roman Catholic Church

What is “A Local Ecumenical Partnership?”

Churches with a substantial sharing in Worship, Church life, mission and ministry. Partnerships develop where a level of trust, commitment and interdependence has been reached.

Congregations involved remain as distinct worshipping congregations with their own government and finances and usually with ordained ministry from their own denomination.

It exists within the widest possible spectrum of churches present in the locality and remains committed to any local ecumenical grouping.

This deeper commitment to unity is a commitment to the call of Christ and a prompting of the Holy Spirit. A local partnership is a significant mutual commitment under God and between congregations for mutually discerned and agreed purposes.

Local Partnerships are like a marriage, not to be lightly entered into. They are formed after lengthy prayerful discussion and discernment. A local partnership should state its purpose clearly both in terms of a faithful response to God and of the specific ways in which the relationship will be effective.

The development is the responsibility of all God’s people in the Churches involved and must not be the work of ministers and clergy only. A local partnership cannot be a purely local concern and the intent must be with consultation and support from participating denominations and the sponsoring body.

What is it not?

It is not an agreement to share everything in common.

It is not a way of ignoring our different traditions

It is not a way of gaining from each other

It is not a way subtle way of becoming what we are not.

How was it decided?

On February 5^th 2000, St. Paul’s held an open Forum to which everyone in the Church was invited to voice their opinions. At that meeting the parish looked carefully at the Partnership Declaration of Intent, which the two Churches had drawn up in consultation. Following this meeting the Parochial Church Council took a vote. (In the Church of England, we have a system of electing people to office, who we trust to make decisions of all kinds, on our behalf. We elect them annually at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting; this body is the P.C.C).

The P.C.C. voted overwhelmingly to enter into partnership with Saint John Vianney.

An open meeting was also held at Saint John Vianney Church on Monday, 24^th January 2000. At this meeting, all those present voted, with the vast majority in favour of proceeding also.

What happened then?

On the 5^th March 2000 at 7.00 p.m. a joint service was held at Saint John Vianney Church to sign the declaration of intent. The two churches elected people to a Joint Council and set up a Ministry Team.