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Churches Together in England (CTE) is anecumenical organisation and the national instrument for theChristian Churches inEngland. It helps its member churches work better together.
Churches Together in England supports a network of Intermediate Bodies, each usually covering an English county or metropolitan area. It also has Bodies in Association, a wide range of organisations and networks which draws together Christians of all churches around common causes, projects and interests.
Churches Together in England issued a call to prayer during theCOVID-19 pandemic, inviting all Christians and people of prayer to join onMothering Sunday 22 March 2020, at 7.00 pm, and to light a candle in the windows of their homes as a visible symbol of light and hope. The following Sundays the emphasis shifted to praying and displaying a poster, rather than lighting a candle.[1][2]
Churches Together in England is a company registered atCompanies House with number 05354231,[3]and a charity registered at theCharity Commission with number 1110782.[4]The organisation is governed by a Board, whosemembersare the trustees of the charity and the directors of the company.
The Enabling Group[5] is a biannual overnight meeting of representatives for the purposes of governance and common concern. The Enabling Group consists of representatives from each Member Church, from Intermediate Bodies, and from Bodies in Association.
There aresix Presidents of Churches Together in England:
The Fourth Presidency Group consists of theChurch of Scotland (Presbytery of England), the Council of Lutheran Churches, theEvangelical Lutheran Church of England, the Evangelische Synode Deutscher Sprache in Großbritannien (German-Speaking Lutheran, Reformed and United Congregations in Great Britain) and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers in Britain).
The Forum of Churches Together in England is a conference of around three hundred representatives of churches and bodies associated with Churches Together in England.The Moderator of the Forum of Churches Together in England for the three-year period 2015 to 2018 is Ruth Gee (chair of the Darlington Methodist District) with Hilary Topp (a Quaker, working forStudent Christian Movement) as Deputy Moderator.The 2018 Forum had the theme 'I am with you always – together in God's mission' and was held inSwanwick, Derbyshire, on 17–19 September 2018.[9]The Moderator of the 2022 Forum is Hilary Topp, the Deputy Moderator is Anton Muller.
The General Secretary of Churches Together in England is Revd Dr Paul Goodliff, who is due to retire during 2022. On 4 November 2021, CTE announced that Bishop Mike Royal is to be the next general secretary.[10] Bishop Mike is a bishop with theApostolic Pastoral Congress.
In November 2019, a disagreement between Churches Together in England andQuakers in Britain regarding the Presidency for the Fourth Presidency Group became public.[11][12][13][14][15]Following a vacancy,Quakers in Britain nominated Hannah Brock Womack for the Presidency, and the Fourth Presidency Group agreed the appointment. However, as stated by CTE,[16]"the Member Churches of CTE, through the Enabling Group, have recently requested the Fourth Presidency Group to refrain from enacting its Presidency at this time, leaving the Fourth Presidency as an ‘empty chair’ for the current term of office."In a concurrent announcement,Quakers in Britain stated that "The Churches have rejected the Quakers' appointee Hannah Brock Womack, because she is married to a woman. An active Quaker, she is a young, radical peace activist, who campaigns against the arms trade and works in the voluntary sector."[17]
In response, theUnited Reformed Church noted with deep sadness the inability of CTE to confirm the appointment, and called for dialogue to "continue until a more just outcome can be reached."[18]
TheMethodist Church recognised the pain and shared the grief caused by the decision, and stated that the outcome does not represent the Methodist position that being in a same-sex marriage is no bar to roles within the Church, while acknowledging that not all churches agree with this position.[19]
The convenor of the General Council of theStudent Christian Movement, Tom Packer-Stucki, declared that "we stand in solidarity with Hannah Brock Womack and the Quaker movement in this difficult time" and called on CTE to "work together ecumenically to reach agreement about LGBTQ+ inclusion that is truly inclusive".[20]
In a June 2020 interview, Hannah Brock Womack revealed that despite her presidency being blocked because of her same-sex marriage, she convenes meetings in the Fourth Presidency Group of CTE. She said: "I'm sad that I can't contribute. Coming from a non-hierarchical Church, and as the only woman in the group, I wanted to speak for those not usually represented, and for a radical and inclusive faith."[21]
In September 2021, General Secretary Paul Goodliff announced that Helen Cameron would become a President in April 2022, taking the position ofHugh Osgood. Goodliff said: "The Methodist Church is representative of those Free Churches Group members who have made synodical decisions to allow equal marriages in their churches, and so Helen is representative of those churches which would want to see more rapid change in the policies of Churches towards same-sex marriage."[22]
As of March 2022, Churches Together in England had 50 member churches.[23]
In addition to the actual member churches or member denominations, there are52[24] Bodies in Association with Churches Together in England. These are Christian organizations which, by their nature, are ecumenical but which are self-governing.[25]
The Churches and their leaders meet together throughout England in county and large metropolitan areas. County bodies are sometimes called 'Intermediate Bodies' as they exist between the national and the local.
Most county bodies have a person appointed by the network of regional church leaders. These people are known as 'County Ecumenical officers', or CEOs for short. Many have 'development' or 'mission' in their job titles while others are called co-ordinators or facilitators. Each county body is autonomous, though in practice they often work with each other and with Churches Together in England.[26]
Churches Together in England is part of the ecumenical structure introduced in 1990 when theBritish Council of Churches was replaced by theCouncil of Churches in Britain and Ireland (later renamedChurches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) and four national bodies:
TheBritish Council of Churches had been formed in 1942.
A National Free Church Council had come into being during the 1890s. A Federal Council of the Evangelical Free Churches was formed in 1916 as a more authoritative and representative body. These two merged in 1939 as the Free Church Federal Council.
A significant landmark was the1910 World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh.