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About Churches Together in Kent

A unique feature of church life in England, hardly paralleled elsewhere in the world, has been the development of a network of intermediate bodies - mostly corresponding to counties or large cities - where the churches have developed a pattern of co-operation and shared life which also gives oversight to local ecumenism in its different forms.

These intermediate bodies are an example of the development of shared episcope, the oversight of the whole people of God, reflecting the wider movement towards joint decision-making and mutual accountability.

When Churches Together in England was formed in 1990, it was agreed that the support of Local Ecumenical Partnerships and local Churches Together groups should be done not through the national organisation but through the growing Intermediate Bodies. With the number of Local Ecumenical Partnerships now over 800, and the number of Churches Together groups near 2000, it is clear that oversight is best done through county or city-wide bodies. This has been the agreed structure for over 10 years, with the two Field Officers of Churches Together in England giving support to the Ecumenical Officers who serve the Intermediate Bodies throughout England.
(taken from Churches Together in England)


Within the County of Kent, the Medway Unitary Authority, and the London Boroughs of Bexley and Bromley, CTK is the organisation supported by

  • the South-Eastern Baptist Association
  • the Church of England (dioceses of Canterbury and Rochester),
  • the Methodist South-East District,
  • the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) East & West Kent Meetings,
  • the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark,
  • the London South-East Division of the Salvation Army,
  • and the Southern Synod of the United Reformed Church
to:

  • sponsor Local Ecumenical Partnerships between denominations;
  • provide information regarding inter-denominational relations;
  • be the formal link between local Churches Together groups and the national Churches Together in England;
  • be the formal church link to county-wide groups (Police, Media, Regional Government, etc.)

Some specific examples of the work of CTK include:-

  • promoting collaboration between the different Christian traditions within our area
  • sponsoring and supporting some 35 Local Ecumenical Partnerships
  • advising on finance and legal matters
  • advising and helping on the appointment of ministers
  • conducting reviews of LEPs
  • enabling the winding up of LEPs that have run their course
  • ecumenical funding for specific appointments (e.g. Ashford)
  • sponsoring and supporting other areas of ecumenical collaboration, such as Councils of Churches or local Churches Together Groups)
  • acting as a two-way conduit of information and advice between such local collaboration and the national organisation Churches Together in England
  • disseminating news, advice and good practice, e.g. questions on insurance;
  • responding to issues of social concern
  • engaging with interfaith groups
  • engaging with rural issues (e.g. Kent Rural Plan, the closure of Post Offices, etc.)

How we currently do our work

1. Full Council: Representatives from each of the eight Christian denominations meet one or two times each year in Full Council to confer (and occasionally decide) on better ways of meeting our objectives. This Council is also a platform for sharing what is happening in our denominations.

2. A Standing Committee, drawn from the above meets in-between approximately 4 times a year to progress certain of the business.

3. Ecumenical Officers: Many denominations have appointed one or more Ecumenical Officers with specific expertise both in their own denominational traditional and also in ways of collaborating with other traditions.

4. The Church Leaders meet several times a year over breakfast to discuss matters amongst themselves.

In addition to church activities such as those described above, CTK is closely involved with such activities as

  • Membership on various county bodies and the Government Office for the South-East (GOSE)
  • Police Chaplaincy (c.f. Kent Police's Ecumenical Chaplaincy)
  • Critical Incident Training (with Church and Society)
  • Kent Fire and Rescue Service (trial chaplaincies)
  • Asylum and Refugees
  • Casinos (e.g. representations to Government and to local Authorities)
  • Interfaith Forums
  • BBC Radio Kent Advisory Group (e.g. Radio Kent Lent Series)
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