After many years without an official ecumenical organisation or an Intermediate Body north of the River Thames in London the churches in the London Borough of Hackney are building new partnerships and joining in worship as they seek to serve their community together.
Ian Rathbone, convener of the Hackney Ecumenical Borough Deans Group writes…
We have waited a long time to get to this place.
On the final Sunday of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 25 January 2026, at St Michael’s, London Fields, we finally had people’s agreement to press ahead with forming a steering committee for setting up Churches Together in Hackney (CTiH). Hallelujah!
There had been a consultation process that began in earnest in July 2023 when we held a ‘Churches Together in Hackney’ event at Mare St, Salvation Army Church, which was initiated by the Hackney Ecumenical Borough Deans Group, consisting of local ministers and other Hackney Christians and councillors. This event was supported by Doral Hayes, Principal Officer for Ecumenical Development and Relations at Churches Together in England.
As ministers, we identified that for the church relationships in Hackney to have a sustainable future, we also need lay people to be engaged and involved. These people are long-term residents rather than ministers, who are often in the borough for a restricted number of years and then move on. However, ministers are important in giving support.
In the two and a half years since, we have been discussing and praying and testing out working in partnership as churches. We had a workshop session in January 2025 as part of a joint all Hackney churches service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, to look and pray about the direction God has been taking us. We set several targets, and shared our concerns about young people in our borough, and what can we do to help them.
In the Autumn of 2025, the Borough Deans Group decided to propose that we move to a position where we have a steering committee for CTiH, with a chair, secretary, treasurer and a constitution – and that this group now move things forward.
In January 2026, on the final Sunday of WPCU, we held a joint service of all churches, unusual for Hackney, and there was a panel discussion led by Doral Hayes, at which four ministers all said much the same thing: we need to work together to serve God and the people of Hackney and in doing so our own faith will be enriched. We encourage all Christians in Hackney to get engaged with developing new ecumenical activity in the borough. Exciting times!
Follow Churches Together in Hackney on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). If you live in Hackney – join the CTiH WhatsApp group by contacting Ian Rathbone on email.