County Ecumenical Officer for Churches Together in Cambridgeshire Rev Mark Burleigh writes…
Churches Together in Cambridgeshire (CTC) has a long-standing partnership with the Diocese of Vellore in the Church of South India (CSI). As part of this in early 2025 we shared a series of Bible studies together, centred around one of our current shared learning priorities: Gender Justice.
The studies were based on women from the Old Testament, written by members of the Vellore Diocese. We explored contemporary issues around gender equality in both of our contexts. Alternate studies were facilitated over Zoom by leaders from the UK and India.
Rev Dr Gale Richards, Chair of CTC recalls, “The idea for these joint Bible studies for mutual learning was conceived in a church leaders’ gathering in the summer of 2022, when CTC hosted a group from Vellore. I was delighted to see the joint Bible studies take place and to have had the privilege of leading one of them.”
Rev Jared Jebareuben, a senior presbyter in the Diocese of Vellore, said, “The time together was worth spending, strengthening the bond through properly understanding the context of the text…The group consisted of both the young and those rich in experience who had opportunities to share, express and learn from one another.”
For over 30 years, CTC has been linked with the Vellore Diocese in the Church of South India.
CTC chose to partner with a CSI diocese because CSI unites four church traditions: Anglican, Congregational, Methodist, and Presbyterian. It was a ground-breaking moment for church unity when CSI became the first uniting church in the Anglican Communion. Our shared covenant commits both partners to:
- Pray regularly for one another
- Work together to strengthen our links of Christian Fellowship
- Exchange ideas and learn from each other’s Christian experience
- Give mutual support and encouragement to one another
We hope that this will be just the first in a series of Bible studies through which we will strengthen our mutual understanding of each other’s cultures and situations, and give us deeper insights into how the Bible can speak into the present day across different cultures.
Rev Canon Fiona Brampton, our Vellore Link Coordinator, explains, “The material produced by the Church of South India on Gender Justice gave both sides of the partnership sufficient space to explore Biblical narratives and to look at them from both historical perspectives and the perspectives of our different cultures. …our next challenge will be finding a way to write Biblical study material together. We’re looking forward to it!”