The ecumenical relationships in the Herefordshire town of Ledbury have grown richer and deeper over the last six years.
An initiative which started on Maundy Thursday 2015 to pray together for 24 hours led to a commitment for Churches Together in Ledbury to meet every Thursday at 7am to pray. Now that has extended to a weekly ecumenical worship service on Mondays.
It was the rhythm of prayer, worship and relationship building which saw the development of LEAF (Locally Encouraging All to Flourish), a new ecumenical charity which is in the process of becoming a CiO (Community interest Organisation). LEAF is committed to seeing the community of Ledbury thrive through partnerships with Christians Against Poverty, running the Alpha course, the Bible Society’s Open the Book programme and more.
Out of this robust ecumenical vision, Churches Together in Ledbury have been thinking about ways to bless the most vulnerable children in their community. Using the Easter eggs from the Meaningful Chocolate Company, LEAF is providing Easter eggs with messages of Christian hope to all children on free school meals in Ledbury’s two primary schools. This has been paid for by ecumenical funds, as well as offers from local Christians willing to contribute.
Tony Hodder, a pioneer minister at Ledbury Parish Church and CEO of LEAF says, “the good history of working together at Churches Together in Ledbury means we can harness resources quickly.”