It was a delight and a joy to attend the Churches Together in England (CTE) Enabling Group meeting for the first time, to meet and to hear participants from many denominations and Charities and Networks in Association (CNAs) working together, sharing their stories and listening to each other in fellowship, reflection, worship and prayer. The sessions were informative and enlightening and the many conversations at meal times and in breaks were invaluable.
This Enabling Group was part CTE Annual General Meeting and partly about exploring how churches and Charities and Networks in Association are working together, each as part of a greater ecumenical picture. I was there representing British Region of the International Ecumenical Fellowship, which has been in association with CTE for a long time. In recent years the number of CNAs (formerly called Bodies in Association) has grown to almost a hundred. As CTE’s Principal Officer for Mission and Evangelism, Rev Dr Ben Aldous, reminded us in his opening reflection, the CNAs “exhibit lived ecumenism” and often act as a prophetic reminder of sections of our society.
Watch Rev Dr Ben’s presentation. Download the accompanying slides.
We heard talks by from JustMoney Movement, an organisation for Christians and churches who want to connect faith, money and justice; from Compassion UK, a charity which works in partnership with local churches to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name, and from Trussell, a charity that provides foodbanks in Britain and is working for a time when foodbanks are no longer needed. We were also introduced to Focolare, an international spiritual movement founded by Chiara Lubich, and to the Association of Interchurch Families.
On Friday, we heard a talk by Dr Rhiannon McAleer, Director of Research and Impact at the Bible Society, another of CTE’s CNAs. Dr Rhiannon ‘unpacked’ the recent report The Quiet Revival and told us about increasing sales of Bibles and rising church attendance. She shared the good news that their research showed some churches are becoming younger and more diverse with many new members in the 18 to 24 age range. An unchurched generation is meeting the church. There are exciting developments, but there are still many people for whom the Bible seems to have no relevance.
Watch Dr Rhiannon’s presentation:
Download the accompanying slides for The Quiet Revival presentation.
In the ‘From our tradition’ slot, we heard presentations from Rev Michael Newman from the Moravian Church and from John Shinkwin from the Oecumenical Patriarchate.
Download the Moravian Church slides.
Download the slides on the Jesus Prayer from the Oecumenical Patriarchate.
As the conference progressed there was a growing sense of unity. We were all contributing to and learning about a larger picture and were being blessed in the process.
Find out more about British Region of the International Ecumenical Fellowship (BRIEF).