About Us
We are a Christian Church made up of four denominations which worship together as one congregation. The Church is designated an LEP - Local Ecumenical Partnership and is itself part of a wider LEP which encompasses other churches in the area.
The Building.
The church stands on a prominent site in the centre of the communities of Abbeydale and Abbeymead and can comfortably seat 180. It has a baptistry and a modern sound system. In addition to the the worship area there is a lounge, a quiet room and a well equipped kitchen. Although the building was only opened in 1995, a worshipping congregation had begun in the area as far back as 1973.
Ministry.
The congregation has its own minister who is appointed from each of the four denominations in turn. Worship is led mainly by that minister, but visiting ministers/preachers from the other three denominations are invited on a regulatr basis.
Church Life.
In addition to services of worship held on Sundays, baptisms of adults and infants, weddings and funerals all take place at Christchurch. Holy Communion is celebrated twice a month on Sundays and once a week on Wednesdays.
The Congregation.
All are welcome to worship at Christchurch and to join in any of the activities which take place. Membership is open to Christians who either have moved from another church where they were members or to those accepted into membership by the church. We are always glad to welcome new people into membership.
Running the Church.
As with any organisation, there need to be those who will deal with the planning and implimentation of agreed procedures. Christchurch has Church Officers, and a Church Council which are elected at Annual General Meetings according to the Christchurch Constitution and Standing Orders. Those who are members are eligible to vote at all Church Meetings and at the Annual General Meeting.
Accountability.
Because of the nature of Christchurch, comprising as it does four denominations in an LEP, the normal denominational oversight which a single denomination would come under is not practical. It is therefore regulated by Gloucestershire Churches Together as its Sponsoring Body.
A message from the Treasurer's Till
Keeping you informed:
Our freewill offering to date this year:
Period 2008 2008
Envs. Loose
January £2,095 £394
February £1,921 £374
March £2,333 £372
April £1,990 £378
May £2,050 £406
Totals £10,389 £1,924
Combined Totals £12,313 Thankyou.
Jesus said "Give and it will be given unto you"
Abbeydale Joint Council
Abbeydale Joint Council
So, what is this ‘Joint Council’ and what does it do?
Back in 1987, when the members of Christchurch decided they wanted to have their own building and began to have assets (i.e. a building), there was a technical difficulty - who owned these assets? We were four denominations working together, sharing resources and it was unclear who would own what. The solution was to create a new ‘Private Limited Company without share capital’ - a non-trading company - which could be seen legally as the holder of the assets and responsible for overseeing their use and allocation. ‘Shared Churches (Gloucester) Limited’ was born and the legal document produced to cover Christchurch, known as the ‘Sharing Agreement’, was signed by the leaders of the four denominations. What a relief when this had been worked through and agreed! It almost held up the building of Christchurch but was signed just in time!
The Sharing Agreement stipulated the composition of a group who should meet a number of times a year to review how the assets at Christchurch were being used. Each of the four denominations were required to appoint four of their members to sit on the Joint Council, who would then report back to their parent denomination. It has not been an easy task to get full representation at meetings and a number of changes have been made and agreed by the sponsoring denominations. The frequency of the meetings has been reduced to one per year and substitutes are now allowed!
The 2007 meeting tried to more specific about its role and responsibilities and the following were highlighted
· It was necessary to comply with the Sharing of Churches Act 1969 and the terms of the Sharing Agreement which reflected this into the Christchurch situation
· To discuss and record any changes at Christchurch
· To transmit back the situation at Christchurch to the sponsoring denominations
· To maintain links with the denominations
· To confirm that the building was being maintained to an acceptable standard
· To respond to any major financial demands (i.e. relating to the assets, which are outside the resources of Christchurch) The general understanding was that the meeting had the delegated responsibility of Trustees.
The annual meeting of the Abbeydale Joint Council was held on Tuesday 3 June 2008 at 7.30pm. Revd Dr Alison Evans (County Ecumenical Officer) was appointed by those present to chair this meeting.
The meeting did not have all the required representatives present but was able to discuss a number of points. Some of the points made were:-
· the Church Report 2007 was welcomed as very positive. The meeting was reassured by the way the long pastoral vacancy had been handled and in particular commended Maureen Godden
· the Financial Report 2007 was similarly accepted with thanks expressed to Ian Dettmer for his presentation and for his hard work· the ongoing youth and children’s work was welcomed
· the work being developed with & in the community was thought exciting· the shortage of space at Christchurch was recognised and was thought to be a ‘high quality’ problem to have! The group was happy to support Christchurch in any endeavour to overcome this difficulty
· the increasing number of letts of the building was seen as providing a greater community service and was to be encouraged
· the new Worship Planning Group was discussed and thought of as a good way forward
· the wider LEP situation was discussed and it was recognised that some different approach was required to try to include as many of both the established and independent neighbourhood churches as possible
· it was suggested that Christchurch should look at creating a ‘sacred space’ where anybody could go for prayer or just to be quiet
Mike Wood - Secretary to Abbeydale Joint Council
PS Did you know that Christchurch is built on diocesan land and ‘Shared Churches’ pay the annual rent of one peppercorn?
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