The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is a well-established part of church life. It occurs each January and usually to coincide with the feast of the Conversion of Paul. Paul was the great early church missionary and established many churches across what is now Turkey and Greece.
These churches didn't always get on with each other or within themselves in the way that he would have liked. Paul wrote much of the New Testament and some of it is given over to trying to get these early Christians to respect each other and work together.
The observance of the Week of Prayer can be perfunctory. However, in Leatherhead it is very much at the heart of the life we share as churches within the Local Ecumenical Partnership and Covenant. The working together between the Methodist, United Reformed and Anglican churches is now central to the development mission and ministry of our church life in Leatherhead. This working partnership has built slowly over a number of years. We share in youth work, children and families work and also share worshiptogether. These developments have proved to be most effective and creative through this joint action.
A Covenant drawn up initially in 2003 is now undergirded with a Constitution. This has been seen and approved by church councils locally but also, in our case, by the Bishop of the Diocese. It means that whilst each church retains its independence and separateness there is now an ecumenical church council, which has authority over united events and services.
Another important part of the Constitution is concerned with appointments. With my retirement this is particularly pertinent. It means that whilst the Bishop will consult with our own Parochial Church Council, and the PCC at Mickleham, he will also recognise the other denominations as having an important voice in choosing a new incumbent for the United Benefice.
Why does working together matter? For me it is not a theoretical thing. It is not that we are all Christians and we jolly well ought to get on together and work alongside each other. I don't see it as something imposed. It is simply that we all face the same challenges and opportunities and it doesn't make any sense to be competing. Much more is it the case that we complement each other and make best use of our resources by pulling together. There is also something here about a creative mix. It really does seem as though the Holy Spirit is able to lead us forward and spring new ideas as we network and discuss together. It was in this way that the churches youth work got going. Now our attention is on children and families with the appointment of Jane Smith as a Children and Families Worker. It was certainly the case over the development of the new Leatherhead Trinity Primary School and Children's Centre.
Out of our discussion and in partnership with the local community has come a brand new school with a church foundation bringing together the resources of three churches rather than just one. As churches, we have the same aspirations about the life not only of ourselves but also of our community. We believe that churches are here to serve the community and work in partnership with other agencies who seek to support and shape community life.
When it comes to church worship, the Evening Praise service, which formerly was held at the Parish Church, has gone particularly well on a united basis and in the new setting of the Methodist Church. A Breakfast Praise service trialled originally in October has been widely welcomed. This will now happen monthly, and several times during the year as a united churches service as well.
All of these initiatives indicate that the Week of Prayer in Leatherhead isn't just a passing nod at something which is good in principle. It is clear that it is the key to the future of church life and the most natural way to think about that future.
Canon David Eaton, from the Jan 2009 magazine