CONSTITUTION FOR CHURCHES TOGETHER IN LEATHERHEAD

1. BASIS
CHURCHES TOGETHER IN LEATHERHEAD unites in pilgrimage those Churches in Leatherhead which, acknowledging God's revelation in Christ, confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures, and, in obedience to God's will and in the power of the Holy Spirit commit themselves -
* to seek a deepening of their communion with Christ and with one another in the Church, which is his body; and -
* to fulfil their mission to proclaim the Gospel by common witness and service in the world
* to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

2. AIMS
The aims of Churches Together in Leatherhead shall be -
(a) To enable the churches, as pilgrims together, to explore the Christian faith together, to develop mutual relationships, to seek a common mind, and to make decisions together;
(b) to encourage churches to worship, pray and reflect together on the nature and purpose of the church in the light of its mission - each church sharing with others the treasures of its tradition;
(c) to enable the churches to live and share the Gospel, to evangelise together and to take further steps towards fuller unity in conformity with existing denominational practice.
(d) to enable the churches to respond to the needs of society and to witness to the Gospel together.

3. AREA
Churches Together in Leatherhead aims to serve the neighbourhood of the town of Leatherhead.

4. RELATIONSHIPS
Churches Together in Leatherhead is in association with Churches Together in Surrey.

5. MEMBERSHIP
Membership of Churches Together in Leatherhead shall be open to -
(a) any local church in the area which is affiliated to a church or association of churches which is a full member of Churches Together in England and
(b) any other local church in the area which affirms the Basis and commits itself to promote the aims of Churches Together in Leatherhead and
(c) any local church which on principle has no credal statements in its tradition and therefore cannot formally subscribe to the statement of faith in the Basis, provided that it satisfies 75% in number of those full member churches which subscribe to the Basis, that it manifests faith in Christ as witnessed to in the Scriptures and is committed to the aims and purposes of Churches Together in Leatherhead and that it will work in the spirit of the Basis.
See Note 1.

6. OFFICERS
The officers of Churches Together in Leatherhead shall be a Chairman, an Honorary Treasurer and an Honorary Secretary. The Chairman shall normally be appointed for two years and the position shall rotate amongst the denominations represented.

7. FORUM
(a) The Forum shall consist of the clergy, ministers and lay leaders and up to two others from each participating church.
(b) The Forum may co-opt others; such co-options not exceeding 25% of the total number of representatives appointed by the participating churches
(c) The Forum shall meet not less than four times annually. The meeting held in or around July shall be the Annual Meeting at which the accounts shall be presented, officers elected, and policy and initiatives for the year decided. Other meetings of the Forum shall be held as deemed necessary by the officers or at the written request of three of the participating churches. Meetings of the Forum should generally follow shortly after the informal meetings of the Clergy Fraternal, which is open to all the ministers or lay leaders of the participating churches. The attendance of at least one representative of at least half of the member churches shall constitute a quorum.

8. FINANCE
Each participating church shall pay such annual sum to Churches Together in Leatherhead as shall be agreed at the Annual Meeting of the Forum and ratified by the decision-making bodies of the member churches. The financial year shall be from July to June.

9. CONSTITUTION
The constitution and any subsequent amendment to it requires the approval of all the member churches, acting through their normal decision-making bodies.

10. REVIEW
It is intended that Churches Together reflect the developing life of the Christian Churches as they continue their pilgrimage together. From time to time (every 3 years) a Review Group shall be appointed by the member churches in consultation with Churches Together in Surrey to report on the progress of the pilgrimage and to make proposals for desirable changes.

Note1. The participating churches at October 2001 are:
Church of England: St Mary and St Nicholas & All Saints
Kingscroft Chapel [editor's note: withdrew in 2002]
Methodist Church
Pioneer People
Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Peter
United Reformed Church: Christ Church

This page was last updated on 21 September 2002