Together we have a members agreement which all the churches part of our group have agreed to. This agreement helps us to work together well in unity, being respectful of our theological differences and different worship styles. We all serve the same God and we want to serve Him together.

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Members Agreement

1. BASIS

Churches Together in Beccles and District unites in pilgrimage those churches named in the attached Appendix 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.

 

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2. OBJECT

The object of Churches Together in Beccles and District shall be the advancement of the Christian faith and other purposes in keeping with our faith/beliefs, according to the doctrine and practices of the constituent churches.

 

 

3. AIMS

The aims of Churches Together in Beccles and District shall be:

 

a) to enable the Member Churches, as pilgrims together, to explore the Christian faith together, to develop mutual relationships, to find common ground and to work together to build God's Kingdom;

 

b) to enable and encourage the Member Churches to worship and pray together;

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c) to enable the Member Churches to live and share the Gospel, to evangelise together and to take further steps towards fuller unity;

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d) to enable the Member Churches to respond to the needs of society and to witness to the Gospel together;

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e) to enable the Member Churches to reflect together on the nature and purpose of the Church in the light of its mission – each church offering (and mutually respecting) with others the treasures and diversity of its traditions.

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4. AREA

Churches Together in Beccles and District aims to the neighbourhood of Beccles [attach map / define parishes etc]

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5. RELATIONSHIPS

Churches Together in Beccles and District is in association with Churches Together in Suffolk.

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6. MEMBERSHIP

Membership of Churches Together in Beccles and District shall be open to:

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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;

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b) any other local church in the area which affirms the Basis and commits itself to promote the aims of Churches Together in Beccles and District;

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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, must: manifest faith in Christ as witnessed to in the Scriptures, be committed to the aims and purposes of Churches Together in Beccles and District and will work in the spirit of the Basis.

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New applications for membership under 6.a, 6.b and 6.c require the nomination of two existing members of Churches Together in Beccles and District and require the approval of 66% of existing members. Members must be given at least 28 days in which to respond to a nomination.

For new applicant churches wanting to become members, one person is required to hold a leadership position within that church (along with a maximum further two people from their denomination).

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7. OFFICE HOLDERS

The officer holders of Churches Together in Beccles and District shall be a Chair and a Deputy Chair (one of whom shall, if possible, be a person in a church leadership position and the other a lay person and who, if possible, should belong to different denominations), a Treasurer and a Secretary, to be elected at the Annual Meeting of the group. Office holders shall normally serve for an initial period of three years and may be re-elected if willing to serve, normally for no more than one further period not exceeding three years.

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8. FINANCE

a) Each Member Church shall pay such annual sum to Churches Together in Beccles and District as shall be agreed at the Annual Meeting of the group. The annual sum may be related both to the size of the church and to its ability to pay.

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b) The financial year shall be from June to May.

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c) Cheques shall require the signature of any two of the four office-holders.

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9. AGREEMENT

This Agreement and any subsequent amendment to it requires the approval of 66% of the Member Churches, acting either through their members of the group or through their normal decision-making bodies. Member Churches must be given at least 28 days’ notice in writing of a proposed change.

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10. DISSOLUTION OF THE CHURCHES TOGETHER GROUP

a) A motion to dissolve the Churches Together group must be circulated in writing (both electronically and as a hard copy) to full members at least three months before it can be considered by a special meeting of Member Churches when the support of at least 75% of Member Churches is required for the motion to be successful.

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b) Any residual funds should be allocated to Christian charitable organisations designated by the Churches Together Group.