Churches together

Our Parish Church Council leadership have talked together in both our February and March meetings about the load and priorities ahead of us and, in the light of this, has unanimously agreed that we withdraw for the foreseeable future from Churches Together in Swanley District. We wholeheartedly agree with the principles of unity amongst our churches and, wherever invited to contribute, we will seek to assist if practicable. We are not withdrawing our support of the principle of Churches Together, merely stepping back.

We recognise that unity between our churches is important but do not feel that this is best served by very long meetings at which very few ministers are present. We will continue to support the joint ventures arranged by Churches Together in Swanley District, such as Food Bank, but will not be committing time to the running and organisation of events. We believe that the sharing of information, which seems to be the main purpose of Churches Together meetings, can be done more efficiently and effectively by other means. While we agree that there is no substitute for meeting face to face, this can be done more efficiently than in the current long meetings together.

We are sorry for any distress in this matter but wish to be transparent and honest about our pending absenteeism. The main focus of Churches Together is, naturally focussed on Swanley, while our unavoidable priority must be on serving our own parish of Hextable and Swanley Village. We will seek to explore reconnection following the completion of the annexe community project which remains central to our vision and action.

We trust that good hearted and open relationships can remain informally long into the future.