Constitution

1 Basis

Churches Together in Fleet and Crookham unites in pilgrimage those churches in Fleet and Church Crookham which, acknowledge 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

Motivated by the prayer of Jesus (John17:23) "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me", the aims of Churches Together in Fleet and Crookham 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 traditions;

(c) to enable the churches to live and share the Gospel, to evangelise and serve together and to take further steps towards fuller unity;

(d) to enable the churches to respond to the needs of society and to witness to the Gospel together.

3 Agreement

Member churches agree to:

(a) treat each other with mutual respect

(b) be aware of, plan round and promote Churches Together events

(c) give representatives opportunities to feed back information and proposals to their church, and therefore be in a position to bring the views of their church to the Representatives' Meeting

(d) ensure , so far as governance arrangements allow, that the ecumenical dimension is considered when making Ministerial appointments

(e) consider, when developing a new activity, whether it might be better done together

(f) be ready to look at the possibility of working even more closely together in the future

4 Area

Churches Together in Fleet and Crookham aims to serve the neighbourhood of Fleet and Church Crookham, including Crookham Village and Elvetham Heath.

5 Relationships

Churches Together in Fleet and Crookham is in association with Churches Together in Surrey.

6 Membership

Membership of Churches Together in Fleet and Crookham 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 Fleet and Crookham 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 at least 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 it is committed to the aims and purposes of Churches Together in Fleet and Crookham and that it will work in the spirit of the Basis.

7 Representatives' Meetings

(a) The Representatives' Meeting (Reps Meeting) acts as the overseeing body for the activities of Churches Together in Fleet & Crookham.

(b) Each member church is represented by a member of its leadership or ministry team plus up to two lay members.

(c) Each project or activity of Churches Together in Fleet & Crookham is also represented at the meeting.

(d) There shall be at least 3 Reps Meetings annually.

(e) A Chair, a Deputy Chair, a secretary and a treasurer (the officers) will be elected by the first meeting after the first of September each year for one year.

(f) Requests for nominations of the Chair and Deputy Chair are to be sent to member churches at least one month before the election and returned to the secretary before the relevant meeting.

(g) An independent examiner shall be appointed at the first meeting of each calendar year and accounts shall be presented within six months of the end of the financial year.

(h) The attendance of representatives of at least two thirds of the Member Churches shall constitute a quorum.

(i) Other than in exceptional circumstances, at least two weeks notice in writing of any Reps Meeting shall be given.

8 Finance

Each participating church shall pay such annual sum to Churches Together in Fleet and Crookham as shall be agreed at the Spring meeting each year. The financial year shall be from January to December. Cheques shall require the signature of any two of the officers.

In the event that Churches Together in Fleet & Crookham is disbanded, any remaining funds will be distributed equally between member churches.

9 Constitution

The constitution and any subsequent amendment to it requires the approval of 75% of 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. At least every 4 years, the Chair will call a special Reps Meeting to review the progress of the pilgrimage and to make proposals for desirable changes. This may be done in consultation with the County Ecumenical Officer.