October 2024 Partnership Celebration
How wonderful to celebrate with the whole Northstowe Church Network (Pathfinder Church, Little Explorers, and the Compline Community) and representatives from Eastern Baptist Association, Eastern Synod - United Reformed Church , and Ely Diocese (CofE) as well as Churches Together in Cambridgeshire and East Anglia Methodist District, The Pathfinder C of E Primary School , as well as friends from St. Laurence’s Roman Catholic Church and other supporters.
Our theme for our Partnership Celebration was "Life in the Spirit", reflecting on Jesus's words in John 3:8
"The wind blows all around us as if it has a will of its own; we feel and hear it, but we do not understand where it has come from or where it will end up. Life in the Spirit is as if it were the wind of God."
During the service, Revd Beth was commissioned to lead the Northstowe Church Network using practices from across or partner denominations. And words of commitment were exchanged between Beth and those making up the community here.
Minister:
Today I bring myself and the gifts I have,
and I covenant to serve and encourage this church-network and community:
to respect and care for you, to journey with you,
to take responsibility among you,
to seek God with you, to listen to God in you,
and to work with you to be Christ in this world.
Those involved in the Northstowe Church Network:
Today we bring ourselves and the gifts we have,
and we covenant to serve and encourage
this church-network and community:
to respect and care for each other,
to take responsibility for the people we are
and the people we hope to be in Christ,
and to encourage you as our minister
as we make this journey together.
We concluded by taking the Pascal Candle outside, lighting a campfire from its flame.
Our theme for our Partnership Celebration was "Life in the Spirit", reflecting on Jesus's words in John 3:8
"The wind blows all around us as if it has a will of its own; we feel and hear it, but we do not understand where it has come from or where it will end up. Life in the Spirit is as if it were the wind of God."
During the service, Revd Beth was commissioned to lead the Northstowe Church Network using practices from across or partner denominations. And words of commitment were exchanged between Beth and those making up the community here.
Minister:
Today I bring myself and the gifts I have,
and I covenant to serve and encourage this church-network and community:
to respect and care for you, to journey with you,
to take responsibility among you,
to seek God with you, to listen to God in you,
and to work with you to be Christ in this world.
Those involved in the Northstowe Church Network:
Today we bring ourselves and the gifts we have,
and we covenant to serve and encourage
this church-network and community:
to respect and care for each other,
to take responsibility for the people we are
and the people we hope to be in Christ,
and to encourage you as our minister
as we make this journey together.
We concluded by taking the Pascal Candle outside, lighting a campfire from its flame.
Running Order:
3.20pm - Tea and Coffee available3.30pm - Please gather around the tables, and get to know those sitting near you. As you make paperboats, you are invited to write you draw your highlights from being connected to the the Northstowe Church Network. (e.g. what's been the best thing at Little Explorers, or Pathfinder Church, or Compline, or at one of the festivals? Do you have a story about what God's been doing in Northstowe?)
3.35pm - Welcome and practical notices (while you finish your paper boats)
3.40pm - Gathering together to worship God (with candle lighting and singing WELCOME EVERBODY
3.45pm - Ecumenical commissioning
- reaffirming the Shared Vision Statement
- proclaiming our shared faith (the Apostles Creed)
- Commissioning Beth to lead services across the Northstowe Church Network using the rites and practices of the Baptist Union, United Reformed Church, and Church of England
- re-affirming the the shared commitment between minister and those in the Northstowe Church Network
- Reading John 3:1-8
- Exploring the passage interactively at stations around the room. One station will invite you to write or draw the gifts that you see in the traditions that shape us. You might like to write about your own tradition, or one that you are discovering through out partnership.
- asking "what are we noticing from God?"
- singing "breathe on me breath of God"
- praying together
- singing "Build your Kingdom here"
- (weather permitting) taking the light from the candle outside to light the campfire
- closing prayers
About us:
Those of us gathering in the various new communities that make up the Northstowe Church Network come from all Christian traditions as well as those new to Christianity: together we are pilgrims on a journey, asking questions and exploring the connections we find between everyday life and our spirituality and faith. At the heart of all this is a recognition that we are seeking to follow “The Pathfinder”, Jesus Christ. Our vision is to be people who are praying, exploring and sharing:
The Northstowe Church Network is:
- a network of missional and worshiping communities: you might find your primary home in Pathfinder Church (which has particular links with The Pathfinder CofE Primary School), or Little Explorers, or the Compline Community… or be part of developing something new!
- a local ecumenical partnership of the Church of England, the Baptist Union of Great Britain, and the United Reformed Church. We are working closely with the other Christian traditions involved in Churches Together in Cambridgeshire, including the Quakers and Methodists.
- the charity that provides the umbrella for our shared mission and ministry in the growing new town of Northstowe.
Key commitments
Shared Vision :
Together, we have committed to share in prayer for Northstowe, and provide practical support in setting up the right structures for the next stages:
- We commit ourselves to sharing together in the ministry of Christ to the world, and within this context to explore together the meaning and possibilities of unity for worship, evangelism, mission and service.
- We commit ourselves to assessing the resources of church and community in terms of people, money and buildings, and to deploying them in the best way in relation to the aspirations and needs of local people
- We commit ourselves to maintaining and developing relationships with our parent bodies and with Churches Together in Cambridgeshire (previously Cambridgeshire Ecumenical Council).
— This statement has been agreed by the Council of Pathfinder Church Northstowe (now, the Northstowe Church Network), the Diocese of Ely (Church of England), the Eastern Synod of the United Reformed Church, the Eastern Baptist Association (BUGB), the Cambridgeshire Area Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and the East Anglia Methodist District.
Mark introduced the formal part of the service with these words:
"As County Ecumenical Officer, working with Churches Together in Cambridgeshire, I’m delighted that we are celebrating all the partnerships that make up the Northstowe Church Network.
We have already heard the Shared Vision between the local church and the regional Baptists, Methodists, URC, CofE and Quakers. And we thank God that over 20 years of shared prayer and planning among those involved in Churches Together in Cambridgeshire has led to this day!
And now, in recognition of the even deeper partnership between those of URC, CofE and Baptist heritage here on the ground, the Northstowe Church Network has been established as three-way Local Ecumenical Partnership.
This is one way this new church, in a new town, is putting down roots into the traditions and practices that have long shaped Christianity. A Local Ecumenical Partnership invites all those who are part of the church into full membership of all three denominations and brings the regional bodies alongside them in their mission and ministry. Northstowe is the newest of the 11 LEPs in Cambridgeshire. Working together in this way is such a positive expression of the gospel!
Therefore, please can I invite the representatives of the three partner denominations to come to the front and, in turn, to formally commission Beth, as lead minister, to make full use of the rites and practices of all three denominations.
of this church and congregation.
Do you accept the charge from Christ
to care for his people with all diligence and compassion?
Will you care for the weak,
bring Christ’s healing to the brokenhearted,
lift up the downcast,
and pray regularly for those committed to your care?
Beth: I will, God’s Spirit empowering me.
Will you ‘equip the saints for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ’?
Will you lead and enable God’s people
in their mission to the world,
seeking God’s kingdom,
proclaiming the gospel in word and deed
and seeking to make Christ known in every way?
Beth: I will, the risen Christ inspiring me.
Will you ‘make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace’?
By your example,
will you lead this church
in all godly living and devotion to Christ
through prayer and the reading of scripture?
Will you be faithful in the leading of worship,
in presiding at the table of the Lord
and in preaching the word of God?
Beth: In the name of God who is
the Father of all,
the living Word
and the Spirit of unity, I will.
On behalf of the Eastern Baptist Association and as a representative of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, I affirm you in your ministry here at the Northstowe Church Network
Beth, as minister of the Northstowe Church Network, you become a member of the Eastern Synod of the United Reformed Church.
The United Reformed Church confesses the faith of the Church Catholic in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We acknowledge that the life of faith to which we are called is a gift of the Holy Spirit continually received in Word and Sacrament and in the common life of God’s people.
We acknowledge the Word of God in the Old and New Testaments, discerned under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as the supreme rule of faith and practice for all God’s people.
Beth, mindful of your ministerial duties at the Northstowe Church Network, alongside your Anglican Discipline, will you undertake and exercise your ministry in accordance with the statement concerning the Nature, Faith and Order of the United Reformed Church?
Beth: I will, and I ask God to help me.
The Church of England is part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church worshipping the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It professes the faith uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds, which faith the Church is called upon to proclaim afresh in each generation. Led by the Holy Spirit, it has borne witness to Christian truth in its historic formularies, the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordering of Bishops, Priests and Deacons.
Beth, when you were licensed to this place you affirmed your loyalty to this inheritance of faith as your inspiration and guidance under God in bringing the grace and truth of Christ to this generation and making him known to those in your care.
The Bishop of Huntingdon, taking her staff, blesses Beth.
Bishop: The God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be upon you and remain with you always.
Amen.
"As County Ecumenical Officer, working with Churches Together in Cambridgeshire, I’m delighted that we are celebrating all the partnerships that make up the Northstowe Church Network.
We have already heard the Shared Vision between the local church and the regional Baptists, Methodists, URC, CofE and Quakers. And we thank God that over 20 years of shared prayer and planning among those involved in Churches Together in Cambridgeshire has led to this day!
And now, in recognition of the even deeper partnership between those of URC, CofE and Baptist heritage here on the ground, the Northstowe Church Network has been established as three-way Local Ecumenical Partnership.
This is one way this new church, in a new town, is putting down roots into the traditions and practices that have long shaped Christianity. A Local Ecumenical Partnership invites all those who are part of the church into full membership of all three denominations and brings the regional bodies alongside them in their mission and ministry. Northstowe is the newest of the 11 LEPs in Cambridgeshire. Working together in this way is such a positive expression of the gospel!
Therefore, please can I invite the representatives of the three partner denominations to come to the front and, in turn, to formally commission Beth, as lead minister, to make full use of the rites and practices of all three denominations.
- The Revd Dr Gale Richards (Regional Minister in the Eastern Baptist Association),
- the Revd Lythan Nevard (Moderator of the Eastern Synod of the United Reformed Church),
- the Rt Revd Dr Dagmar Winter (Acting Bishop of Ely, Church of England)
Baptist Commissioning:
Beth, you have been called to be pastorof this church and congregation.
Do you accept the charge from Christ
to care for his people with all diligence and compassion?
Will you care for the weak,
bring Christ’s healing to the brokenhearted,
lift up the downcast,
and pray regularly for those committed to your care?
Beth: I will, God’s Spirit empowering me.
Will you ‘equip the saints for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ’?
Will you lead and enable God’s people
in their mission to the world,
seeking God’s kingdom,
proclaiming the gospel in word and deed
and seeking to make Christ known in every way?
Beth: I will, the risen Christ inspiring me.
Will you ‘make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace’?
By your example,
will you lead this church
in all godly living and devotion to Christ
through prayer and the reading of scripture?
Will you be faithful in the leading of worship,
in presiding at the table of the Lord
and in preaching the word of God?
Beth: In the name of God who is
the Father of all,
the living Word
and the Spirit of unity, I will.
On behalf of the Eastern Baptist Association and as a representative of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, I affirm you in your ministry here at the Northstowe Church Network
URC Commissioning:
Beth, as minister of the Northstowe Church Network, you become a member of the Eastern Synod of the United Reformed Church.
The United Reformed Church confesses the faith of the Church Catholic in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We acknowledge that the life of faith to which we are called is a gift of the Holy Spirit continually received in Word and Sacrament and in the common life of God’s people.
We acknowledge the Word of God in the Old and New Testaments, discerned under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as the supreme rule of faith and practice for all God’s people.
Beth, mindful of your ministerial duties at the Northstowe Church Network, alongside your Anglican Discipline, will you undertake and exercise your ministry in accordance with the statement concerning the Nature, Faith and Order of the United Reformed Church?
Beth: I will, and I ask God to help me.
Church of England Commissioning
The Church of England is part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church worshipping the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It professes the faith uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds, which faith the Church is called upon to proclaim afresh in each generation. Led by the Holy Spirit, it has borne witness to Christian truth in its historic formularies, the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordering of Bishops, Priests and Deacons.
Beth, when you were licensed to this place you affirmed your loyalty to this inheritance of faith as your inspiration and guidance under God in bringing the grace and truth of Christ to this generation and making him known to those in your care.
The Bishop of Huntingdon, taking her staff, blesses Beth.
Bishop: The God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be upon you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Minister:
Today I bring myself and the gifts I have,
and I covenant to serve and encourage this church-network and community:
to respect and care for you, to journey with you,
to take responsibility among you,
to seek God with you, to listen to God in you,
and to work with you to be Christ in this world.
Those involved in the Northstowe Church Network:
Today we bring ourselves and the gifts we have,
and we covenant to serve and encourage
this church-network and community:
to respect and care for each other,
to take responsibility for the people we are
and the people we hope to be in Christ,
and to encourage you as our minister
as we make this journey together.
— reaffirming the original shared commitment made between minister and people when Pathfinder Church Northstowe was launched - now encompassing the whole Northstowe Church Network
Welcome Everybody (a firm favourite at Little Explorers)
Breathe on my Breath of God
Build your Kingdom here
Questions? View our About page or contact us at contact@northstowe.church