This year’s Two Counties’ Service, held in April at Mansfield Road Baptist Church, Nottingham, was very well supported with about 300 people present.

We were welcomed by their minister, the Revd Bp Michael Cleaves who led the service. The Salvation Army Songsters were there in force and brought us two inspiring songs, and there was also news of what Christians are doing together in Nottingham with features from Revd Clive Burrows of St Stephen’s Church, Mr Stuart Walker from the Bridge Project at Boulevard URC, and Revd John Bentham who spoke about the Malt Cross project and the relaunched Street Pastors’ scheme.

Bishop E George Beason of the New Testament Church of God was welcomed as this year’s preacher, bringing a challenging word from John 21 and reminding everyone of the need to focus on our core common purpose of mission to the world for our Lord’s sake.

The offering on the night realised £628 which was shared between St Stephen's, Boulevard URC and the Malt Cross Project. 

Thank you again to all who made this service possible and who took part in it.

 

 

 

 

For many years people from all over Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and from many different traditions have gathered for a service like this to celebrate our unity and to learn what God is doing in, through and between our different churches.

This has been held in a variety of churches, representing our various traditions, and in the course of the service our Church Leaders have signed their names on their Covenant  in an act of public recommitment to their common journey. Since 2002 there has also been an opportunity for all those present to reaffirm their own commitment to our Churches’ Covenant, a document based on the well-know “Five marks of Mission”, which has enabled all Christians to commit themselves to the common cause of the Gospel.

 

· However, the Church Leaders have decided that our two-county structure is to be dissolved, and that means that both it and the post of County Ecumenical Development Officer will cease as from January 31st 2011, together with our monthly email round-up, our termly printed newsletter and this web site.  

 

 

 

 

There will be a final service of celebration on the evening of January 24th 2011 (at the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity) to thank God for all He has done between us over these years and to bid farewell to your County Ecumenical Development Officer. You are all invited - do come!

And in the mean-time, if you had been meaning to call the CEDO over to help in your current situation, make the most of these remaining months!

For news of the many events involving or of interest to our churches, subscribe to our regular monthly e-mail newsletter!

 

Available until January 2011.

 

Scrolling pictures from our last Two Counties’ Service:

If you click on the icon to the bottom right of the image box you will get a full-screen picture.

Thanks to Tim Gossling of Derby Church Net for these photos!  

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