Because more and more LEPs are required to register as charities with the Charity Commission, they also have to change their constitutions to a form acceptable to the Commission.
Among these changes in Constitutions is the separating of what we knew as the Declaration of Intent from the Constitution in order to make it a self-standing document. It also appears that ‘Declaration of Intent’ is no longer an appropriate title and ‘Ecumenical Vision Statement’ (EVS) is offered as an alternative.
(This has the additional advantage that it does not presume this ecumenical initiative will necessarily lead to a formal Local Ecumenical Partnership as understood by the historic Churches.)
Being a single governing document for charity registration the Constitution of a SCLEP no longer allows for the local creativity that we are used to because it is a legal document which must be acceptable to the (secular) Charity Commission as well as to the sponsoring Churches. However, as a separate document the EVS may be created locally by the participating churches and it can still be revised by them as and when needed.
If you already have a Declaration of Intent and you are happy with it, you may use it as your Ecumenical Vision Statement.
This is the place for local creativity – make sure that you don't fill your EVS with items which really belong in the Constitution. An EVS is very much about the 'why' rather than the 'how' of an ecumenical partnership. It is not part of the constitution, and should not be included in the Charity Commission’s registration papers.
The EVS is a separate document which should express common core values and beliefs, the shared vision of your partnership, and the commitment of the participating churches to it. It can and should be locally revised as needed. It is the living heart of your mutual commitment, and it therefore needs continually to be renewed and nurtured in prayer, worship and mission
It should however accompany your draft constitution when it is sent for approval by the participating Churches and Sponsoring Body (Churches Together in (County)) Even if your EVS is to stand alone, i.e. it is not intended to be accompanied by a constitution, it still needs to be approved. It is a statement which they need to accept and be party to, in order for your initiative to receive the support, protection and ownership of the wider Church. The support of the Sponsoring Body and the participating Church authorities should be seen as enabling, rather than restrictive. For that reason, CTE hesitate even to offer a possible example just in case someone thinks they have to do it that way! Instead, they offer a short, simple yet profound agenda of questions which any LEP or other ecumenical mission initiative ought to be able to tackle. The result should be brief - 200 or 300 words, no more than half a page of A4, saying why you are committed to doing this together instead of separately. What is driving you in your situation?
An agenda for drafting an EVS could be:
1. Consider our Lord’s prayer to his Father: ‘may they all be one… that the world may believe that you sent me…’ (Jn 17.21) and St Paul’s plea: ‘spare no effort to make fast with bonds of peace the unity which the Spirit gives’ (Eph 4:3)
· what do you now have a vision to do together instead of separately?
2. How does your plans relate to the local community beyond the Church and to the wider Church?
3. What added value does this ecumenical commitment bring to the whole Church as it seeks to offer the whole Gospel to the whole Earth?
4. What creative use can you make of your differences?
What is the next step in acting on this vision? For example:
i) Should you seek to form a Local Ecumenical Partnership?
ii) Should you seek to form a time-limited project for the next x years?
Should you commit yourselves to reviewing your EVS after (n) years?
Here is a currently suggested simple outline which could express everything that needs to be approved in an EVS: trace your own path down the lines to create a phrasing that suits your local purpose.
(names of Churches participating in the Local Ecumenical Partnership)
commit themselves / covenant together / agree
to express the visible unity of Christ’s Church / to work together
in prayer together and for each other
in shared worship and ministry
in making and nurturing Christian disciples
in serving God’s mission in our neighbourhood and beyond
as far as the disciplines of our Churches allow.
As a separate document your Ecumenical Vision Statement
· Does not presume that this ecumenical initiative will lead to a formal Local Ecumenical Partnership as understood by the historic Churches. This means that such initiatives can evolve, developing in a way that is appropriate to the context without predetermining the final form of the initiative. This may assist the emergence of ecumenical fresh expressions and mission initiatives, without replicating the culture of the inherited Church.
· Can include a time period in which the initiative would take place.
· Should be open to the possibility of review, revision, and renewal, consistent with its original concept.
· Should be both a sign of the partnership to which the participating Churches are committed, and also a working tool to help shape the mission and life of that partnership.
· Should still be consistent with all your other governing documents.
Drawing up an Ecumenical Vision Statement (EVS)
for a Single Congregation Local Ecumenical Partnership (SCLEP)