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The County Ecumenical Officer holds a growing file collated by Churches Together in England (CTE) and containing guidelines, and official pronouncements from the denominations on topics such as:

Local Ecumenical Partnerships

• Constitutional Guidelines for an LEP (Group for Local Unity)
• Guidelines for reviewing LEPs ( Group for Local Unity)
• Model Declaration of Intent/Covenant for Congregations in Covenanted Partnership (Group for Local Unity)
• Authorisation of Church of England Ministers in LEPs
• Minister of other denominations in LEPs with pastoral oversight for Baptist members
• Reformed Expectations - Guidelines for URC in LEPs
• Guidelines for Methods of Administration of Holy Communion, and the Disposal fo Remaining Eucharisitic Elements.
• Housing of Ministers in an LEP (Church of England)
• Induction of Ministers to an LEP (Group for Local Unity)
• Guidelines on worship in an LEP (Group for Local Unity)
• Register of LEPs
• Health Care Chaplaincy

Shared Church Buildings

• Responsibility for regular inspection (Group for Local Unity)
• Guidelines on the use of church buildings by other churches, faith  
  communities and voluntary groups (Catholic Bishops Conference)
• The sharing and sale of church buildings (CTE)

Single Church in a Village

• Statements of Ecumenical Welcome and Commitment
  (To date, these are available from the Church of England, the Methodist Church,
  the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church.)

Inter-faith

• A Code for Building Good Relations with People of Different Faiths and Beliefs (Inter Faith Network)

Some denominationally specific information follows:

The Baptist Union

In 1992 a specialist Local Ecumenical Committee was set up, reporting through a Faith and Unity Executive Committee which had special responsibility for the promotion, support and monitoring of LEPs. The following policy points should be noted in respect of LEPs involving Baptists:

• All constitutions must be approved by the Constitution Sub-Group of the Local Executive Committee before they are finally adopted.
• All LEPs are expected to have to teach and advocate Believers’ Baptism, and the Constitution will have appropriate agreed procedures for dealing with applications for Believers’ Baptism from people previously baptised in infancy. National agreements exist with the Methodist Church, and United Reformed Church on this topic.
• Any recognised minister is fully entitled to attend Association Assemblies and generally to play a full part in the life of the Union.

The Church of England

The following is intended as an overview, and the full texts should be consulted for specific details. In cases of doubt as to the application of the Canons, reference should be made to the Anglican Ecumenical Officers, or the Diocesan Bishop.

Canon B15A : Of the Admission to Holy Communion

This canon applies to all parishes, and allows admission to the Holy Communion not only of those who have been episcopally confirmed, but also of the following categories of people::

(a) those ready and desirous to be so confirmed;

(b) baptised persons who are communicant members of other Churches which 
        subscribe to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, and who are in good standing in
        their own Church;

(c) any other baptised persons authorised under General Synod regulations; and

(d) any baptised person in immediate danger of death.

The 1989 Ecumenical Canons B43 and B44

In January 1989, Canons B43 and B44 of the Church of England were promulged. These Ecumenical Canons are particularly significant because for the first time they recognised the existence of other Churches in England. The Canons established a legal framework to authorise initiatives which were already taking place informally in the development of closer relationships between local Church of England, Roman Catholic and Free Churches.

The Canons are primarily concerned with worship and are not intended as comprehensive regulations about local ecumenical development. A Code of Practice was published in 1989 by the General Synod of the Church of England to give guidance on the implementation of the Canons (see Bibliography in Section L).

Canon B43

This Canon applies to all parishes and is concerned with the relations with other churches. A full commentary is to be found in the Code of Practice (pages 10-12).

Canon B44

This Canon applies to Local Ecumenical Partnerships. A full commentary is to be found in the Code of Practice (pages 13-17)

1. The procedure for setting up an LEP is outlined. The intention of this is to show that an LEP is established not just by a particular incumbent or congregation but in the name of the whole denomination, i.e. the Bishop is a signatory for any documentation.
2. The Bishop may authorise Ministers of non-Anglican denominations participating in the LEP, and in a place of worship of the Church of England within that area:
   
   (a)to baptise in accordance with a rite authorised by any participating church;
   
   (b)to preside over services of Holy Communion. (See notes ,)
3. The Bishop may authorise the Church of England priest to preside in that area at a service of Holy Communion in accordance with a rite authorised by any other participating church. (See also note 1.)
   It is, however, required by the Canon that Communion according to the practice of the Church of England should be celebrated on particular festivals.
4. Provision is made for joint services including Joint Baptism and Joint Confirmations (see Code of Practice - pages 21 & 22). In a Joint Confirmation candidates are admitted to the membership of all churches participating in the LEP.
5. Explicit provision is made for the development of LEPs in institutions such as hospitals and prisons as well as in parishes and cathedrals.

The Methodist Church

The following is a summary of some aspects of the Methodist Church’s position on ecumenical relationships:

Membership and Voting rights in LEPs are covered by Standing Order 611;
in the Circuit by SO 512.

Within LEPs:

• Ministers of other denominations are enabled to be recognised and regarded as Methodist ministers, and are therefore members of the Church Council, Circuit Meeting and Synod (SO 765)
• Ministers and Deacons of other denominations are authorised to serve (SO 766 and 766A). This provision allows for the leading of worship and membership of various committees, but not for pastoral charge of Methodist members and churches.
• SO 547 (Ecumenical Partnerships and the Guidance on Invitations to Ministers (11996 CPD p 697ff) sets out practice with regard to Invitations and extensions of appointments.

The Roman Catholic Church

The various Directories and recent statements all rely on the basic law on ecumenical matters, which is contained in Canon 844 in the Code of Canon Law:

Canon 844

§1 Catholic ministers may lawfully administer the sacraments only to catholic members of Christ’s faithful, who equally may lawfully receive them only from catholic ministers, except as provided in §§ 2,3 and 3 of this canon and in Can. 861 §2.

§2 Whenever necessity requires or a genuine spiritual advantage commends it, and provide the danger of error or indifferentism is avoided, Christ’s faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a catholic minister, may lawfully receive the sacrament of penance, the Eucharist and anointing of the sick from non-catholic ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are valid.

§3 Catholic ministers may lawfully administer the sacraments of penance, the Eucharist and anointing of the sick to members of the eastern churches not in full communion with the catholic Church, if they spontaneously ask for them and are properly disposed. The same applies to members of other Churches which the Apostolic See judges to be in the same position as the aforesaid eastern Churches so far as the sacraments are concerned.

§4 If there is a danger of death or if, in the judgement of the diocesan Bishop or of the Bishop’s Conference, here is some other grave and pressing need, catholic ministers may lawfully administer these same sacraments to other christians not in full communion with the catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who spontaneously ask for them, provided that they demonstrate the catholic faith in respect of those sacraments and are properly disposed.

§5 In respect of those cases dealt with in §§2, 3 and 4, the diocesan Bishop or the Bishop’s Conference is not to issue general norms except after consultation with the competent authority, at least at the local level, of the non-catholic Church or community concerned.

The Directory

In 1993, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity published the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism (see Bibliography in Section L).

This Directory addresses the principles behind, and the practice of, the involvement of Catholics and non-Catholics in a wide range of shared activities. Some specific examples are The Sacrament of Baptism (see especially paragraphs 92-101), and the Sharing of Spiritual Activities and Resources, especially Prayer in Common (108-115), Non-Sacramental Liturgical Worship (116-121), Sacramental Life (129-136), Buildings (137-142) and Mixed Marriages (143-160).

In March 1998, the Pontifical Council published a further study document which intends to make more explicit some areas covered in the Directory, and which is entitled: The ecumenical dimension in the formation of those engaged in pastoral work. Paragraph 2 begins: "Concern for restoring unity pertains to the whole Church, faithful and clergy alike. It extends to everyone, according to the potential of each, whether it be exercised in daily living or in theological and historical studies."

The United Reformed Church

In January 1998, the Ecumenical Committee published two key papers (authored by Sheila Maxey) detailing Guidelines for the United Reformed Church in Local Ecumenical Partnerships, "Reformed Expectations" and "Inductions" and including the following points:

(From "Reformed Expectations")

1. We expect something equivalent to Church Meeting which expresses our belief in the common priestly ministry of all Christians and where the corporate discernment of God’s will takes place. It is much more than an AGM (though it may take various forms and be called by various names), and for effective congregational participation will take place at least 4 times per year.

2. We expect something equivalent to an Elders' Meeting which expresses the fruitful sharing of ministry between the ordained clergy and certain chosen members of the local church. The heart of the matter for us is that there should be a team of people, chosen by the congregation for their Christian maturity, who share with those ordained to Word and Sacrament in the leadership of the local church and from whose number the representatives of the local church to the wider church are chosen. They must serve for at least three years and be eligible for re-election. They need not be the pastoral visitors but the group must be responsible for overseeing the pastoral care. It would be good if such people, when first elected, were set apart/commissioned during worship.

3. We expect that both understandings of baptism will be held together in mutual respect: the convinced practice of infant baptism and the conviction that infant dedication followed, years later, by baptism on personal confession of faith is also a faithful interpretation of the meaning of baptism. This is an important offering coming from our 1981 union with the Churches of Christ. A financial commitment to providing a baptistry in any new shared church might make that offering more of a reality.

4. We expect that the Word of God in the Old and New Testaments will be both heard and expounded in Sunday worship and that the Lord's Supper will be regularly celebrated, presided over by an ordained minister of Word and Sacrament or, if necessary, a duly authorised lay person.

5. The formal links to the wider United Reformed Church (as also to the wider councils of the other churches involved) must be clear - at best, through representation on District Council and Provincial Synod by a minister and an elder, and at the very least through a Local Advisory Group set up by the sponsoring body and containing a United Reformed Church member. Links to world-wide bodies of which the United Reformed Church is a member, such as the Council for World Mission and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, should not be forgotten.

(From "Inductions")

During the induction into an LEP of a minister who is not from the URC, the URC offers the following:

1. An example of corporate discernment by the whole people of God - that the minister has, to some extent, been called by the local church to exercise ministry there. Something more than a welcome service is therefore appropriate - for example