One Church, Five Denominations

Most villages have several churches or chapels, each with different variations on denomination. Bar Hill is quite unusual in that there is only one church. Christian Unity is not only talked about here; it is practised week in, week out. After many years as a 'Local Ecumencial Partnership', we take it for granted that Christians of different denominations can work and worship together.

Sponsoring denominations

Bar Hill Church is a local ecumenical partnership involving a number of Christian denominations. The Baptist Union, the Church of England, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church are full partners, and a covenant relationship exists with the Society of Friends and the Roman Catholic Church (the latter has a share in the ownership of the building and uses it for mass).

Our link with the sponsoring and other linked denominations is through the Local Advisory Group, which has spiritual oversight of the church and meets two or three times a year to advise on our activities. The LAG is made up of the following local representatives:

• Baptist Union Rev. Paul Hills, Regional Minister and Team Leader, Eastern Baptist Association
• Church of England Ven. John Beer, Archdeacon of Ely (Chairman of the LAG)
• Methodist Church Rev. Dr Michael Wilson, Haslingfield Methodist Church, Superintendent Minister of Cambridge Circuit
• Roman Catholic Church Rev. Dr Geoffrey Cook, Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge
• Society of Friends Mr Jim Platts, Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge
• United Reformed Church Rev. Paul Whittle, Hadleigh Baptist Church, Eastern Synod Moderator
• Churches Together in England Mrs Priscilla Barlow, County Ecumenical Officer
• Bar Hill representatives Rev. Ruth Adams, Mr Stephen Bull, Dr John Knight

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.

- John 13 v34