Single Congregation Local Ecumenical Partnerships and Charity Registration

The Charity Commission for England and Wales has approved a standard governing document for Local Ecumenical Partnerships where two or more Churches have formed a single congregation.  Existing LEPs do not need to change their constitution unless

• they have an annual income normally greater than £100,000
• they do not yet have an agreed constitution
• their constitution needs amendment.

The standard constitution permits a local church do whatever it needs to do so should not be amended except as indicated on the LEP Approvals form.  The creativity and experimentality of the LEP should be expressed in the Statement of Ecumenical Vision and the life of the LEP itself and not in the constitution.  All new single congregation LEPs, whether or not they need to register with the Charity Commission, should use this new constitution.  The LEP Constitution itself should contain a clause about how it may be amended and this should be followed when adopting this new consitution.

Please note this standard constitution has been agreed by the Charity Commission and also with the following Churches: Baptist Union of Great Britain, Church of England, the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the Moravian Church and the United Reformed Church. Other Churches may adopt the standard constitution in due course. If you are preparing a constitution for a Local Ecumenical Partnership that includes one or more Churches not in this list, please contact John Bradley at CTE.

The County Ecumenical Development Officer, or his/her delegate, has a key role in the approval process and should be kept fully informed at all times.  Contact them for your copy of the draft documents.  Click here for addresses.

The Ecumenical Vision Statement takes the place of a Declaration of Intent in previous LEP constitutions but becomes a self-standing document.  LEPs which have a Declaration of Intent may use it as their Ecumenical Vision Statement, provided it still reflects their life together.  We do not offer a model text for the EVS as this will be distinct to each LEP but an agenda of questions to ask when framing one can be found here.