A new era has started for churches in Wantage and Grove after they joined together to form a new grouping called Wantage & Grove Church Partnership.
The coming together took place on 28th September at an Annual General Meeting, held in the Charlton Centre, Wantage, which was the last of Wantage Churches Together and first of the new Partnership.
At the meeting, the outgoing chairman Canon Peter Turbitt, from St John Vianney Church, welcomed the establishment of the new broader group.
The Wantage & Grove Church Partnership, under its new Chairman Reverend Martin Smithson, Minister of Wantage and of Grove Methodist Churches, will continue much of the work previously done by Wantage Churches Together and by churches working together in Grove and hopes to be increase the degree to which churches speak and act together on local initiatives and areas of concern.
The new grouping includes:
Grove Methodist Church
S. John the Baptist Church, Grove (Church of England)
S. John Vianney Catholic Church
Ss. Peter and Paul with Holy Trinity, Wantage (Church of England)
The Community of S. Mary the Virgin
Wantage Christian Fellowship
Wantage Community Church
Wantage Methodist Church
Reverend Martin Smithson Chairman of the new grouping said: “ We are all very pleased to have come together in this way. We represent a broad variety of Christian churches which are keen to work together and we recognise that many of the issues we address are relevant to both Grove and Wantage. Our coming together in both of these ways is a very positive step for us and we hope it will be for Wantage and Grove too. In the future we will explore ways in which we can extend what we do together and how we can better serve our communities. We would also be happy to welcome any other churches within the Wantage and Grove area who may wish to join us in the future.”
The new Council, with representatives from each of the member churches, will meet regularly to share experiences, raise matters of local concern and to plan future activities.