Cambourne Church is a "

local ecumenical partnership In England and Wales, a local ecumenical partnership (or project) is a partnership between churches of different denominations. First piloted in 1964, over 850 now exist to promote unity between different Christian denominations. The missiolo ...

" between the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Baptist Union of Great Britain Baptists Together (officially The Baptist Union of Great Britain) is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot. Hi ...

Methodist Church of Great Britain The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestantism, Protestant List of Christian denominations, Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodism, Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, an ...

and the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

. It is located in the heart of

Cambourne Cambourne is a new settlement and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, in the district of South Cambridgeshire. It lies on the A428 road between Cambridge, 9 miles (14 km) to the east, and St Neots and Bedford to the west. It compris ...

, Cambridgeshire and provides

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

community in the area. The church is theologically diverse and maintains a lively range of traditions within its services. It is the

parish church for

. The local

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

community called Saint John Fisher Church also worships within the church centre.

History

Cambourne is a

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

nine miles west of Cambridge, designed as a series of three interlinked villages. Cambourne Church started meeting shortly after the first residents arrived in 1999, the first minister, Rev Peter Wood, was appointed in 2001. The church has grown steadily with the community, playing an instrumental role from its very beginning. It is a lively ecumenical partnership sponsored by the Church of England, the Baptist Union, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church, and in association with the Roman Catholic Church. The church building is on the corner of Jeavons Lane.

The present

The Revd Bill Miller (Baptist minister) is the present incumbent and has been in post since 2019. At present the church offers two services on a Sunday morning at 9:30 am (more traditional) and 11 am (contemporary). Groups for children and young people meet during the 11 am service. The church currently operates a community café (19 ~ The Coffee House).

Governance

The church land and buildings are owned by Shared Churches Ely, which is formed by representatives of the partner denominations. There is also a "Local Advisory Group", also made up of members of the partner denominations, which advises the Minister with regards to the direction of ministry at the Church. At a more direct level, the Church membership elect a Church Council to oversee the mission and ministry of the church. There is also a Ministry Team (made up of the Minister, Assistant Minister, wardens, administrator and other paid staff) which manages day-to-day ministry.

References

{{coord, 52.2189, -0.0630, display=title 1999 establishments in England Churches in Cambridgeshire Ecumenical councils Cambourne