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How did it get that name?!!
ecumenic-al
from
Latin
oecumenicus
from
Ancient Greek
οἰκουμενικός (oikoumenikos), “‘concerning
the whole known world’”)
from
οἰκέω (oikeō), “‘I
inhabit’”)
from
οἶκος (oikos), “‘house’”)
As the new town of Skelmersdale grew in the 1970s, the
Church of England, Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed Church joined
together (a recent government act allowed the sharing of church
buildings) to build a church that they could “time share”. The term
‘ecumenical’ has been used by the church for many years to describe how
different faith groups can try to work together to share in expressing
one unified Christian message. And so the name was given to the one
‘house’ where everyone, not just Christians, could meet
together...The Ecumenical Centre or just ‘The Eccy’
So it’s really just a church then? Where’s the tower, bells
and graveyard?
No, it was intended to be far more than a church. The
building was designed to be a modern type of church which could be
changed around inside to allow it to be used in different ways. It can
be used for Christian worship and ceremonies but in between times the
space within it is hired out to groups which benefit the community.
Who owns and runs it?
The Centre doesn’t belong to any one church. It is owned by
a board of trustees made up of leaders from its member church
denominations.
The Centre is run by a group of church members called a
Church Council. The chairman is the minister, Rev Mick Neal who looks
after the church and manages the staff team. The staff team is Jerry,
the Centre Coordinator, who looks after the building, and Carole, the
Volunteer Project coordinator, who looks after all the volunteer workers
who keep the Coffee Bar, Charity Shop and Lunch Club running.
Who pays for it?
A building of this size costs a lot to run each year. The
church members support it by giving their time and money, as in all
churches, but the majority of costs are met by the organisations that
rent the offices, the community groups that hire the spaces each
week/month and of course, the local customers who use the Coffee Bar,
Charity Shop and Lunch Club each day.
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