Churches Together Around Fairford (“CTAF”)
CTAF aims to foster unity among Christian churches in and around Fairford. CTAF works to promote mutual understanding, respect, and cooperation among different Christian denominations by supporting local churches and communities in their efforts to work together in worship, mission, and social action. The wider Churches Together in England movement (the Church of England was a founder member) is based on the teachings in St John’s Gospel that emphasize themes of unity, love, inclusivity, and truth, all of which are central to ecumenical dialogue and cooperation. The call for believers to be one, to love one another, and to witness together to the world provides a strong biblical foundation for ecumenical efforts aimed at fostering unity among diverse Christian traditions.
The key CTAF events in each year are:
- Participating in the World Day of Prayer in March. The origins of World Day of (originally called the Women’s World Day of Prayer) date back to the 19th century when Christian women in the USA and Canada initiated a variety of cooperative activities in support of women’s involvement in mission, at home and abroad. The first World Day of Prayer service in England took place in 1932.
- Gospel readings in Lent. Each year over four weeks during Lent each of the four Gospels is read aloud in one of the Fairford churches. Churches participating in CTAF take it in turns to host the event and to provide readers and soup.
- Walk of Witness. This takes place on Good Friday Starting at St Thomas Church and walking from there via the United Reformed Church to St Mary’s.
- Harvest Supper. Each Autumn there is a harvest supper when food and entertainment is provided and a collection for charity made.
CTAF has also taken part in other ecumenical schemes and as an example we ran an Alpha course last year as a joint project of all participating churches. We have also taken part in fund raising events for charities such as Help Madina (https://helpmadina.org.uk).
Updated 26th July 2024