Ecumenism

 

churches together

 

After the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival and the Year Of Culture, the churches which had worked together so successfully took up Cardinal Thomas Winning’s suggestion that Glasgow should have its own local ’ACTS’.  Since then, they have been committed members of Glasgow Churches Together developing increasingly cordial good relations with other churches and with the City Council.   

Our current Chair is the Rev Robert Johnston, and our Secretary is Mrs Elspeth Glasgow.  We have a Full Committee and a Music and Worship Committee. We liaise with churches which for all sorts of reasons are not yet members.   We have organised special events with the City Chambers, marking the St Andrew’s Day and St Margaret’s Day celebrations, the death of Princess Diana, the Clutha Vaults disaster, and the Queen St incident, and most recently the Coronation of King Charles 111.   Our regular celebrations include the Annual Blessing of the Crib in George Square, Carols for Peace (in the City Chambers), the St Mungo Festival,   St John Ogilvie Feast Day, Glasgow the Welcoming City, Pause for Hope (for cancer sufferers), Racial Justice Sunday,  Creation Sunday and Season of CreationWe initiated and continue to support radioalba.org - a computer-based ecumenical radio station.

We organise regular meetings of the Church Leaders.   We are represented on the Forum of Faiths, chaired by the Lord Provost, and at the meetings of Glasgow Presbytery and The General Assembly,  we also support the work of Interfaith Glasgow/Scotland.

Members:  Church of Scotland,  the Methodist Church,  the Roman Catholic Church,   the Salvation Army,  the Scottish Episcopal Church, the United Free Church and the United Reformed Church. Whilst the Baptist Union is not a member, they are represented at the Church Leaders Meeting and at most of our other events.

The Archdiocese of Glasgow is represented on GCT by Mgr. Gerry Fitzpatrick, Canon David Wallace, and Mrs Elizabeth McGettrick.

For more information contact:

  • Fr Gerry Fitzpatrick  : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Canon David Wallace : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Elspeth Glasgow : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Websites you may find useful:

Ecumenical calendar 2023

June:     Glasgow The Welcoming City 2023 -  initiated by Lord Provost Liz Cameron and Glasgow Churches Together in June more than 20 years ago

https://stmungomusic.org.uk/june-a-month-of-contrasts-part-1/

September:  Glasgow Churches Together (GCT) and Eco-Congregation Scotland joined forces on Sunday 17th September at St Andrew’s West church Glasgow to mark the Season of Creation

https://stmungomusic.org.uk/ecumenical-season-of-creation-service/

October: This year, Glasgow Churches Together’s ecumenical 'Pause for Hope' service in October was hosted by the Salvation Army at their lovely Community Church in Govan, where their church band and singers and the St Mungo Singers supported the music on such a prayerful occasion.

November:   To mark the first anniversary of the historic St Margaret Declaration of Friendship, the community of St Aloysius in Garnethill hosted Glasgow Churches Together (GCT) for an evening service on 17th November

https://stmungomusic.org.uk/st-margaret-ecumenical-service-to-mark-the-anniversary-of-the-st-margaret-declaration-of-friendship/  

December: Blessing of the Glasgow Crib with the Lord Provost – marking 25 years in 2023

Carols for Peace in the City Chambers (21st Year), 17th December 2023 at 3pm in City Chambers - with Piper, Ensemble, St Denis’s Primary, the Southside Fiddlers, the Glasgow Ukrainian Choir and children, and The St Mungo Singers.  Followed by tea/coffee in the Satinwood Suite

Events for 2024

January: Mungo Festival. 

Glasgow's annual St Mungo Festival is centred on the feast day, the 13th January

The Church celebrations for the St Mungo Festival began with Vespers on Friday 12th January, the vigil of the feast, in St Andrew’s Cathedral.

https://stmungomusic.org.uk/st-mungo-festival-2024-st-mungo-vespers/

Saturday: At The Mitchell Library:

The Life of St Mungo (the Vita Kentigerni) in the setting of the Mitchell Library is a favourite part of the Festival.

https://stmungomusic.org.uk/st-mungo-festival-2024-readings-from-the-vita-kentigerni-mitchell-library/

Sunday:  In St Mungo’s Cathedral:  Despite a decidedly cold day, church and civic representatives gathered at Glasgow Cathedral for the annual service to honour the city’s patron saint, St Mungo, organised by Glasgow Churches Together and the Cathedral community.

https://stmungomusic.org.uk/st-mungo-festival-2024-service-in-glasgow-cathedral-on-14th-january/

 

March:  The World Day of Prayer Friday 1st March, with service devised by women of Palestine

Ogilvie Vespers (traditionally held in St Aloysius, Garnethill on the eve of the Feast of St John Ogilvie, March 10)

June: Glasgow the Welcoming City on the Sunday nearest the Feast of St Columba, 9th June