Sharing Agreement
The Finance Officer is the responsible person in the office for
dealing with Sharing Agreements. Fortunately, the Moderator also
has experience of the complexities of Sharing Agreements as does
the Synod Ecumenical officer.
It is important to recognise that a Sharing Agreement under the
Sharing of Church Buildings Act 1969 is only one of the ways in
which buildings can be shared. Other approaches may, in any
given circumstance, be more appropriate.
Sharing Agreements do not create ‘unified’ churches. In some
cases a Sharing Agreement may be seen simply as a necessary step
to enable non-URC weddings to take place in an URC church. That
may be all that is looked for. One the other hand proximity-
rather than absence- can sometimes make the heart grow fonder.
Opportunities for growing together in congregational life and
witness will often present themselves. Churches who thought that
their own life would continue as normal may discover that there
is much more that can be shared besides a building.
If
you wish to consider entering into a Sharing Agreement, please
notify the Moderator