A Service of Welcome will be held on Thursday, September 3 for Revd Dom Whitting, Vicar of Crowan and Treslothan, who will become the first Anglican priest in Cornwall with responsibility for a Methodist Chapel.Dom Whitting altered

Authorisation to Serve has been granted by the Methodist Church in order for this ground breaking ecumenical venture to happen.

Revd Dom said: “I have had the privilege of getting to know the people at Troon over the past year, and I feel excited to see the formalisation of local churches working together in our community.”

Both Bishop Tim, head of the Anglican Church in Cornwall and Revd Steven Wild, the head of the Methodist Church, will both be present at the service.

Bishop Tim said: “I am looking forward to this event and to the fact that Dom will be able to help lead the Methodist and Anglican communities. It is an important result of the ecumenical declaration of intent and I hope this working together will happen in other areas as well.”

In 2013, church leaders in the county signed an Ecumenical Letter of Intent aimed at boosting church unity. The letter, which was signed by the Church of England, the Methodist Church, the United Reform Church, the SW Baptist Association and the Salvation Army, committed their churches to:

• Seek out every possible opportunity for joint initiatives at local and county level in mission to all the people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly;
• Work together to equip both lay and ordained ministry whenever possible, and to share that ministry wherever appropriate;
• Continue the work of developing strategies to optimise the use of church buildings for the benefit of communities throughout the county.

The Service of Welcome will take place at 7pm on Thursday, September 3 at Troon Methodist Church. All are welcome to attend.