Churches to join forces

At a service attended by the Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Michael Turnbull, and Canon Bob Spence, the RC Vicar General on Sunday, the Church of England parish of St James and English Martyrs RC Church, on Stockton's Hardwick Estate, Teesside, were officially "married".

From now on, the two churches will share the English Martyrs building, using it as a base for tackling the estate's problems, including drug misuse and pensioners feeling isolated.

Father David Stephenson, vicar of St James and it sister church, St John the Baptist, said the partnership marks the dawn of a new era.

"We feel it's quite a pioneering initiative," he said.

"There's a history of good relations between the churches and a number of joint initiatives have been suggested."

Fr Stephenson said the merger will put both churches in a stronger position to help the community. "There's a large drugs problem on the estate and both the churches have been approached in the past for help and support.

"Now we have a united voice. We are very committed to working alongside community groups and organisations, and the first priority is having discussions with them."

While the parishes will undertake joint projects, they will continue to exist in their own rights, with St James' holding its own services from English Martyrs.

Fr Stephenson said: "We are simply moving house. Fr Iosif Grosu (corr) and I will continue in our posts and look forward to working closely with Fr Lawrence Jones from English Martyrs.

"There will be a new joint notice board so that local people have information about the services to be held in the building by both the Roman Catholic and Church of England churches. In the future, we are planning to have more joint services for the re-launched Hardwick Churches together, which will involve St Andrew's Methodist Church."

Parishioner Claire Jenkins said: "We are very excited about what is happening."