About >

Frequently asked questions

How is ACTS funded?

Each of the member churches of CTBI contributes to a common pot of finance. The level of contribution is negotiated by the churches on a three year funding cycle. ACTS receives 16% of the common pot which forms its core budget. For the year to end December 2004 ACTS' income was £227,000. In addition to the core budget there are some designated funds which have been given by individuals or churches for specific remits. Member churches may also give additional funding to projects run by ACTS, which are usually carried out by the Networks.

How do churches join ACTS?

Churches which wish to apply for membership of ACTS must apply to the Scottish Churches’ Forum by being nominated by an existing Principal Member Church. The Forum will then appoint a scrutiny group which has members of at least three Principal Member churches within it. The scrutiny group will engage in a process of dialogue with the applicant church in order to establish an understanding of its ecclesiology and common life. The scrutiny group reports back to the Forum where a decision will be taken on the basis of four criteria, namely:

• The applicant Church’s demonstrable ability to subscribe to or manifest faith in accordance with the Basis and Aims of ACTS as set out in ‘The Basis of a New Way of Working’
• The applicant Church’s ability to demonstrate evidence of ecumenical engagement and commitment
• The applicant Church’s demonstration of being organised on at least a Scottish national level
• The acceptance by the applicant church of the implications of the ‘churches together’ model of ecumenical engagement.

How can I contact my local churches together group?

The ACTS office has a database of local churches together groups and their contact people. There are about 90 groups in Scotland that we have details for, but you can also find out whether there is a churches together group in your locality by asking at local churches.

Why does ACTS make so few public statements?

The Churches Together model puts the member churches at the heart of the ecumenical instruments with the staff and mechanisms of the ecumenical instrument being there to support and facilitate the dialogue and work of the churches between themselves and with other bodies. The role of ACTS, and the ecumenical bodies in the UK and Ireland, is to ensure that each member church is aware of what the others are saying and to present the wide range of Christian opinion within the member churches to the general public, government etc.

How are decisions made in ACTS?

The Scottish Churches’ Forum is the main decision making body for ACTS. Each member church is represented on the body by church leaders and people with expertise in ecumenism. The Forum meets three times a year and makes decisions about policy and strategy, project funding for small pieces of work, and hears reports from the Standing Committees for Finance, Personnel and Scottish Churches’ House. ACTS has an Executive comprising the Convener, two Vice Conveners, Treasurer and General Secretary, which also acts as the Trustee body for ACTS and Scottish Churches’ House.