On the fourteenth of February the National Sponsoring Body for Local Ecumenical Partnerships, travelled to Aberdeen to discover more about the work of the Regional Ecumenical Team (RET) which had been started in the city in the 1990s. Here’s what we discovered.
The RET is a grouping of church leaders, or their representatives, now centred on the city of Aberdeen. It includes a number of the denominations which are members of ACTS as well as others who are not and also independent Christian fellowships. Workplace Chaplains are also involved as members of the RET.
One of the key roles that the RET has is to work in conjunction with the City Council to promote Christianity and the churches at key events through the year. Many of these take place around Christmas with the RET co-ordinating the churches contribution to the Street Light Parade, the blessing of the Christmas crib in the grounds of the Kirk of St. Nicholas Uniting and the switching on of the lights on the Christmas trees when there is a service of readings and carols. Through these events the RET feels it is able to present the public face of the church to the people of Aberdeen.
The RET also works to bring people in the churches of Aberdeen together. Services are held during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January each year and on Good Friday there is a pilgrimage walk visiting seven churches in the city centre, each visit focusing on a particular station of the cross.
Another service the RET provides is through the annual wedding fayre held at the Aberdeen Conference Centre. The churches have a stand at the fayre and volunteers provide advice to couples on arranging weddings either in a church or hotel if the couple are looking for a minister to conduct the wedding.
The RET is a loose grouping of churches in Aberdeen that has no formal structure but the Secretary, Joyce can be contacted via the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen office (tel 01224 319154) for further information.
