People involved in the 25 formally recognised Local Ecumenical Partnerships, as well as in informal partnerships, will gather at the end of the month for the first LEP Gathering.

|TOP|The keynote speaker of the day will be Baptist minister, the Rev. Dr Mary Cotes, Ecumenical Moderator of Milton Keynes Christian Council.

Rev. Cotes will speak on the main theme of the gathering, ‘Celebrate Together’, to be followed by discussion groups based on her presentation.

The event, to be held in Livingston on 26 November, will also be attended by the Rev Murdoch Mackenzie, Convener of the Scottish Churches National Sponsoring Body for Local Ecumenical Partnerships.

Rev. Mackenzie said: “We look forward to welcoming all Christian people who are working together with various local churches, whether in a formal Local Ecumenical Partnership or not, to come to Livingston for The Gathering.

|QUOTE|“Our hope is that in sharing our local stories with each other we will each find new ways to touch the hearts of all people in Scotland with the love of Christ,” he said.

The event will also include four workshops, Being Churches Together, which looks at the work of Action of Churches Together in Scotland, and Learning Together, which will focus on the experience and outcomes of the Local Ecumenical Audit being carried out in Paisley, St. Andrews and Inverness.

The remaining two worshops will focus on Worshipping Together and Starting Out Together.