Edenbridge Churches in Covenant

In 1982, as the culmination of 20 years of informal cooperation, the ministers and congregations of St Peter & St Paul, the Edenbridge Baptist Church, St Lawrence’s Roman Catholic Church, and St John’s United Reformed Church made a covenant together, before God. This groundbreaking commitment is believed to have been the first one in the United Kingdom to have involved all four denominations together. Since then, Holy Trinity, Crockham Hill, & Marlpit Hill Baptist churches have joined the original four churches. So, too, did the Sisters of St Andrew, until they moved to London in late 2013. The Edenbridge & Marlpit Hill Baptist churches have become the Eden Church and the Grace Community Church joined the covenant in 2017, and the Three Spires Anglican United Benefice of Hever, Four Elms and Markbeech in 2022.

Bishop Say, who preached at the inauguration of the covenant challenged the membership of the churches to “do together what should not be done separately.”

Building on existing cooperation, the Edenbridges Churches in Covenant agreed to support the Eden Christian Trust Youth Worker and made a starter grant to Edenbridge Area Traidcraft which was the inspiration for Edenbridge becoming the first Fairtrade Town in Kent. BRIDGES café in the High Street was initiated by members of the Inter-Church Fellowship and has become a significant channel for voluntary Christian service within the community.

The ECC also supports the local Food Bank.