The Church is the people of God. The Latin word for "church," ecclesia comes from the Greek ek, which means "out," and kaleo, which means "to call." The Church is the people of God called out of slavery to freedom, sin to salvation, despair to hope, darkness to light, an existence centered on death to an existence focused on life.

When we think of Church we have to think of a body of people, traveling together. We have to envision women, men, and children of all ages, races, and societies supporting one another on their long and often tiresome journeys to their final home.

—Henri J. M. Nouwen

A Fellowship Called Rumney Marsh

Saint Ignatius of Antioch (1st c. A.D) is quoted as saying: "Where the Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be; even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church." Some, through the history of the Christian Church, have taken this to mean that each validly consecrated bishop gathers around him or herself a valid expression of the Body of Christ—namely, a "local Church."

Originally dioceses were "small groupings" of parishes, missions, or ministries that were geographically "local" or nearby. According to this understanding of Church polity (governance), many, many local churches exist throughout the Catholic (Universal) Church. Each local church was united under a local bishop as the Universal Church is united under the headship of Jesus Christ.

The current Rumney Marsh Fellowship—AKA The Rumney Marsh Diocese—is the "local church" under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rumney Marsh and is headquartered in Chelsea, Massachusetts with all of our parishes, missions and ministries being located within a day's drive of Boston, Massachusetts.

The polity [governance] of our fellowship is both congregational and episcopal as influenced by the "House Church" movement, the "Intentional Eucharistic Communities" movement, and the "Independent Sacramental Movement."

When we say that the polity of our fellowship is episcopal, we refer to our belief that valid orders are transmitted by way of the apostolic succession from our bishop to the priests and deacons who work alongside said bishop. We maintain the ancient schema of a three-level team of ministers who serve the Church. In order for a priest or deacon to offer valid ministry to a parish, mission or ministry of the fellowship, said priest or deacon must be working in cooperation with the bishop [this cooperation is symbolized in a Letter of Faculties—AKA a License to Officiate—granted by the bishop].

When we say that the polity of our fellowship is congregational, we refer to our practice that each individual entity—parish, mission or ministry—is a separate economic unit.   It is our intention that each parish, mission or ministry associated with the fellowship will be legally incorporated in the State or Commonwealth in which it is located.

The "bishop" is seen as the chief pastor of those who are members of the fellowship. He or she serves the others as priest, teacher, and shepherd. Yet, unlike the diocesan structure found in many churches, the bishop is not the CEO nor is the fellowship a corporation overseeing the fiscal/temporal lives of all constituent parishes, missions and/or ministries. Each is a separate economic reality and, while the members of the fellowship may aid one another in times of need and the bishop may even coordinate the distribution of such aid, the bishop does not have a fiscal responsibility and/or a temporal authority over the local parish, mission or ministry. [Some may wish to note that the fellowship/diocese IS NOT incorporated.]

We in the Rumney Marsh Fellowship hold firm to belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist even as we cherish the values congregational self-determination, freedom of conscience and the conciliar ideal. We strive for "consensus building" in our common life while being faithful to the Apostolic Tradition of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church as taught in the Sacred Scriptures and the Seven Ecumenical Councils of the undivided Church.

Finally, the Rumney Marsh Fellowship is "open and affirming," inviting all to full participation according to their call as God's children.

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