Church Society

The Church Society is an evangelical Protestant organisation. It says it is a voluntary association of members who 'wish to maintain the worship and doctrine of the Church according to biblical standards'. Among its 'primary objectives' the society includes:

• To maintain the doctrine and worship of the Church of England as set forth in the 39 Articles of Religion, and the Book of Common Prayer, as reviewed and adopted in 1662, and to uphold the supreme and exclusive sufficiency and authority of Holy Scripture as containing all things necessary for salvation.
• To resist all efforts to reinstate in the Church of England the sacrifice of the Mass, adoration of the Presence of Christ in or under the form of the consecrated elements, reservation of the Sacrament, cultus of the Virgin Mother of our Lord, Image worship, and all like usages renounced by the Church of England at the time of the Reformation.
• To promote friendly relations with other Protestant Churches, and to strive for reunion of Christendom on the basis of the supreme authority of Holy Scripture as God's Revelation of His will for man.

The Church Society Family Tree, showing the various Protestant organisations that led to the formation of the society in 1950. Source: The Church Society, accessed 25 April 2012.

People

Council members 2011-12

Mr Duncan Boyd | Mr Pavlos Karageorgi | Revd John Cheeseman | Revd Dr Mike Ovey | Mr James Crabtree (Chairman) Revd Andrew Price | Revd George Curry | Revd John Richardson | Mr Michael de Semlyen | Revd Gary Townsend | Revd Dick Farr | Revd Gordon Warren | Revd Dr John Hall

The Church Society website notes: 'On a day-to-day basis the Society is run by the General Secretary and office staff in Watford. Church Society Trust is a separate company with its own members and Directors. The Directors are appointed by the Council of the Society. Churchman is overseen by the Churchman Editorial Board who are appointed by the Council of the Society.'

Honorary Officers

• President : Viscount Brentford
• Treasurer : Mr Peter Furness
• Vice-Presidents : Revd Dr Roger Beckwith, Rt Revd Wallace Benn, Prof John Coekin, Mr Vijay Menon, Rt Revd David Samuel, Revd David Streater, Revd Canon Michael Walters and Revd Canon David Wheaton.

Affiliations

Keep Marriage Special an 'expressly Christian pro-marriage campaign', which 'originated with both the Protestant Truth Society and Church Society' in January 2012. It is notable that the aims of this organisation are very similar to the Coalition for Marriage also created in January 2012. The latter, contains both Protestant and Catholic organisations. Keep Marriage Special contains only Protestant organisations.