Trinity United Reformed Church Plymouth

Transcription

1 Trinity United Reformed Church Plymouth Church Profile September 2015

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3 Trinity URC Trinity URC is a lively and committed church located in the heart of Plymouth working alongside other Christian communities to serve God. Our approach is centred on prayer and community involvement and we seek to be loving, caring, compassionate, listening and supportive to all. We are looking for a Minister who would help us by engaging with our congregation, encouraging and supporting its members, as together, we begin working through an exciting project to improve the infrastructure of our Church into a more hospitable and accessible space, expanding our appeal and purpose to the wider community.

4 OUR MISSION Our mission is to be a Christian community who love God and who seek to serve Him by sharing His love and teachings with the wider community Jesus says Come with me Mark 1, v 17 We seek to achieve this journey with Christ through worship, fun, gathering together and studying. Jesus gives us all the same invitation to Come with me so that all who believe and follow His life-style can enjoy life in all its fullness. That is why we are a hospitable people seeking to spread the word of God through our congregation and the use of our buildings throughout the wider community. Christmas Pulpit Fall Our beautiful windows with Christmas banners Enjoying the Crib scene by candlelight

5 OUR FUTURE We now need to find empowering ministerial leadership to take us on our journey and share with us God s purpose. We seek to find a Minister who is both inspirational and encouraging and can preach the Word as is relevant to our world today. Through this leadership we would hope to enable the Elders and others to enhance the skills of our congregation and to lead the Elders in pastoral care. Our congregation is mainly middle aged and elderly and we wish to continue in their service whilst extending our appeal to young families and young people especially as our Universities and other further education establishments are rapidly expanding. In order to achieve our mission we need to engage with our congregation and expand it. We believe this can be achieved in a number of ways: by being prayerful, listening to God and His will for us. By supporting each other and being relevant to the world today and not complacent By improving our buildings to make the Church an attractive place for those currently attending for worship or one of the many other activities held on our premises and to encourage those who have not visited us before. The Easter Garden with our Easter banners

6 OUR CURRENT POSITION We have been without a Minister for two years and during that period have enjoyed support from many different Ministers from various churches and our Elders have worked tirelessly to keep the Church going both spiritually and practically. In order to keep focus on our mission during the vacancy the Management Committee, in conjunction with the broader group of Elders, have been considering how to deal with improving and maintaining the church buildings and making them fit for a 21 st century purpose. To this end we have engaged the services of an architect who visited us initially in March 2015 to advise. He has now been invited to prepare a feasibility study which includes looking at the church as a whole, taking into account its mission and sense of purpose with the community, both spiritually and materially and in so doing reflecting that purpose in more accessible and hospitable buildings and facilities. The Kitchen Large Hall Back Hall Small Hall

7 OUR CURRENT RESOURCES We have much to be thankful for with our current resources which include a strong team of Elders with good pastoral oversight. They are supported by an excellent Treasury team and an enthusiastic and hard working Management Committee. We also have IT expertise producing monthly magazines and service sheets. We also maintain our website which includes an audio playback feature of our weekly Sunday morning services, reproducing the weekly services on MP3 players for the sick and housebound. We also have a dedicated team of typists, flower arrangers and good cooks! We are a hospitable group and enjoy providing lunches, coffees, teas, and cakes to support our own and other activities. More details about our resources are listed in the different sections covering worship, membership, church groups and activities, and community groups and fundraising activities. Currently, we are exploring how to improve our hospitality to the many Groups who use our premises from the young to the elderly. Our Christmas Dinner for the community

8 CURRENT PATTERN OF WORSHIP Worship at Trinity is inclusive and open. Morning worship on Sundays is at am. The congregation is mixed with mainly elderly and middle aged couples plus a few families with young children. Our Presbyterian heritage means that we appeal to the local Scottish community. We have a thriving music ministry and a first class, enthusiastic Musical Director who leads a four part harmony choir. We have a three manual pipe organ with detached console that is considered one of the best in Plymouth, indeed the local Organist Association use it for musical exams! In addition we have a band that play each Sunday morning and accompany some hymns. Currently services are traditional but we do try new ideas. We use Rejoice & Sing for our regular worship and occasionally special hymns printed on our service sheet. On the third Sunday in each month we have a Holy Communion service and on the first Sunday of each month we have an Evening Communion service at 6.00 pm. Members of the congregation read the lessons each Sunday and we have a Junior Church meeting each week lead by a dedicated group of seven leaders working on a rota basis. We hold a number of special services each year, some of which are planned by worship groups. Examples in the past year are: Palm Sunday, Holy Week meditations, a Tenebrae service on Maundy Thursday, a service around the Cross on Good Friday Mother s Day and Father s Day Christian Aid, Harvest Festival, Remembrance Sunday Christingle and Toy service on Advent Sunday, Christmas Shoe Boxes All age Nativity, Carols by Candlelight, Midnight Communion on Christmas Eve, Family Communion on Christmas Day. Prayer is an important part of Church life and a Prayer Co-ordinator keeps a prayer list which contains the names of those in need. These names are kept confidential, unless requested otherwise, and prayer partners agree to pray daily for those on the list.

9 CHURCH MEMBERSHIP The Church currently has 131 members with 13 Elders who meet monthly with the Minister. The Elders share, where they are able, in the care and oversight of the congregation and its Christian witness. To ensure this works well each Elder has pastoral oversight over a specific group of Members and friends. There is a pastoral co-ordinator who supports and encourages Elders in this work, as required. Those seeking membership of the church meet with the Minister for membership classes before making a profession of faith. Church meeting is the final decision making body and it meets quarterly. The AGM is held in March when accounts are presented for approval. A Management Committee meet monthly and oversee the care of our buildings taking recommendations to the Church meeting for approval. Our buildings, at present, consist of a worship area, large hall, two small halls, kitchen and utilities. They have all been maintained and kept in good condition but as mentioned earlier are under review to see if we can take the opportunity of developing them to help us deliver our mission. Trinity at Treloyhan, St. Ives for a Church Weekend

10 CHURCH STATISTICS Number on roll : Membership 131 Children 12 Age range : up to Number of adherents 5 Average attendance at main act of worship on Sunday 75 Changes in the roll over the last five years : (a) Additions: on profession of faith 3 by transfer 23 (b) Losses: by death 23 by transfer 9 Number residing : Baptisms 13 Dedications 1 within one mile of church building 89 over three miles from church building 41 Number of serving Elders 13 Number of non-serving Elders 14 We have three House groups which meet in different areas of our city

11 CHURCH GROUPS AND ACTIVITIES Ladies Fellowship meet fortnightly and includes several who are not regular worshipers Men s Fellowship meet frequently and encourage non worshipers to participate Trinity Active Ladies Club (TALC) meet frequently focusing on fun, fellowship and food Church Weekend every 18 months or so we have a Church away weekend when we visit a Christian Residential Centre as a group to study, worship and enjoy fun and fellowship Lutheran Church in Neustadt an-der-aish, Bavaria we have a friendship link with this church and enjoy bi-yearly exchanges with them. Charity Support we support many different charities as decided by Church Meeting. We regularly support Christian Aid, CALL Southwest (speech aids for the disabled), Shekinah Mission (local homeless), Plymouth Food Bank, Christmas Shoe Boxes. Scottish country dancing Badminton group TALC enjoying a meal out Ladies Fellowship have a music afternoon Men s Fellowship practise their Croquet skills

12 COMMUNITY GROUPS using the church facilities include: Education - Pre School, First class learning, Slimming World Music - Guitars, Recorders Interest - Plymouth Flower Club, RSPB, Antiques, Drama - D.J.R., Touchwood productions, Fourth Wall Theatre Art - Art group for Toddlers, Art group for all Dance - Country, Bollywood, Ballet & Tap Exercise - Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, Karate, Extend (for the more mature), M.S. Society The Elizabethan Garden with German friends A sale in aid of Romania in the Large Hall A fun time with Consort Care Home Pre School children perform Coffee Morning sales

13 FUND RAISING ACTIVITIES An Annual Art Exhibition Bi-monthly Table Top Sales Christmas Bazaar Concerts Christian Aid Many of the above include the provision of meals and drinks which are prepared in the church hall kitchen and enjoyed by all. Christmas Shoe Boxes Christian Aid Coffee Morning Trinity Stars Concert Table Top Sale

14 OUR LOCATION AND THE CITY OF PLYMOUTH We are so lucky to be in the beautiful South West living in a City which is bordered by the sea on one side and Dartmoor on the other. The main employers in the area are Plymouth University, Plymouth Hospitals Trust, Devonport Dockyard and the Armed Services. There is a burgeoning tourist industry supported by many new restaurants and catering facilities. Plymouth hosts the National Fireworks Championships and in the recent past had the America s Cup qualifying heats, National Power Boat Championships and is looking forward to the Mayflower 400 th celebrations to mark the anniversary of the Pilgrim Fathers sailing for America in The Armed Services play an important part in City life and provide a constantly changing population. Plymouth Theatre Royal provides the cultural leadership for the City which also has many choirs and orchestras. The recently renovated Royal William Yard has also provided a focus for artistic and leisure activities. Trinity is located in Hartley, Plymouth which is well served by other churches and convenient for travel whether by car, bus or rail. The church is opposite a care home and retirement village and is convenient for local shops and other services. Plymouth has a Roman Catholic Cathedral, an Anglican Minster church and many other Catholic, Anglican and Non-Conformist churches. There are also mosques and a synagogue. Indeed, we are linked with those of the Jewish faith through our former Minister Peter Chave and this has lead to us supporting the City with Holocaust Memorial Day. Plymouth Hoe

15 THE MANSE The Manse is at 33 Glentor Road, Hartley, Plymouth PL3 5TP It is within five minutes walk from the Church in a quiet residential area. The house is semidetached with four bedrooms and three reception rooms one having the benefit of a conservatory. It has gas central heating and the property is about to have a significant sum of money spent on external and internal maintenance. There is small enclosed garden and garage. Our Manse Plan of Manse Layout Position of Church and the Manse

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