Trinity Cheltenham
Trinity Cheltenham (previously Holy Trinity, Cheltenham) is an evangelical, charismatic Anglican church in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. As well as being part of the Church of England, it is a major contributor to the New Wine network. The Church has around 1500 members, making it one of the largest churches in the UK. A recent article cited it as the 11th largest church in Britain.[1]
Service times
The church holds three services on Sundays: two in the morning, at 9.15am and 11.15am, and one in the evening at 6.00pm.'Kidz Church' meets at 11.15 am, for children aged 0–10 years, and a youth group (re:encounter), for those aged 11–15 years, meets at 11.15am and after the 6.00pm service. There are lots of mid-week meetings covering a variety of needs. Details of times and locations may be found on the church's official website.
Location
The main church building is located on Portland Street, Cheltenham. The church also owns Trinity House and its offices are located in Winchcombe House.
Senior leadership and staff
- Revd Canon Mark Bailey – Lead Pastor
- Neil Bennetts – Pastor (Worship and Creative Media)
- Rev. Tim Grew – Pastor (Trinity Home)
- Rev. Gareth Dickinson (Mission and Community)
- Karen Bailey – Leader (Trinity Women)
- David Lynch – Churchwarden and Operations Director
- Stephen Bareham - Finance Director
- Garry McCrea – Churchwarden
Trinity also employs a number of staff on a full-time or part-time basis, and all of its events and activities are facilitated by a large number of volunteers.
Key activities
As well as the Sunday celebration each week, the church members participate in a large array of mid-week activities, which include the Alpha Course, 'King's Table', 'Tandem', Sports Teams, Clusters and Small Groups, and Kids' and Youth activities. Trinity Cheltenham are also a key church in the New Wine network where Mark Bailey is on the National leadership, Neil Bennetts leads the worship and the whole church hosts the New Wine Central and South West Regional conferences and networks.
History
Trinity Church came into being in 1824 as an overflow from the Parish Church in the town centre. The first minister was the Rev Francis Close, Rector of Cheltenham and later Dean of Carlisle Cathedral, after whom the Dean Close School was named. The Church was opened with an address from the Rev Charles Simeon.
In 1976, Trinity Church was on the point of closure. However, under the ministry of a retired missionary (Canon Lawrence Totty) change had slowly begun to happen. The threat of closure was removed and under two subsequent vicars, Rev John Risdon and Rev Paul Harris, the church continued to grow and start to reach out into the community.
Mark Bailey came to lead Trinity in 1994, and since then the church has seen extended growth. There are now in excess of 1,500 people who worship on a regular basis.
Since 1994 the church has undergone a major refurbishment: pews have been replaced with chairs, carpet fitted, and the décor changed to enable greater flexibility in the building's use. In 2000, Trinity House, the three-storey building immediately behind the church, was purchased. The additional space has greatly increased the opportunities for ministry. It is used for a variety of mid-week activities and for Kidz Church on Sundays.
Continued growth presented logistical problems, and by the end of 2004 the church started holding multiple services each Sunday. In January 2005 the 'Trinity Growth Project' was launched and most of the staff and administrative team moved out of Trinity House to offices in Winchcombe House. In 2008 the church purchased the Fusion Building next to Trinity House on Winchcombe Street, and in 2009 has begun a refurbishment of the main church building to increase the capacity to nearly 1000.
Future growth
The church's Parochial Church Council has discussed options for handling the continued growth in church membership. The latest plans include a £4m adaptation of the existing buildings to accommodate 1000 worshippers at a time, with improved facilities at Trinity House.
References
- ↑ Christianity Magazine article
External links
Coordinates: 51°54′12″N 2°4′18″W / 51.90333°N 2.07167°W