Holy Trinity Norwich
The church was built at the centre of a planned housing development in 1861. To the west of the church, the Victorian terraces are renowned as being a desirable place to live, coining the local name of ‘The Golden Triangle’. About a quarter of our Parish are students living in rented accommodation; half of our Parish is in the age group 20-30. The northeast section is intensely developed with blocks of flats around a central park, the Jenny Lind Park. Within the Parish we have an eclectic mix of cultural backgrounds and demographics and our church has a strong desire to reach out to all.
Two years ago, the church employed a lay pastoral assistant who had a focus on outreach. After one year, an existing lay assistant was redeployed to help him on community-based work.
TEAR Fund Catalyst http://www.tearfund.org/en/about_us/what_we_do_and_where/countries/europe/uk/catalyst_programme/ and Eden Project http://eden-network.org have been important in establishing the work. As both workers now move on to other fields, we are looking to engage a trained and experienced worker who will engage in all the areas that they have served as learners, self-training as they went along.
Groups involved in Local Mission
- The Club – an after-school group for local, primary school aged children. Each session has a gospel focus.
- The Bridge – a gospel-focused early evening group aimed at young people, 10 – 14 years of age.
- Open the Book – Scripted Bible presentations in the local primary school.
- Noah’s Boat – Mums, Dads and toddlers meeting together in the church hall with a Bible story and prayer time.
- Beyond the Pitch – a primary school aged group followed by a secondary school aged group play football in the local park. Each session includes a gospel message.
- New Beginnings – a cell group meeting on Sunday afternoons, currently in the ‘Old Post Office’ which forms part of a group of shops facing the park.
- Trekkers – a group of walkers who pray at the start of their walk and are happy to discuss the gospel, as appropriate.
- Groups visiting two of the care homes in the Parish, providing traditional services with hymns and readings or just visiting to chat.
- Young at Heart – a group aimed at the elderly within our Parish. They meet together for lunch or afternoon tea and have a gospel focus in selected meetings.
- Art Group – meet during the day once a week providing a calming and creative environment with textiles. A gospel presentation is included at key Christian festivals throughout the year.