Holy Trinity Church

Gee Cross

Parish Profile 2017

Introduction and Background

Welcome

Welcome to Holy Trinity Church and thank you for taking the time to read this profile.

The parish and village of Gee Cross is set on the edge of the Greater Manchester conurbation

with quick and easy access to the city centre via road, rail or bus and Manchester Airport just

14 miles away. On the eastern side, Werneth Low Country Park is a popular beauty spot with

views across Manchester to the mountains of North Wales. There are two primary schools in the

parish, Holy Trinity C of E (VC) Primary School, and Dowson Primary School and a modern

secondary school – Alder Community High School.

Our church has a passion for the local community. We lead the opening of the annual village

fête, in conjunction with the local Methodist church and many locals will join us for services at

Easter, Harvest, Remembrance Day and Christmas. We have links with our local schools, in

particular through the “Open the Book” initiative and with the four care homes in the parish.

We’ve also developed links with the local food bank.

We have been actively engaged with the Diocese GAP programme and have set ourselves new

targets for 2017. We have a small worship team, which we would like to grow further and last

year began a young people’s group which has exciting potential for significant growth, though

has had to be put on hold due to work commitments of the leaders.

We hope this information will give you a flavour of the life of our church and our wonderful

parish and whet your appetite to learn more.

Prayer for the Vacancy

Gracious Heavenly Father as we begin this new chapter in the life of Holy Trinity Church Gee

Cross we look to you for guidance, discernment and wisdom for the church wardens, PCC and

others as they have the responsibility of appointing a new vicar for the Parish.

In this time of vacancy, Father, we pray for our Church Leaders for their support and

understanding of our position and where we want to be. May we keep our focus on you, so

looking only to you, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Amen

Mission, Vision and Values

Our mission statement is: to worship God, to make disciples, to

be a Christian presence.

Our vision: To show and grow God’s Kingdom in Gee Cross

Our core values – we are a community that is about:

Access – Breaking down barriers so that people can meet God

Empowerment – Enabling everyone to use their gifts in the

service of others

Integrity – Applying the Word of God to everyday life and

relationships

Openness – Meeting people in need with the love of Jesus

Uplift – Seeking God in prayer, inspiring people through worship

About Gee Cross

The village of Gee Cross dates back to the times of the Domesday Book, but in recent times has

merged with the southern part of Hyde. Notable people from the area include Ron Hill MBE

(Olympic and Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Marathon Runner), Tony Husband

(Cartoonist), and Ricky Hatton MBE (World Champion Boxer).

According to the 2011 census, the population of the parish is around 11,500. Around 94% of

the parish are White (British), with small numbers of Bangladeshi and Mixed Caribbean. The

average age is 43, with 20% aged 30 to 44 and 28% 45 to 64. Around 0.5% of the working

population claims Incapacity Benefit, 3% claims Employment Support Allowance and 2% claims

Jobseekers Allowance.

The main village centre has a café, restaurant, wine shop, estate agents, newsagents, bakers,

hairdressers/barbers, Tesco Express, car repairs/MoT garage, childcare centre, community

centre and three pubs. There is a village green (Sam Redfern Green) with childrens’ play area.

The nearby towns of Hyde and Romiley provide supermarkets, doctors’ surgeries, dentists,

sports facilities and theatres. The Werneth Low Golf Club and Hyde Squash and Cricket Club are

just outside the southern boundary of the parish.

Gee Cross is well placed for connections to the regional

motorway network and has rail links to Manchester, Liverpool

and Sheffield from Romiley and Hyde stations. Stockport station

provides a direct link to Birmingham and London. Manchester

airport is about 30 minutes drive away.

“Son rise” service on Werneth Low

Services

We hold an 8:30 Book of Common Prayer on Sundays

other than the first and last of the month.

This is generally attended by up to twelve people.

Details of our main service at 10:30 are shown in the table below.

1st

Sunday 2nd

Sunday 3rd

Sunday 4th

Sunday

Holy

Communion

All Together

Worship

Morning Service Morning Service followed by

shortened form of Holy Communion

The Morning Service is normally accompanied by keyboard and/or organ, two or occasionally

more singers, mandolin and bass guitar from time to time.

Prayer for healing is held after Communion on the final Sunday of the month.

Special services are held over Christmas (including a 6.30pm

Carol Service and Midnight Holy Communion on Christmas

Eve, and short family communion on Christmas Day),

Mothering Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Good

Friday, Easter Sunday, Harvest Sunday, Remembrance

Sunday and Christingle.

Sunday Morning Children’s Meeting

We currently have 18 children on the register for Sunday school aged

between 3 and 7 years old. Following a drive to increase numbers leading the group two years

ago, we now have five volunteers. We use the Scripture Union “Lightlive” teaching programme

on a regular basis with pre-printed material for the children and the leaders using the SU

website which is an excellent tool; it gives us plenty of material to mix and match as

appropriate to the very wide age range we cater for. It also saves on cost as we don’t have to

buy all the age ranges of teaching books. Attendance is intermittent with between 4 and 8

regularly attending more frequently than others. During the sessions we look at Bible stories in

line with the church calendar and try to understand them further through various activities to

bring it to life. We find that the children in the group are happy to think about things and ask

questions and even disagree on occasion! We create a safe and fun environment where faith can

be explored.

Groups For All

Prayer Meetings

A prayer group meets in church at 8:30am on Saturday morning. We have a prayer request book

near the entrance to the church. Periodically (every year or two) we hold a week of prayer with a

mixture of planned events and ‘open church’ where people can just drop in to spend time in

quiet prayer.

Home Groups and Confirmation Groups

There are 5 Home Groups meeting

during the week in the evenings or

during the day. The groups use a variety

of material ranging from the Church of

England ‘Pilgrim’ series to bespoke

sessions prepared by the vicar or one of

the other leaders. Generally we aim to

tie this material in to the Sunday

morning teaching, allowing the groups

to explore the messages in more detail.

In addition, we periodically run ‘seeker’

or new Christian groups which often

lead on to confirmation, for those who

wish to. Our most recent group, held last year, culminated in four members confirming their

faith at a service led by the Rt Revd Dr Peter Forster, Bishop of Chester.

Trinity Young People

Last year we started a group for our young people—school years 5 to 8. The first meeting had 4

young people attending, but the second and subsequent meetings saw this increasing to

between 17 and 20. We recognise this is a fantastic opportunity and although this group

currently meets at irregular intervals, we hope to be able to increase the frequency of meetings

in the future.

Thursday Club

Thursday Club is primarily for retired members of our

church and the wider community and meets together

from 1pm to 3pm during Term time. Our weekly

programme consists of a variety of different activities

from quizzes, speakers, demonstrations, musical

entertainment, choirs, fairs for fund-raising and trips

out. We have services in Church to celebrate Easter,

Harvest, Christmas and our final meeting in July. At

present we have 36 members.

Mum’s and Tots

Mum’s and tots are a friendly group, catering for parents/grandparents/carers and children

from birth to infant school. There are approximately 30 children registered, but the number

attending can fluctuate from week to week. During the sessions the children play with a large

variety of toys and the end of the session is concluded with circle time incorporating nursery

rhymes and Christian songs, and closes with a simple sung prayer.

Little Fingers

Little Fingers originally started as a ‘Messy Church’ initiative and was attended by both children

and their carers. Historically we have run 4 sessions over the course of the year. Those who

attended enjoyed a mix of craft activities, food and fun. A number of church members got

involved with the planning and support of each session. Events were publicised in social media,

as well as with handouts and posters, but despite this, numbers were lower than hoped. We are

now exploring alternative ways to involve families with young children in Church centred

activities.

Men’s and Women’s Groups

From time to time events are organised specifically for one or other gender group within the

church. People are also encouraged to bring along friends. Events for the men generally include

food(!) and have included a Saturday morning full English breakfast followed with a talk by a

guest speaker, a Friday curry night, and a visit to the local Avro museum (preceded by a pub

lunch!) where the aim was just to have fun together as a group of blokes. The latter was

attended by over 20 men. For the women, events have also included evenings out at one of the

local restaurants and an annual trip to the New Wine Women’s day in Harrogate.

Events

Gee Cross Fête

The church’s involvement with the Fête began 8 or 9 years ago, when we

offered to open the day with a short service – ‘Praise on the Green’ - led

jointly by Holy Trinity and the local Methodist church. Though sceptical at

first, the fête committee agreed to give it a try and this has now become a

firm fixture of the annual event. As well as the opening service, the church

generally has a stall offering games and activities for children, together

with information about the church and our Sunday morning services.

Flower Festival

For the first time ever, we held a flower festival – ‘Autumn Splendour’ -

during October last year. The main part of the festival was set up in the

church, which was open over three days from Friday to Sunday. Choirs

from our three local schools joined us, as did a number of other guest

musicians, singers and dignitaries. Sunday coincided with our Harvest

Festival service, so was very apt. Events concluded with an evening

“Songs of Praise”, attended by the Mayor of Tameside. The event gave the

opportunity for a large number of our parishioners to experience our

beautiful church and meet some of our members and was a great

success.

In the Community

A Training and Sending Church

We have a strong reputation as a training

and sending church which has been

gained over many years. During the past

10 years, the church has taken on and

trained a curate (who is now vicar of our

Deanery church in Mottram), seen two of

our members train to become ordained

priests, another train to become a

licensed pastoral worker, and a fourth

train to become licensed as a reader.

Five years ago, a member who was also a doctor practising in women’s health, felt that she was

being called to serve God overseas. She was encouraged to pursue this as a missionary working

in a local hospital in Tanzania and latterly in Uganda. Throughout this, the church has

contributed to her support and subsequently also to that of another family of missionaries also

working in Tanzania.

Holy Trinity Church and Local Schools

The vicar and two other members of the church serve as Foundation Governors on the

Governing Body of Holy Trinity Primary School. The school has encourage the church to bring

‘Open the Book’ into assemblies. This is an initiative set up by the Bible Society to bring

teaching of biblical stories into schools and has been extremely popular with both staff and

pupils. Ideally we’d like to expand this into the other primary school in our area, but are

currently seeking new members for the team. As noted in our last annual report, a number of

members of our church are also involved with our local schools, either as staff, parents or

volunteer workers.

Pastoral Care and Drop-in at The Stables

As a church we have always believed that pastoral care is the responsibility of all members, but

also recognise that having a group within the church which can help to coordinate and guide

the work can be hugely helpful to the incumbent and those receiving support. Over the last 3

years this group has a held a regular Wednesday morning drop-in at the Stables, a restaurant in

the village, which is open to anyone to have a chat, a cuppa and something to eat. Last year we

were also blessed to see one of our members complete three years of training and become a

fully licensed Pastoral Worker. Further details of the group’s work can be found in the parish

Annual Report.

Churches Together

Hyde & District fellowship hold three or four meetings throughout the year to plan services for

the church calendar. During advent we have, on a Saturday morning, “Carols in the Mall” for an

hour. Also on Advent Sunday we have an evening service hosted by a different church each

year. During Lent this year, we met with St Georges (Hyde) and Hyde Central Methodist to study

“The Passion” together. On one Saturday evening in June we hold a ‘Songs of Praise’, again

changing the venue each year. We hold a Whit walk when churches gather at three o'clock in

Hyde park for a short service led by clergy, and attended by civil dignitary. On Easter Sunday

we have a 'Son rise' service on Werneth Low at 8am with readings and hymns.

Hyde Food Bank

The food bank was set up by the Hyde and District Fellowship of Churches and has been in

operation for over five years, with several of our members being actively involved with its

running. In that time, it has has been used by nearly 2,500 families and single people. A large

amount of food is received from the local churches and the people of Hyde (in excess of 7,900

bags!) and we thank God for all that is given to help those in crisis.

Church Buildings

The Church

The church was built in 1874, with

the tower being added later in

1904, and is Grade II listed. The

fabric of the church is generally in

good order and, whenever possible

we have invested in longer term

solutions to problems. For

example, a few years ago the lead

lined wooden gutters were

replaced with aluminium gutters,

coated to match the originals.

There is an original turret clock,

which had automatic winding

added some time during the 1950’s, but which unfortunately is

no longer operational. The tower also houses a chime of eight

bells, which is played every Sunday. The church drive has been

raised to remove the need to negotiate steps, as part of our

recent disabled access project.

The Vicarage

The Diocese is in the very early stages of planning a new build vicarage in the grounds of the

church centre. This will replace the previous vicarage which is adjacent to this church; this

building is far more suitable for development given it's size, age and condition. We expect the

new vicarage to provide a warm, efficient and bespoke property. If the build isn't finished by

the time a new vicar is appointed, the Diocese has committed to providing a suitable rented

property. We are confident there will be something suitable in the parish.

The Church Hall

The church hall was built in 1982 from funds raised by the church members and is owned by

the PCC. It has a large hall, smaller “committee room”/parish office, kitchen and toilet facilities

(including disabled). The hall is used by the children’s Sunday school, Thursday Club, Mums

and Tots, baby sensory group and a Pilates club, as well as for other church events such as the

Christmas Fair and barn dances. It is also available for hire for parties and other functions.

There is a small hall management committee, who manage the hall bookings and organise

maintenance when it is required.

Leadership and administration

The PCC and Associated Groups

We have an active PCC currently made up of 15 members which has historically met every 2

months, with a break over the summer (July and August). During the interregnum we have

decided to meet on a monthly basis. The PCC also has an annual “away day”, generally

dedicated to reviewing our GAP strategy and

planning actions for the forthcoming year.

The Standing Committee, with 5 members,

normally meets between PCC meetings. During the

interregnum, this has ceased, as the PCC meets

monthly.

The Ministry Team has recently been formed and

consists of the vicar, the two churchwardens, the

pastoral worker, the reader, and a retired cleric.

The purpose of this team is to seek God’s will and

provide leadership for the ministry of the church,

including application of our vision and

development of strategy.

Support

In addition to the PCC, Standing Committee and Ministry Team, we have the following teams

and support staff:

Garden Gang – responsible for maintenance of the church grounds.

Hall Committee – manage the church hall bookings and upkeep of the hall.

Worship group – meet on Wednesday evenings to plan worship for the forthcoming

Sunday service.

Parish Clerk – Supports the vicar in processing paperwork for weddings.

Pastoral support group – organises visits to the sick and elderly in the parish.

Healing prayer team – Prayer for healing takes place after communion on the last Sunday

of the month. We have seen God working in amazing ways through this ministry.

Parish Giving Officer

Electoral Roll Officer

Finance

The church benefited from bequests in the past that provided financial reserves which

supported and subsidised our giving for a number of years. More recently, after a few years of

struggling to meet our Parish Share, in 2015 we met it in full. In 2016 we fell £10,000 short but

the period without a vicar has forced us to face the financial reality of the financial need, above

all others, to meet Parish Share in full each year. This commitment is felt across the

congregation and 2017 ushered in a renewed commitment which has seen our giving increasing

and is now on track to meet what is needed.

But we aren't complacent, we have virtually no reserves and the need to be financial sustainable

in the longer term is a priority. To help address this, we have appointed a Parish Giving Officer

and are looking at a variety of options for raising funds. A copy of the church accounts can be

found in the parish annual report and further detailed financial information is available on

request.

Looking forward

.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

The PCC has completed a SWOT analysis, with the outcomes shown in the table below.

Strengths

Over-arching themes: Friendly, Welcoming,

Hospitable, Enthusiastic, Work as a team,

Teaching and sending church, Utilising

strengths of individuals.

Church Services: Preaching the Gospel, Regular

Sunday attendance, Good fellowship, Welcoming

to families – baptisms etc,

Support and groups: Existing wide range of

groups, Prayer chain, Pastoral support, Small

groups (fellowship, prayer support, spiritual

growth), Involvement with food bank, Ministry

team

Buildings and environment: Good usable

buildings, Beautiful location

Social: Good gatherings, Variety of events

throughout the year, Good food!

Opportunities

Expand contact with non-Christians: Ongoing

work with Mums and Tots and Thursday Club,

Expand contact with local schools, new

members for open the book

Spiritual growth of the church: Identifying

Spiritual gifts, Expansion of small groups,

Develop youth meetings, Further music

amnesties (Occasional Sunday evening

gatherings to try new songs, encourage

participation and explore musical talents),

Develop 30’s age range

Contact through the church building: Set up

Open Church, Look for opportunities to extend

contact through Baptisms, Marriages and

Funerals, Consider further flower festival

Showing God’s love in the Community: Continue

to support the food bank.

New Leader – new ideas.

Weaknesses

There can be a lack of involvement of newer

members

At times we fail to trust God for our finances

We don’t always identify gifts and develop skills

There are challenges with getting people to

engage and volunteer

There have been missed opportunities for out-

reach

We could do more to develop corporate prayer

Older people can feel left out

Threats

Lack of money

Older congregation – no 30’s

Dwindling congregation

Up-keep of buildings

Follow up – failing to notice people struggling

Lack of communication and compassion

Lack of commitment

Competing outside interests and activities,

which stop people coming to church.

Plans for the Future

The following are the priorities which the Lord has brought to our collective mind over the last

few months:

1. A Prayerful People.

We have been struck by the opportunity to become known as a church where God heals.

We would like to explore options for building healing into our services, including the use

of the Anglican Healing Service.

We would like to be able to have the church open to visitors during the week, for quiet

contemplation and prayer.

We want to explore corporate prayer through initiatives such as the Church of England’s

“Thy Kingdom Come” between Ascension and Pentecost.

2. Return and Retain.

Making contact with people who have joined us for worship in the past, but no longer

attend, such as baptism families.

Looking at ways in which we can be more effective in engaging with people new to the

church

3. Sustainable Church.

Ensuring that our giving and fund raising are sufficient to meet outgoings, so that we

can be confident that there will be a church for future generations.

Set up a fund-raising team, to focus on meeting the cost of “big ticket” maintenance

items, where grants can help us make our money go further.

Developing initiatives with our Parish Giving Officer and his team, such as forming a

“Friends of Holy Trinity Gee Cross” group.

Our Next Vicar

We are looking for someone who can:

Provide leadership which develops the vision and mission of the church

Develop collaborative ministry which develops the gifts of the members and allows the

church to grow and engage effectively with the community

Provide spiritually and scripturally based teaching

Support the needs and spiritual development of all ages

Has good financial awareness to maintain a sustainable future for the church

Further details can be found in the Job Profile.

In return we offer you...

An active PCC which is anxious to see the church grow and open to new ideas for doing this.

A strong foundation, with good facilities, on which to build.

A wonderful place to live and make new friends.

What next?

For further details, please contact the Archdeacon of Macclesfield, The Venerable Ian Bishop:

Email: ian.bishop@chester.anglican.org

Telephone: Office 01928 718834 Ext 234

Mobile 07715 102519