Holy Trinity Church, Leicester

Background

The Victorian building is situated on Regent Road to the south of the city centre, close to the University of Leicester, De Montfort University and the Leicester Royal Infirmary. Holy Trinity prides itself on being an informal lively church. John McGinley was appointed as Vicar in January 2009 and Elaine Sutherland is the Associate Vicar.

History

The Church Building Act of 1818 provided funds for two new Leicester parishes, one of which was Holy Trinity. The church was built in 1838 to Sydney Smirke's classical design as the city expanded, and formed part of a new suburb. The new parish, also established in 1838, was created out of part of the parish of St Mary de Castro Church.

In 1872, Holy Trinity was completely redesigned by Samuel Sanders Teulon in a High Gothic style, with spire and side turrets in red-purple brick with limestone decoration.

In the 19th century, the church had wooden pews and a single central aisle, with balconies on both sides of the church; the central aisle was occupied by the middle classes and the balconies by their servants. Access to ground floor was via the main church entrance, with two side entrances for the balconies.

Buildings

A significant building project was undertaken in the late 1980s, and there is now a single balcony at the rear of the church. The former main entrance to the church now features a display of a cross behind a glass window, and there is an extended lobby area with the main entrance to the church is to the west of the tower.

The chancel end wall has five arched stained glass windows featuring contemporary designs of the Parable of The Sower (see Matthew 12:1-24), above which there is a more traditional floral design including an emblem of the Trinity, with smaller windows featuring "The Truth" and "The Life", but there is not a window depicting "The Way" (see John 14:6). The chancel marble end wall also features a depiction of the Last Supper.

The pipe organ is in working order and is sometimes used in church services.

The church and nearby buildings are now part of the New Walk conservation area.

Present

Holy Trinity is a Mission-Shaped church, where church members belong to mid-sized Mission Shaped Communities (MSCs) based around geographical locations, social networks or interests. Holy Trinity states that its vision is to "be a community that glorifies God by transforming Leicester and beyond."

The church community is made up of a range of different ages, including many children and young people and a large population of University Students. Holy Trinity is also connected with the ministry of the Charismatic Evangelical movement New Wine and John McGinley, the Vicar, is the local Regional Director.

The church is actively involved in outreach into the local communities in Leicester including an expanding ministry to the city's Homeless called "Triangle." Holy Trinity runs the Alpha course throughout the year as well as a multimedia and arts table-talk style event called "Questions," pioneered by the previous Vicar Roger Morgan, who also introduced "Cell Groups" to the church.

The Sunday services follow a theme during each term. The morning services are family-oriented with music is by a live band and, the evening tends to attract more students and young adults. At each service, the sermons are recorded and are made available as a podcast or can be downloaded individually from the church website in MP3 audio format. On average, attendance at the Sunday services totals 670.

Organ

A specification of the pipe organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register