Trinity Presbyterian Church

2008 was a year of continued excitement, growth and blessing for Trinity Presbyterian Church. Trinity was officially constituted as a congregation by the Presbytery on January 19th, and we received our first members on Feb 1st. Many of the new members shared their stories of faith with those gathered for that special service.

We have continued to have our worship services at Waverley Heights Community Centre. The people of Trinity were blown away by the show of support shown by the Presbytery when they came for a service recognizing the constitution of the congregation. The congregation was thrilled to host the service, even when the Community Centre was double-booked. Everyone showed extreme patience, including the other group using the centre that night, and by the grace of God all went smoothly in the end.

In May we made a huge move when we began worshipping on Sunday mornings at Cinema City McGillivray. That’s right, a movie theatre.

By April 20th, our first four elders were ordained and installed from within the congregation. The assessor elders provided by the Presbytery stayed on until September to provide a smooth transition. We are so very blessed to have such faithful and devoted people to form our first Session and are especially thankful for the guidance and support that the Presbytery provided to help us form our initial session.

In May we made a huge move when we began worshipping on Sunday mornings at Cinema City McGillivray. That’s right, a movie theatre. It is an excellent space to worship. It is a very visible land mark and is just down the street from the property that awaits a Church building. Although it does provide us with some challenges in building
community, we are able to do some very creative ministry through it. Throughout the summer, children who came to church got to enjoy ‘Veggie Tales’ movies on the big
screen.

One of the highlights of the year was our second annual community fun day, held in an area close to the Church property. Many families came from the community and enjoyed
music, games, crafts, food, a clown and a visit from the local Fire Department. It was a great success despite it being a very windy day.

In the fall we began a time of celebrating the new and looking forward to what is next. We celebrated a number of baptisms, hired a part-time music director, held our first “official” Bible Study (although our small care groups, which have been meeting almost since our beginning, have the Bible central to their meetings) and sent volunteers to Anishinabe. We have also begun a visioning process with the elders to help set the direction for the church for the next three years.

—The Reverend Matthew Brough