KIRK SESSION
The Kirk Session is responsible for the spiritual oversight of the congregation. The Minister is the “Moderator” (chairman) and we currently have 13 Elders.
Please click on “Leadership” in the top menu to view the Elders profiles.
The Session meets each month to study God’s Word, pray, and seek God for the direction of the congregation. Time is spent discussing many aspects of church life, including;
Pastoral Visitation
– The Minister has overall responsibility for Pastoral Care in the congregation, but not sole responsibility. This is shared with the members of Session who take personal responsibility for a number of homes within a geographical area which is called a “District”. The Minister visits all homes, while the Elder visits their district. Visiting varies from lunch meetings to home and hospital visitation. Visiting helps to keep in touch with the families who are connected to the congregation.
We have a Pastoral Visitation team consisting of a number of people who are gifted and passionate about connecting with people who are house bound and don’t get out to church any more. These visits form part of a structured plan and would be more regular than the Minister’s or Elders visits.
New Members
Twice each year we offer a New Members course. This course is run over three evenings with a short informal interview at the end. The topics of the three nights are:
- Christ and His Church
- The Sacraments
- PCI (Presbyterian Church in Ireland) and Trinity.
The interview at the end is a more personal and informal chat to ask if this is the right time for Church membership. Anyone wanting to join our congregation is then received into membership at our May or November communion services. (Check out the Worship Service link for information on Communion)
For a chat about becoming a member of Trinity Please speak to our Minister:
Sacraments
– Communion & Baptism. The Session has responsibility for sacramental discipline. This includes approving applicants for Baptism and new members to the Lord’s Table at Communion.
– In the Presbyterian Church we celebrate the sacraments commanded by Jesus. These are Communion and Baptism. In celebrating:
– Communion
We remember Christ’s Death on the Cross. The bread and wine used symbolises how Jesus’ body was broken and His blood was shed, taking the punishment our sin deserved. Communion is generally celebrated in May and November, at Trinity we also have communion on the first Sunday in January and September, and on Good Friday.
Communion takes place at a service of worship where all the people who have Jesus as their personal Saviour share in the bread and wine thanking God for Christ’s sacrifice for us. For the house bound members of the congregation who can’t come to the Communion service, the Minister and one or two Elders will take Communion to their home usually after the May or November celebration. It is at the May and November Communion services where new members are received into the fellowship of the congregation.
– Baptism
In Baptism we remember the promise made by God to bless believers and their children. We live under the promise (Covenant) made to Abraham in Genesis. The promise Abraham received from God had the sign and seal of circumcision. Since Christ’s blood was shed on the cross once and for all there is no longer the requirement for the bloodshed in circumcision. We believe the new sign and seal to be Baptism, we therefore baptise the children of believing parents and adults on the profession of their faith.
Baptism is celebrated during a morning service where the church family are present to share in and be reminded of God’s promise to those who believe.
If you would like to make enquiries about our sacraments please contact our Minister.
EVANGELISM
Connecting with the community around us and sharing the Good News about Jesus is very important to us. Connecting and relationship building is something we promote on a personal one to one basis and through a range of Church events. We also have a team of people who are passionate about Evangelism and see this as their ministry. The team open Solid Ground (link required) when other events are being run. One example is during our Holiday Bible Club week where Solid Ground is available for parents to have a cuppa when leaving off or picking up their kids. This allows us to build relationships with people who are not connected to the congregation. Then when we run specific evangelism events and courses we have removed the barrier of awkwardness that often exists.
Our organisations run various Evangelistic services and a range of events throughout the year. Our main program would be Christianity Explored a seven week Bible study based on the Gospel of Mark, exploring some questions which cut right to the heart of Christianity. The course is held in Solid Ground and is very informal. Those attending need no prior Biblical knowledge and there is no expectation to read or pray. We deliver this course completely free of charge, you don’t even need to own a Bible as a copy of Mark’s Gospel is supplied with the course material.
Dates for services, events and Christianity Explored can be found on our web site and on social media.
If you would like further information about attending Christianity Explored or you would like to explore your giftedness to be part of our Evangelism team then please contact:
FELLOWSHIP
There is a very strong family feel at Trinity. We enjoy a time of fellowship in Solid Ground (Greyabbey) and Solid Rock (Cloughey) after each service. We have a team of gifted people who ensure we get a cuppa tea or coffee and biscuits after the service, they also organise a few events throughout the year. While these events are primarily focused on fellowship, we encourage our members to offer invitations for non members to join with us.
See our Facebook page for details of upcoming events.
John heads up our Fellowship team and can be contacted on 07771 890059.
MISSION
Mission is the Church fulfilling Christ’s command to continue the work that He started. Jesus Christ gave His disciples this command in Matthew 28:19 “Go and make disciples of all nations”. Jesus drew people to Himself for salvation and eternal life. Our job is to point people to Jesus. In fulfilling His command, we want to follow His example. Jesus modelled a ministry of love and compassion, often acting in a practical way to help those in need.
There is a strong theme in the scriptures reminding us that our faith is to be revealed in a practical way. Jesus gives many commands and describes Mission in various verses of the Bible.
- Matthew 22:39 “Love your neighbour as yourself”
- Luke 24:47 Jesus tells His disciples that the Good News of the Gospel will be communicated to “All nations, beginning in Jerusalem”.
We combine these verses and begin our mission not in Jerusalem but in Greyabbey.
At Trinity, we seek to serve our local community in Greyabbey through a number of ways.
- The discretionary fund that provides small payment to individuals and families who find themselves in need of financial assistance.
- Members of the congregation acting out of love for the people in the community around us by painting & decorating, gardening, lifts to appointments, messages to the shops, etc.
- The Church supports the Local Community Association.
We also seek to support those in need in the surrounding area:
- The Church makes a yearly contribution to Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s United Appeal for Mission. This contributes to the wider ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which includes a wide range of church projects including evangelism, youth ministry, home and overseas mission, training of ministers and Sunday School teachers, communications and social witness.
- We support the Peninsula First Responders. This is a team of local volunteers who attend 999 calls where chest pains have been reported to provide important First Aid until an ambulance arrives.
- Each month we have collections for the Storehouse North Down.
- At Christmas, we collect gifts for the Belfast City Mission of toys and other gifts, to be distributed amongst children in Belfast.
Looking beyond our island and inspired by Jesus’ commandment to the disciples to make disciples of all nations, Trinity seeks to support initiatives through financial support, prayer and service. This currently includes:
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s World Development Fund. Over the Advent and the Christmas season the church aim to raise £500,000, or more, for development projects overseas.
Tearfund
Is a leading relief and development charity, working in partnership with Christian agencies and churches worldwide to tackle the causes and effects of poverty. We support the work of Tearfund throughout the year with a variety of events and activities.
Stand By Me
Is an organisation which provides homes, schools and care centres in some of the poorest countries to the world’s most vulnerable children. The Church, in particular RE:GEN and K4C support the work of Stand By Me throughout the year with a range of events and activities.
Samaritan’s Purse
Organise Operation Christmas Child each year. Through this initiative, members of our congregation prepare gifts in a shoe box which are then distributed throughout the world to children in need.
In addition to this, each year we have a number of individuals who serve in short term mission teams in Ireland and all over the world. Many of our congregation arrange events throughout the year to raise much needed funds for mission projects throughout the world and details of these are included in our calendar.
It is our prayer that through our practical service or financial contributions that many people would come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.
For more information or if you would like to discuss Mission at Trinity, please contact:
COMMITTEE
The principle which we find throughout the New Testament is that God calls different people to different ministries. We are not all gifted in the same way, and we are not all called to serve God in the same way. Acts 6 contrasts the “ministry of the word” with the “ministry of tables”. Both are essential Christian ministries. Serving God by being a member of the Congregational Committee is an important area of service requiring particular gifts.
Our Committee is elected by the members of the congregation for a three year term. The Committee is responsible for managing four key areas of our congregation and are divided into the following sub-committees
Communications
– Are responsible for the training and safe operation of the audio visual equipment, the maintenance of our website and social media pages, and the production of recordings. This sub-committee are also responsible for the production of the weekly announcements, the online Church calendar, the Church annual report and coordination of Church publicity in relation to Church Events.
Finance
– Seek to be effective stewards of the Church finance by monitoring income and expenditure budgets, and analysing trends.
Property
(PSC) – Seeks to be effective stewards of the Church property by co-ordinating ongoing maintenance and new development projects as well as managing the cleaning rota. The PSC also look after the Health & Safety and Fire Warden Training, providing advice and support to leaders of organisations and undertake relevant risk assessments.
Our Committee meetings are chaired by our Minister, and our Church secretary records the minutes and deals with correspondence. If you would like to get in touch with the Committee please contact Fiona on 07745 495684 or committeesecretary@trinitygreyabbey.org
