'Hi everyone! My name is Eve Ridgeway, and I am very excited to be coming to Hull in July to begin my curacy at Holy Trinity.

I am originally from 'down South' having grown up in Salisbury, but I have gradually moved north after studying Music at university in Cambridge. Before training for ordination I worked at St. Michael le Belfrey Church in York, primarily with university students in pastoral ministry, but also getting stuck in with musical worship, mission and prayer. I also worked in a cafe in York, which I loved - I would love to have a cafe as part of any future ministry!

I have always been part of a church community but found my own faith at 17, through friends taking me to a wonderful youth group and then a summer youth event called Soul Survivor. One way of describing that time was that it felt like I met Jesus, who I had read about in the Bible, face to face, in worship and prayer, and felt like a relationship had begun that was life-giving, encouraging and exciting. I also gained new brothers and sisters who I could share life with and encourage in return. Being a Christian for me isn't about having all the answers or being perfect, but knowing that I am loved and forgiven, so I can be free to love and forgive others. There's always more to discover of God, and often I discover that through other people!

The church community are really getting behind the £4.5m development project by taking ownership of raising the £50,000 needed to pay for the refurbishment of the shop.

Refurbishing the shop will enrich the visitor experience and provide significant volunteering opportunities for local people, offering them retail experience, customer service skills and a warm friendly environment in which to make friends.  It will also contribute to the running of the church and social welfare programmes.

Since its launch in January this year, an impressive £8,089 has already been raised through donations and fundraising events. These include a bake sale by Archbishop Sentamu Academy sixth form student Olivia Hemingway, a coffee morning organised by Stella Barnes, crafters event organised by HT’s crafters, a quiz night hosted by Jean Fenwick, Ken Knox sold his award winning soup, and Rev Irene Wilson and Jane Owen ate through their larders during lent and donated what they would have spent on shopping.

From 29th March to 1st April, Holy Trinity's chancel was turned into a Hall of Memory and children came to hear the stories of Jesus. It was a week full of excitement, fun and activity, as well as more serious and thoughtful moments. Tim the puppet returned to tell everyone the daily news, Swift and Dash got tangled up in their quest to find the Golden Shield and we learned how to pray using mexican waves! 

The holiday club even took over the 9.30 service at church on the 3rd September, teaching the rest of the church some of the songs from the week and introducing them to key elements of the club and sharing with everyone about the one God we need to love with everything we have. 

To read a full report on the Holiday Club click HERE

Moved by Holy Trinity’s campaign to raise the funds to pay for the refurbishment of the shop, as part of the transformation project, Olivia Hemingway took it upon herself to organise a bake sale and has raised over £95.

Olivia, a sixth form student at Archbishop Sentamu Academy was the first person to pick up and return a fundraising leaflet to register her interest after the campaign launched.

“I heard that the church was trying to raise money and I thought that trying to raise money in school would be the easiest way to do it.” Oliver explains. “The school has had bake sales that were successful before so it seemed like the best idea.

Holy Trinity Church is to receive a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund of £21,800 to undertake surveys, reports and investigations into the condition of the church roof with the aim of securing a further grant of £195,000 from HLF for a new roof at the end of 2016.  They have received a first round pass which means that HLF believes the project has potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money.

The roof is currently in a dire state with church volunteers forced to put out dozens of buckets during Sunday services to catch the rain during heavy downpours.

The church needs to replace the eroded asphalt roof which was put into Holy Trinity during the 1970s and the estimated cost of this will be around £274,000.

This year Rev Irene Wilson and Jane Owen of Holy Trinity Church in Hull are trying something different for Lent.  Instead of giving up a food and going without they are challenging themselves to use up all the existing food in their cupboards and larders, only buying fresh goods when they really need to.

With a budget of only £10 per week to spend on the fresh goods, they aim to donate the savings from their weekly shop to Holy Trinity Church to go towards refitting a shop for volunteers.  Rev Iren Wilson said ”It’s going to be a real challenge thinking about how to use up those old jars and tins.  I’m determined not to waste anything and this will really show me how much I buy when I don’t really need to. That goes for the freezer too!”

With over 700 years of history Holy Trinity Church offers a wealth of topics for a new history group that the church is launching in March 2016.

Dedicated to studying Holy Trinity’s enthralling history the new group will meet at lunchtime on the third Tuesday of each month. The first meeting is on March 15th 2016 at 12 o’clock in the church and is open to anyone interested in finding out more about the history of Holy Trinity.

Holy Trinity's pioneer minister Rev Matt Woodcock is set to take on some extra responsibilities in the wider Hull area to help encourage church growth.

Matt has been appointed the new Deanery Mission Enabler offering support and advice to those churches who are seeking to grow and develop their mission work. He has been on the national team of Leading Your Church Into Growth for over four years and he will also be supporting some of the churches from the deanery attending the diocesan conference in September.

Work is well underway on the churchyard of Hull’s Holy Trinity Church to create a fabulous, uninterrupted and completely renovated open area in Trinity Square.

The redevelopment of Trinity Square, including the grounds of Holy Trinity, is a key element of the multi-million pounds transformation of  the public realm in Hull city centre. 

Holy Trinity has launched a week of prayer and parties.

A range of events and activities are going on for all ages as a way of celebrating all that God is doing and committing to Him all that is planned for 2016.

Holy Trinity’s pioneer minister Revd Matt Woodcock, who is helping to co-ordinate the week, said: “Jesus loved to pray and party. In doing so he gave us a picture of what the Kingdom of God is like. We want to be a church which prioritises prayer and parties."