Sacred Trinity Salford Annual Report 2023
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Easter 2024
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SACRED TRINITY CHURCH
Deanery of Salford, Diocese of Manchester
PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL MEMBERS 2023/24
Rector Andy Salmon Lay Vice Chair: Lorna Cook Churchwardens: Graham Ashworth (from September 2023) Keith Banda (from September 2023) Church Warden Emeritus Les KoT Deputy Churchwarden Vacant Treasurer: Lorna Cook GiU Aid Secretary: Peter Hughes PCC Secretary: Michaela Salmon Deanery Synod Rep Neil Worthington and Keith Banda Safeguarding Co-ordinator Vacant Sides people Graham Ashworth; Keith Banda; Peter Hughes Electoral Roll Officer: Vacant
Other Council Members:
Bethany Wong (2025) From July 2023 Philip Chandler (2026) Lorna Cook (2024) Michaela Salmon (2024) Les KoT (2026) Lev Eakins (2024)
Honorary Clergy: Peter Hughes (from 2nd July 2023)
The PCC accounts are held at;
Co-opera_ve Bank, Delf House, Skelmersdale WN8 6GH
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Rector’s report
As I write this we have just celebrated my 20th anniversary of being priest in charge and Rector of Sacred Trinity. It may be a liTle self-indulgent but I might reflect a liTle on the changes over the 20 years. When I started I was looking aUer St Philips as well and then for 8 years I have only had responsibility for one church but had another half-_me job. Recently I have stopped working for HeartEdge but Sacred Trinity remains, busy though it is, a part-_me post. When I started Sacred Trinity was a small, elderly and in many ways nervous congrega_on. There were usually 12 people in church and we had a good idea who would be there. They were nervous, because they felt neglected and were unsure of what the future held for the church. Today we are normally 30 or more in the morning and have two other services in the week. When I started the congrega_on were mainly people who had grown up in the area and now lived further out from the City Centre. George, a student from Ghana was the excep_on. Today we s_ll have Salford born members of the congrega_on but also people from all over the world. Current na_onali_es include many Hong Kongers and people from Angola, Brazil, Malawi, India, Nigeria, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy, Iran and probably a few more. Some have made Salford their home and others are passing through. Our congrega_on is also very varied in age, gender, sexuality and educa_onal aTainment. We have people in our congrega_on who are doing their PhDs or have professional jobs and others who work in hospitality or security and some who are unemployed. We have more students this year than we have had for a few years, studying at Salford University and also at Manchester Universi_es. When I started at Sacred Trinity the agtude of the congrega_on was that they wanted a service like they were used to on a Sunday Morning and had liTle interest in any other ac_vi_es during the week. These days there is something on most days. When I started people disappeared as soon as the service finished but we introduced the idea of tea and coffee aUer the service and some weeks now it’s hard to get rid of people! Hospitality has become an important part of who we are. Our Being With group that met for 10 weeks in the beginning of 2024 was a par_cular highlight.
We remain a rela_vely small church and the large turnover every year makes us s_ll quite a fragile church. I am grateful to all those who have risen to the challenge and got involved in running the church, especially Graham and Keith for being Churchwardens, Peter for serving as Curate, Lorna as treasurer, Michaela as secretary, Neil as our Synod rep, David for being our Director of Music, Neil Whitaker and Kolyn for help with gigs and crea_ve inspira_on, Paul and Ethan for their varied work as Time for God volunteers and Les for serving on the altar and supplying an endless stream of bad jokes!
Please do read the other reports, which tell of exci_ng developments such as our building plans and our DreamSpace evenings. We are very much looking forward to Peter’s ordina_on as a Priest in June and the future for Sacred Trinity is looking bright. We serve a diverse and rapidly growing popula_on and if we can prayerfully walk with God whilst caring for one another and the community around us we can be a vibrant presence in the heart of our community.
Andy Salmon
Churchwarden’s Report
Let us rise up and repair!
Though God’s mission prepares us for heaven, the fact of the maTer is that it takes place in the real physical world. Nehemiah, who lived in 445 BC as a high ranking Jewish official in the Royal Persian court, realised his
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prac_cal call to lead the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and challenged everyone so passionately that without any hesita_on, all the people said with one voice, 'Let us rise up and rebuild.' (Neh 2:18) In our 21[st] Century Salford Sacred Trinity Church, Revd. Andy Salmon, for whom we are full of gra_tude to God for his 20[th] Anniversary this April as faithful ministers in the parish, has received the same spirit and call as Nehemiah, to lead the work of major repairs to our church building, which work is to start soon.
Tony Wood, recalls and shares the major prepara_ons Andy has inspired us the
parishioners: “An appeal early in 2023 to raise funds for the building renewal project raised over £2k but this wasn't sufficient to cover the cost of detailed architects plans of the work needed to renew and make the church building more suitable for 21st century use. Thanks to Andy Salmon's connec_ons, Sacred Trinity Church were selected as one of the beneficiaries of a match funding scheme run by Salford City Council in the summer of 2023.”
The matchfunding target was to raise £10k. There were specific criteria that donors had to comply to (such as the maximum dona_on per individual was £250) so it was necessary to aTract a good number of generous dona_ons to reach the target sum. The team, led by Andy, launched an extensive social media campaign to coincide with the matchfunding dates of between 10th July and 12th August 2023. We have much to be thankful for that dona_ons were received from the launch date right up un_l the end date which enabled the £10k target to be reached.
There have been subsequent mee_ngs with the architects, BuTress, who have worked on detailed plans for us aware of the funds available to cover their fees. Their proposals are under considera_on. Much greater funding will be needed to cover the costs of whichever scheme is selected but it speaks volumes of Andy's team leadership, that this project is being driven forward not only for our benefit but for the benefit of future genera_ons connected with Sacred Trinity Church.
Graham and Keith as Churchwardens, thank the Building Project Team, and indeed everyone for showing this kind of spirit and strong resolve to commit ourselves fully to repair our church building. Safe space is conducive to building up the lives of people spiritually, and an imposing physical structure is part of evangelism, discipleship and missions, as we par_cipate in pursuing diocesan goals of worshipping, growing, and being a transforming Chris_an presence at the heart of every community in our parish.
“We raised a fantas_c £11,500! This money will go towards the architect plans so that we can apply for further funding. Without these plans we cannot apply for further funding. We've have had a couple mee_ngs with the architect’s and there are 4 op_ons’ available, ranging in scale from minimal to major changes to the building. We are looking at somewhere in the middle, and this will open up and u_lise both the downstairs and upstairs of the church,” Graham explains.
Water, Electricity, and Gas
We also are thankful to Neil Worthington for being fantas_c at checking proper use of water, gas, and electricity at church, both physically and contac_ng u_lity companies with any queries or nega_ons. “Our energy bills have gone up a lot but they would have been much higher if we hadn't already invested in low energy LED lights. We also thank the Booth Trustees for paying for the new and more efficient boiler,” said Neil.
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Churchyard and Safety
Following community police interven_on the number of homeless people congrega_ng in the churchyard has reduced in the laTer part of the year with a beneficial reduc_on in the amount of liTer needing to be collected on a Sunday morning” recalls Keith.
Keith Banda and Graham Ashworth
Curate’s Report
It’s hard to believe it’s only been ten months in my new role as Deacon at Sacred Trinity; so much has happened.
This _me last year we had just had our church visit to Manchester Jewish Museum and Place of Welcome was taking off. We’ve tried a lot of new things this year at Sacred Trinity, from liTle things like “pizza & Taizé” evening service, to bigger projects, like the Elizabeth Gray-King “Open to All” art exhibi_on in partnership with Open Table, and our new Dreamspace monthly performance space.
It’s been a year of generosity and community at Sacred Trinity too. Together, we raised over £10,000 toward ensuring the church building is accessible and fit-forpurpose. The challenges the building faces, from the rising cost of bills to the occasional leaky roof, have been met by the selfless giving of Sacred Trinity’s
community and friends; and the events that delight and aTract so many would not be possible without our dedicated volunteers.
In July I was ordained Deacon at Manchester Cathedral and have been warmly welcomed in this role. It is a joy to proclaim the gospel and a privilege to serve the common cup each Sunday. It’s been a fantas_c learning experience and I’m par_cularly grateful to Andy who, alongside the day-to-day running of Sacred Trinity, has given his _me to quell the anxie_es and ques_ons that come with being newly ordained. Thanks also to Les, who has been a role model and fount of knowledge about the church’s history.
This June I’ll be ordained Priest and will celebrate my first Holy Communion at Sacred Trinity the day aUer. Without the support of this wonderful community, I doubt this would be the case. To share in the life of Sacred Trinity and be part of its story has been nothing short of life changing and I look forward to what the future brings.
Thank you for your support, your encouragement, and your prayers.
Peter Hughes
PCC Secretary’s report - 2024
There were six PCC mee_ngs between April 2023 and April 2024. Copies of the PCC mee_ng minutes are available for inspec_on upon request. Mee_ngs have been hybrid, with some joining online and others mee_ng face-to-face.
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Safeguarding has been a standing agenda item and the PCC has considered various ways to ensure we’re doing everything we can as a church to make sure all members and visitors to the church are kept as safe as possible. Church finances and the building have also featured regularly on our agendas, especially with the con_nuing rising cost of fuel bills and other essen_al costs, to keep the building open and welcoming to our community.
We have discussed the crowdfunder to finance the architects’ report on the op_ons for the redesign of our building. It’s a priority for us to keep moving forward on our plans to make our building fit-for-purpose for the future, more efficient to run and more sustainable.
We’ve also discussed new ini_a_ves such as Dreamspace, now taking place once a month on a Sunday evening which serves to blur the boundaries between church and community events and encourage people on the fringes into a deeper involvement. We’ve planned social events to help the congrega_on get to know each other beTer and to welcome newcomers, as well as events such as Heritage Open Days. We’ve also discussed the programme of services and other ac_vi_es to celebrate Christmas and Easter and
the programme of short courses such as ‘Being With’ to support us in our faith.
This year we said a fond farewell to Ethan Roberts who finished his Time For God volunteer year and welcomed Paul Wasmuth as the new Time for God volunteer. Peter Hughes was deaconed and became our non-s_pendiary curate in July 2023 and we look forward to his pries_ng this July.
Thanks to everyone that has contributed to these mee_ngs and for work carried out by the PCC members between mee_ngs, which enable the church to con_nue its mission.
Michaela Salmon
Synods
I represent Salford & Leigh Deanery on Diocesan Synod, and am thereby an ex officio member of Deanery Synod. Each Synod met three _mes during 2023.
Deanery Synod has had presenta_ons and discussions on Mission & Growth - encouraging people to join our churches and to develop their faith - and on Parish Share - the mechanism that raises most of the money to pay parish priests and the administra_on costs of the diocese of Manchester.
Diocesan Synod has discussed issues around racial jus_ce, discipleship, ways to help churches reduce their carbon footprints (and bills!), and heard reports from our representa_ves on General Synod.
Diocesan Synod is also the Diocesan Board of Finance, which is now seeing something of a turning point in its finances. The Diocese will s_ll see a shortall in its budget for 2024, i.e. we will spend more than we earn, but it remains commiTed to funding 175 "full _me equivalent" s_pendiary (i.e. paid) priests. The move from Church House in Manchester city centre to St John's House in Bury has gone well and has enabled us to release money through the sale of Church House.
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We have also discussed strategies for recrui_ng, mo_va_ng and training new lay leaders, and especially "Focal Leaders" within our mission communi_es, to help take some of the load off hard pressed parish priests.
2024 will see elec_ons for the next three year term of Diocesan Synod. Candidates for elec_on do not have to be members of Deanery Synod to be elected on to the Diocesan Synod, but they must be nominated and seconded by members of Deanery Synod. Please have a chat with me if you feel called to stand for service on Diocesan Synod
Neil Worthington
Music Director’s report 2023 - 2024
Achievements and challenges over the year - Church
Sacred Trinity Church now has an established repertoire of hymns, songs, chants and Voluntaries and the challenge now is to consolidate them. This calls for extra prac_ce _me and it is extremely challenging to find the _me necessary to accomplish this but it is a necessary preliminary before expanding the repertoire with some more challenging and interes_ng music. I am
working on improving singing in the church congrega_on with a 5 minute “Lesson” before each service.
We have been joined by PJ and Kelly who have started playing music in church services, the skills required of a church musician are a valuable set of skills for a musician for which there is no formal training and no exams. My hope is that PJ and Kelly will form the core of a group of accomplished musicians playing music for Sacred Trinity as they learn their craU as church musicians.
Achievements over the year - Choir
Choir aTendance con_nued to grow and there were 20 of us at “Beer and Carols” but numbers dropped drama_cally in the New Year. This is, unfortunately, normal and numbers are recovering to mid-teens. The growth has implica_ons for our singing as we are beginning to tackle more challenging repertoire, with rounds and songs in 4 parts instead of two. We are learning two songs called “Peace White Dove” and “May your cup always be full” which are in complex four party harmony. I intend to re-introduce repertoire from “Songs from a rainbow na_on” a series of 4 part songs from South Africa arranged by Alexander L’estrange.
DreamSpace has now become a monthly ac_vity with the choir singing songs at the beginning and leading a sing-song at the end. The format is challenging and the choir doesn’t have the capacity to learn new repertoire for each concert but as long as no-one minds listening to the same songs more than once, we can con_nue to take part.
Challenges for the year - Choir
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The choir needs to con_nue to grow so that, even when numbers decline, as they always do through the year, the choir will s_ll be a successful group taking non-musicians and reluctant musicians and welding them into a successful ensemble of enthusias_c and capable singers. There needs to be more marke_ng over the coming year, mostly online as this seems to be the most successful.
“Time for God” volunteer
As this year’s “Time for God” volunteer, I thank everybody in Sacred Trinity for the support, the community, and the friendships that we are able to share. It has been and will con_nue to be a unique and special _me and I am truly thankful for every one of you!
My schedule varies each week but usually I start on Monday mornings at 8.30 at the local primary school where I assist the teachers with simple tasks throughout the day un_l the aUernoon. I occasionally can help with individual teaching and support the teachers on special occasions such as day trips. In the evening, I prepare the church for choir prac_ce and welcome the members of the choir with tea, coffee, and biscuits.
I usually start Tuesdays by joining the online morning prayer with Andy and his colleagues. AUer that I set up the church for “Place of Welcome” during which I welcome people, who are coming in, by serving coffee/tea/ toast, having a lot of conversa_ons, and trying to help people with oUen unique requests.
During Wednesdays I am at L’arche community in the south of Manchester, assis_ng people with learning difficul_es to manage their day. It is always great to be in house Rose and the work there is not only useful but suppor_ve, necessary, and important as well. Some days are busier than others, but every day is different, and it is always something exci_ng going on. In the evening, I cycle over to Sacred Trinity, set up, and stay for “Silence in the City”.
Thursdays are normally the most relaxed days of the week. Andy and I do all the administra_ve work for the upcoming week (such as the Mailchimp, no_ces and social media) and take care of the building and whatever needs doing. I help when the Camera Club is gathering in church as well.
I start Sundays by going down to church and preparing the hymn books, opening the church, and assis_ng in different ways. Occasionally I do the reading or the prayers. AUer the Service I help in the back of church by making tea/ coffee and I then prepare the set up for Sacred Space. In the evening, I aTend and help with Sacred Space.
Addi_onally, there are a variety of other occasional things going on at Sacred Trinity. We host several faith groups, gigs and different mee_ngs which are not happening each week but oUen. In this, I prepare the facili_es, welcome people, and give my support wherever it is needed.
As an evalua_on of my _me and work here, I am happy to say that I feel like I have become more useful in most tasks and areas of the work. Even with difficult and stressful _mes, I and all the suppor_ng people in the congrega_on were able to keep up with it. I have developed new skills and confidence especially through the work at L’arche and the church and I enjoyed working every single day.
However, my role as a volunteer at the local primary school has not been so easy and I don’t feel that I have been as helpful as I could be. Andy and I are s_ll working on an improvement to the situa_on.
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Nevertheless, I have to say that it was an honour to be working in with and for all of you. The _me here shaped me in different ways and every moment was a valuable experience to cherish or to learn from. During my _me I have had a lot of support from so many people of this congrega_on, and it was a true blessing to be amongst each one of you, Thank you!
Paul Wasmuth
Manchester UniversiEes’ Guild of Change Ringers
Ringing at Sacred Trinity has been very successful over the last year. We have had several new ringers start learning, making fantas_c progress on Tuesday evenings, when we offer our learner's prac_ce between our handbell prac_ce and main prac_ce. We have also enjoyed being able to ring many peals and quarter peals this year, with a successful peal rung for the MUGs Annual Dinner in March. Thank you as always for the con_nued support from the Church and congrega_on to allow us to carry on ringing the bells so regularly.
Eleanor Wood
DreamSpace Evening
In March 2024 we launched our regular music and spoken word evening on the second Sunday evening of every month. The ‘DreamSpace Evening’ involves music, poetry and spoken word and is an opportunity to come together not just to be entertained, but to hopefully receive some ‘inspira_on for the journey’ too.
The evenings have been going well so far, with good numbers aTending and some inspiring performances. It’s also been great developing links with the wider community. The project definitely has a gentle ‘missional’ focus as we seek not only to create a welcoming and crea_ve space for people, but also to gently weave some spiritual themes into the programme.
DreamSpace Crea_ve was a project I developed over lockdown to encourage crea_vity in all types of people. Similar to the Seeds of Hope Day last year, the DreamSpace Evenings are all about crea_ng a safe space for folk to perform and share their God-given talents. It’s been a blessing to encourage new people to perform alongside more seasoned performers, and it already feels to be developing into a lovely suppor_ve community.
It’s a real blessing for me to be part of a church that encourages crea_vity, and a huge thank you to everyone from church who’s been involved in the project so far. It’s s_ll early days, but we’ve been delighted with the response from people so far and we’re really looking forward to seeing how the project develops over the coming year. Thanks everyone!
Neil Whitaker
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Chapel Street Camera Club
Chapel Street Camera Club has in the last 12 months welcomed a couple of new members to our weekly meet, and we are always looking for more to join us.
We con_nue to meet every Thursday 1.00-3.00pm to visit various loca_ons in and around Manchester and Salford but are always looking for new places to visit – as long as they have a coffee shop nearby! (We’ve not changed our name yet to “Cameras and Cake”.
We always post details of our visits and photos of same on our facebook page.
We had an exhibi_on at Castlefield Viaduct last August, the theme being Manchester, which was a great success, and this was followed with the photographs being exhibited at Sacred Trinity. We are looking
where we can next exhibit and a theme for same. We generally have a meet about every 6 weeks at Sacred Trinity to plan the next few weeks visits.
Our weekly Challenge con_nues on our Facebook page (Chapel Street Camera Club) where our membership has grown to 153. It’s a public group and any of our members can post and join in the Challenge. There have been some amazing photographs. The prize for the weekly Challenge winner is you get to pick the next week's Challenge. Anyone can post up to 6 photographs as part of the Challenge.
Our group is open to anyone who is interested in mee_ng up socially and enjoys taking photos (and enjoys coffee/cake!). You don’t need an expensive camera and mobile phone camera is sufficient as you can get some great photos on them. (If you go into Arndale you can’t use an expensive camera – but you can use a mobile phone camera!)
If you would like more informa_on or want to join us on our Thursday meet, check the FB page under our name.
Mike Aspinall
Electoral Roll
Our Electoral Roll has been revised and is currently 35 people.
Safeguarding
We work in line with the Na_onal Church safeguarding policy and procedures. We need to recruit a new person to take on the role of parish safeguarding officer.
Treasurer’s report – 2023
I present the accounts on behalf of Sacred Trinity Church PCC, for the year ended 31 December 2023.
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It is encouraging to see that giving by standing order increased by 40% and also that substan_al dona_ons were received for the church building fund, these will ini_ally go towards further architects' fees to take the plans to the next level. The electronic means of dona_ng are becoming more familiar and well used. Our thanks go to everyone that has supported Church this year.
If you are able to giU aid dona_ons please do so as this is an important addi_onal source of income for us and if you need any assistance regarding this, please speak to Peter who acts as our GiU Aid Secretary, or of course Andy or myself.
Rental income has however been seriously impacted because Church House no longer pay for parking, following the move of their staff from Manchester to Bury. If you know anyone that might like weekday / day_me parking near the city centre, please speak to Andy.
Various groups and external rentals have con_nued to make use of the facili_es at Sacred Trinity and we are always on the lookout for new opportuni_es to enhance this source of income.
We have benefited from an increase in interest rates on the funds in our deposit account however, due to a change in banking procedure at CCLA we only received three interest payments as the usual receipt at the very end of December was paid early January 2024 instead, this was a one off occurrence and we s_ll received the full amount of interest due it was simply a change in _ming.
Unfortunately, in late 2022 we were the vic_ms of some vandalism which resulted in considerable window damage, we were however able to make an insurance claim which was reimbursed in early 2023 when the corresponding expenditure was paid, of course the excess premium has therefore impacted on our cash balance.
In terms of expenditure generally, Church running expenses increased by 70%, largely because of the drama_c increase in gas and electricity costs, for which we only received a small amount of assistance with this year.
I have added further notes on the General Fund page of the accounts, which explain in more detail the sundry receipts and other expenses, which I hope are self explanatory.
Thanks again this year to Neil Worthington who spent _me dealing with our u_lity contracts.
We were able to support The Booth Centre; The Children’s Society and Chris_an Aid during the year.
Hopefully the figures in the accounts are self-explanatory however if anyone has any specific ques_ons, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
David Mar_n has again independently examined our accounts and has signed them off and his note is available upon request. This however is David’s last year as our Independent Examiner and I’d like to record our sincere thanks to him over the last 20 years for his assistance with the accounts.
Again, I take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to church in the past twelve months, which has enabled us to pay our parish share in full and maintain the running costs of the church.
We look forward to 2024. Lorna Cook
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