(Left to right) Canon Margaret Nicholson, Bishop Mark and Revd Tim Sanderson. Credit: Ian Farrimond
Bishop Mark visited Holy Trinity Church, Jesmond to celebrate the opening of their Centenary Exhibition.
Speaking during a sermon, Bishop Mark went on to describe the church as: “bricks and mortals being built together for the glory of God."
He spoke of how the building was completed in a turbulent time, coloured by war and hardship. When the church was consecrated in 1922 the world was still coming to terms with The Great War and the effects of Spanish Flu.
Bishop Mark added: “We continue to be impacted by the good news and the hope of Jesus Christ in a turbulent time, coloured by war and by hardship, and our answer is to continue to build the Church.
“[We will] continue to build a community full of hope in Jesus Christ, full of love for the people and the community that it serves, full of life because we are living stones built upon THE Living Stone. True churches are never finished because the Living Stone is never finished with us.”
Margaret Nicholson, Chair of the Centenary Planning Group, explained the thinking behind the exhibition. She said: “We want to tell people in our parish and community about God’s love and faithfulness over 100 years.
“We describe what has gone on here over the years in this wonderful building with its adaptable space. However, we’ve been determined to make it very clear that the church is not just the building. It is also the ‘living stones’, the people of God who meet here to worship and celebrate and proclaim his love.
“We hope and pray that the exhibition will provide an opportunity for many people to hear about and encounter the transforming love of God for themselves.”
These sentiments were reflected by Revd Tim Sanderson, Vicar of Holy Trinity. Tim said: “I think people will think that our centenary is all about a building, and the whole point of the exhibition is to blow people’s minds and say it is not just about the building, it is more about the people in the building and God’s faithfulness to us.
“I hope we will get people who have never set foot inside a church before and I hope when they come in, they will see there is more to life than they currently have.
“I hope that our faith boards do that. There are people in the videos talking about how they coped with Covid. What I am hoping is that all of these things bridge across to people with very little church experience and helps them to think maybe there is more out there than they think and that God is real and living and can change their lives too.”
The Holy Trinity Exhibition runs until September and is open Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10am -1pm and on Sundays, 1pm to 3pm. Admission is free and there are activities for children as well as a café.