Worship
The parish of Holy Trinity and St Mary's consists
of two separate churches run by one clergy team. Holy Trinity is a brick
built eighteenth century church whereas St Mary's is nearly a thousand
years old.
Holy Trinity
Holy Trinity has long been the Civic Church for Guildford and for 40 years
(to 1961) was also the Cathedral Church for the Diocese. With its town
centre location it retained these civic duties including celebrating the
installation of each new Mayor and hosting the annual Remembrance Day
and Crown Court services.
Holy Trinity has a strong choral tradition
with a choir consisting of over 40 boys, men and women. The main Sunday
services are:-
10.00am Sung Eucharist (Common Worship)
6.30pm Choral Evensong (Book of Common Prayer)
The 10.00am service is usually attended by 180 to 200 people from various parts of Guildford. The worship could be described as "middle of the road" being neither high church nor evangelical. The service is divided into three main sections:- The Preparation, The Ministry of the Word, and The Ministry of the Sacrament. The first section acknowledges the presence of God. The second section consists of bible readings and a short sermon. The third section starts with the exchange of the sign of peace, and ends following the example of Christ at the Last Supper, with the blessing and sharing of the bread and wine. Whilst the choir lead the singing at this service, the congregation are encouraged to join in at all stages apart from the anthems sung during the distribution of the bread and wine.
This service is the main service of the week, and we seek to arrange activities for all age groups. There is a Crèche for babies and Junior Church for children from the age of 3 years. There is Tower Club for children from the age of 10 years. The Parish has a written Child Protection Policy which is displayed in both churches.
About six times a year we have special family services when all age groups are encouraged to attend and worship together. There are also the main festival services of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost when we all join together.
There are many opportunities for people to help at this service. We have hosts who greet people at the door, sidespersons who assist giving out books and taking the collection, readers and intercessors who help with the readings and prayers. There are also servers who assist the priests with the service. We are always looking for more volunteers to help with these roles. After this service, tea and coffee are served in the Church Hall and items from Traidcraft (a fair trading organisation) are for sale. This gives an opportunity for members of the congregation to greet one another and meet the clergy team.
Choral Evensong at 6.30pm on Sunday evenings is a quieter and more traditional service. It generally follows the pattern laid down in the Book of Common Prayer. This service usually has a smaller congregation who appreciate the choral tradition of the Church of England. The Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis are sung by the choir to a choral setting and they also sing an anthem. There is a short sermon and the whole service lasts for about an hour.
In addition to these services and services for special occasions, Morning Prayer is said every weekday at 8.30am. All are welcome to attend these services.
