HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, ELGIN & 'THE CLUSTER'
(Photographs taken by Jeff Lowndes)
On Saturday 13th of September the Rev Christopher Ketley was instituted as Rector of Holy Trinity, Elgin and St Margaret’s, Lossiemouth.
Christopher with Dominic
HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, ELGIN
Holy Trinity Church is located on the edge of the City of Elgin.
It has a strong membership and the Sunday Services are well attended.
Elgin is home to the wonderful ruins of Elgin Cathedral (once known as the Lantern of the North).
The Biblical Garden nearby is believed to be the largest of it's type in Europe (if not the world!).
This view is of the front of the church (with the Sanctuary extending out on the right in a curve). Excellent halls are located alongside the church .
The Team
Rector: Rev'd Christopher Ketley
(Installed as Rector on 13th September 2008).
Curate : Revd Jenny Sclater
Other Clergy in the Team:
Revd Maggie Eaton
Revd Norma Milne
Revd Canon Ruth Tait (Retd)
Revd Robin Forrest (Retd)
Reader: Jeff Lowndes
Services
LINK TO WEBSITE SHOWING THE PEW LEAFLET
This covers all services in the cluster and provides an information sheet.
www.episcopalmoray.org.uk
Baptism & Weddings
The Rector will be pleased to discuss baptism and weddings with you.
The baby sleeps peacefully, every hair on her head has been counted and God knows her by name.
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ORGANISATIONS LINKED TO HOLY TRINITY
MOTHERS UNION
In Scotland, we have over 1,000 members, and the branch at Holy Trinity was the first branch in the Diocese of Moray Ross & Caithness.
The Mothers’ Union branch in Elgin meets socially the 3rd. Wednesday of the month at 2pm. in the Church Hall.
For details of meetings see the pew leaflet, or contact Frances Garrety 01343 814149 or Lynne Taylor 01343 835861
To find out more see the separate page on this website titled 'Mothers Union'
History of this church
Holy Trinity Church, Elgin
Holy Trinity Church, Elgin was consecrated in 1826, it was originally a simple Greek cross with the altar under the window in the North Transept. As the congregation grew the church was extended, firstly to the East with the building of the choir and Apse and then to the West with an extension to the nave, if you look closely outside you can see where the new stonework was joined to the old building.
There is a memorial brass to Hugh Buchan who was Rector when the church was built; this is under the West window. Externally the main feature is the Gothic entrance gable and porch, built to finish the view down North Street, sadly ruined by the building of Alexandra Road, please note also the wonderful gargoyles and carvings that adorn the East end of the church. Internally the church is fairly sparse, leading our eye to the decorated and central Altar, this is deliberate as the main service in this church is focused upon that Altar.
The small Lady Chapel in the South Transept was created in memory of Dean Robertson a former rector and the wall plaques are memorials to local families.
The North Transept is dedicated to St Columba, and has an informal chapel and prayer corner, also housed here is the church organ built by Wadsworth of Salford, please note the small framed altar piece taken from a French church and marked by both British and German bullets from the First World War.
The sanctuary is beautifully light and contains some fine woodwork and a tiled pavement, this is the heart of the church and the focus for Sunday Worship a special place for the congregation.
The Stained glass windows are particularly fine with the sanctuary windows depicting the life of Christ, the North Transept the resurrection and the West Window the good shepherd.
The church also has in it’s possession an historic chalice given to the congregation by Simon Gray it’s inscription reading “To the afflicted church at Keams(Duffus) S. Gray being minister 1765”, this chalice is still used every Sunday at our main service.
History
The congregation of Holy Trinity can trace its continuous history from the reformation in Scotland, through the troubled times of the covenant and the arrival of William of Orange, the divisions of the Jacobite period until the present day.
In 1621 Rev John Gordon was deposed for refusing to sign the covenant and later Rev Alexander Todd was forced to resign as minister of St Giles when Presbyterianism was finally established in Elgin, the Episcopal congregation continued to worship in the walled up Sanctuary of Old St Giles until after the 1715 rising when we were evicted, finding temporary homes in the old Greyfriars church, (Now a Convent) and a small chapel near Thunderton lane, this is the building closed down by the Duke of Cumberland on his way to Culloden.
Following the tragedy of Culloden the Episcopal church suffered many years of persecution and we became but a remnant of our former selves, yet the church survived thanks to the dedication of loyal members and when we were able to worship freely again we bought the land in North Street and began to build our present church.
We are often called the English church but this is an error, we are proud of our Scottish heritage, and thankful to all those who through the centuries have kept the faith and built up our church.
Today
The church is used for worship every day of the year and has an active and spiritual fellowship within it; we have a strong youth programme and a broad cross section of people in the congregation. Our worship is centred on the Eucharist and we welcome people of all denominations and those of none.
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