Governance and Policies
Our church is subject to the regulations of both Methodist and URC denominations and is an independent charity (charity number 1136623) regulated by the Charity Commission. Our annual reports and accounts are available on the Charity Commission web site.
Trustees. The governing body of Trinity Church consists of the Trustees who are the Minister, the ten elected Deacons and the Treasurer.
Church Meeting. Every member of Trinity Church is a member of the Church Meeting whose decisions must be taken into account by the Trustees.
Deacons. The ten elected Deacons are elected by the Church Meeting and are responsible for the spiritual life of Trinity Church through its worship and mission. The Deacons also provide support to the Minister. Their role is described in more detail in this document.
There are a number of committees including:-
Finance Committee is responsible to the Trustees for the general finance aspects of the work of Trinity Church by monitoring income and expenditure, budgeting, maintaining appropriate financial controls and co-ordinating regular reviews of planned giving.
Property Committee is responsible to the Trustees for the maintenance of the suite of buildings to ensure a suitable, safe and welcoming environment for the worship of God and the provision of a central resource for the local community.
Education Committee organises opportunities for people to explore the faith through study groups, talks and a Book Club.
Mission Committee oversees the outreach programme of Trinity Church both in the local community and internationally.
Pastoral Committee supports the Minister to coordinate the pastoral work of the church.
Ecumenical Church Council
In January 2001 Trinity United Reformed/Methodist Church entered into a local Ecumenical Partnership with St Nicholas Parish Church and Sutton Baptist Church. This Council, with representatives from all of the partnership churches, seeks to find ways for the churches to share in their common life here in Sutton, and to bear witness to our oneness in Christ.
Minutes of all these meetings can be accessed by members here.
Annual Report and Accounts
You can read our annual report and accounts for the year to August 2019 here.
Constitution
Our activities are governed by the following documents:-
Constitution (download as pdf)
Standing Orders (download as pdf)
Sharing Agreement (download as pdf)
Policies
We have adopted the following policies:-
Our Safeguarding Policy and Procedures (see the Safeguarding web page).
Our Health and Safety Policy (download as pdf) describes how we aim to ensure the health and safety of our employees and all who may be affected by our activities.
Our Privacy and Cookies Policy describes how we use and protect personal data in accordance with Data Protection legislation.
Our Data Protection Policy for Volunteers and Staff (download as pdf) sets out instructions to help us comply with our Privacy Policy and the legislation.
Our Photograph and Video Policy (download as pdf) describes our policy on the taking and using of photos and videos on church premises and at church events and their use in order to protect people's privacy.
Our Document Storage Policy (download as pdf) describes how we store meeting minutes and other documents such that they are accessible and secure.