Holy Trinity RC Church, Newark.
A Church’s Faith

We live in a century gleefully engaged in celebrating the "death of God" and ikon topples after ikon in the name of progress. Big cities present us with a landscape of ancient churches dwarfed by the new skyscrapers temples of industry and commerce. A very apt sign of the times. God is dead! So they say ..... If this is true, then Newark must be an exception because in the past year the two newest buildings of note, apart from the shopping precinct, have been two churches. The Anglican Church of St Leonard and our own Church of the Holy Trinity.

When a new church rises up on the skyline, especially if it is sponsored and built by the local people, it is a clear sign of the strong faith and great generosity of that people. Our new church is most certainly such a sign. T nere is a community of Catholics here in Newark with a wonderful faith and generosity of spirit which gives powerful witness that Jesus Christ is not dead but He is Risen and that His Presence in the world is very active and real. Father Brown and myself are very much aware of the privilege it is to be called to work with such people as their priests.

This day of the Consecration of the new church of the Holy Trinity has been reached only after much frustration and disappointment. The problems connected with the building, the long delay and the huge extra cost have received a lot of publicity and have caused much heartache. But there has been some wonderful side effects. We can never forget the kindness and the sympathy we received from the Newark community at large, including the media. But most of all we cherish the care and support we received from the other churches of Newark and district. The messages, the kind words and donations gave us encouragement at a time when it was most needed and goes to show that the spirit of ecumenism is developing within our churches.

In the pages that follow, there is a brief but interesting account of the growth of Catholicism in Newark since 1800. Most of the growth has developed from Parliament Street and the old Holy Trinity church. Thousands of people worshipped and prayed, rejoiced and were sad, praised God and were reconciled to Him within its walls. As we leave Parliament Street today for our new modern-style church in Boundary Road, we realise how much we owe those past generations who have preserved the faith for us. May God reward them all and enable us to live up to the heritage they have passed on to us.

I thank all the people who have helped to build our new church, the architect Mr Horsley, the builder Mr Barrie Roberts and his men. I thank Mr Maurice Cable who helped so much in the production of this booklet. I thank Father Brown, Monsignor O’Dowd and all the priests that served here in previous years. But most of all I want to thank the great people of this parish of Holy Trinity for their support and help and patience. May God reward you and bless you and your families.

Your Parish Priest
Fr Tim O’Sullivan