About Us 

Our Journey

The Trafford Circuit brings together a merger of three circuits Altrincham, Sale and Stretford & Urmston Circuits.  Ending well and beginning well is crucial to our well being and reveals a depth of similarity to all the endings and beginnings in our lives. The Methodist circuit is the primary unit for mission

"Standing Order 500 [1]states that ‘The Circuit is the primary unit in which Local Churches express and experience their interconnexion in the Body of Christ, for purposes of mission, mutual encouragement, and help. It is in the Circuit that presbyters, deacons and probationers are stationed, and local preachers are trained and admitted and exercise their calling. The purposes of the Circuit include the effective deployment of the resources of ministry, which include people, property and finance, as they relate to the Methodist churches in the Circuit, to churches of other denominations and to participation in the life of the communities served by the Circuit, including local schools and colleges, and in ecumenical work in the area including, where appropriate, the support of ecumenical Housing Associations’.

Within this backdrop the Circuit Meeting is tasked with a variety of activities, including watching over, watching out for, monitoring, discerning, directing, guiding, encouraging and caring; all of this is done in the context of reflecting what God has done, is doing among us now, and what God might require us to do in the future as members of the body of Christ.

It is well documented that Methodism exercises its oversight through Circuit appointed bodies (Circuit Leadership Team and Circuit Meeting) as well as individuals (lay officers appointed locally, which include Pastoral Visitors, Church Stewards, Church Treasurers, and others) working with ordained staff stationed in the circuit and lay employees directly employed by the local Church or through the Circuit.

It’s therefore in our DNA that we are connected to the other local Churches, and the Circuit, in the belief that all Christians receive gifts and God–given skills and therefore all have a part in forming its vision. 

As a Circuit/s we respect and should reflect on what it is to be Christ-like and work in relation with others. Working in this way also reflects the Methodist doctrine of the priesthood of all believers; recognising different orders of Ministry (Presbyter and Deacon), as well as a variety of lay roles who exercise Ministry, and who all share in the Ministry and mission of God. The Circuit delegates some of its day-to-day work to other bodies, for example it may be the Circuit Finance Meeting, the Circuit Leadership Team, and the Circuit Property Committee, which are all required to report to and make recommendations to the Circuit Meeting.

Within the context of the nature of Circuit and recognising that local Church Councils are Managing Trustees within their own right, it would be difficult, and almost impossible, for the Circuit to make specific recommendations for the future on every issue that Churches might wish it to. However, it is less difficult to commit ourselves, through conferring and prayer, to work together in ensuring that in all that we do, as a Circuit, we seek to be faithful to the call of God and the mission for the Church, as well as discharging the legal duties as trustees of various groups, and funds. In doing this we seek to hold each other in prayer for our common life as a Circuit. The nature, theology and role of the circuit can be defined in the following way: ‘We can take the broader view by seeing how the different parts fit into the whole so that all parts flourish and fulfil Gods Mission.’  (Those parts being local churches and its members.) 

The Methodist Church and other churches are facing a time of great change, and our Circuits are not be unaffected. The prospect of change can be alarming, but it is also exciting. The whole Church is going to look very different in a few years from now, as we will. We have an opportunity not to be merely the victims of change but to take the initiative, under God’s guidance, in order to serve God, the best we can in the future.

Throughout 2023 and 2024 a period of discernment and prayer revealed a desire to merge three circuits into one with the prime purpose of releasing people and assets for mission.  The merger and our subsequent mission will continue to change as we pray, worship and confer together and join God in authentic and transformative mission in our communities. Our values, intention and mission plan will allow us to release resources and respond to the needs of others. 


Our churches are made up of people from all walks of life and from many different nations. We love diversity and we love to see new people. We really hope that you will feel right at home. Our mid week and Sunday services begin with a warm welcome and an invitation to join in celebrating the good news about Jesus. Our worship is dynamic and lively with a mix of older hymns and more contemporary songs as we seek to lift up His name together. We expect God to meet with us and speak to us.

We are also very active in our local community working alongside other agencies as well as running our own projects as an expression of the love of God in a practical way. Our Call to Action Page details ways in which we, as church, seek to show and reveal the compassion of God in our local communities.