Way Forward Updates

August 18, 2026

We would like to give an update from the Way Forward Implementation Team. But before we do that, we would like to acknowledge the members of the team who continue to work hard on this effort: Anne McGovern, Brian Field, Susanne Sawyer, Eric Banks, and Warren Henry. We receive input from our pastors Nick and Rebecca and have the assistance of Jim Miller, our Presbytery connection.

In an effort to remain transparent and get your input on this work, we have hosted several Cottage Meetings over the past few months. Overall, they were well received, and we estimate we were able to reach about half of the active family units in our church. We appreciate your level of engagement with all the dialogue and feedback. We learned a lot from you, and we’re still reacting to your input. That said, we will likely have another round of Cottage Meetings in a few months as progress unfolds.

The main item we’re working on now is the draft of a Consultant/Development Contract for Phase 1. The contract will spell out how the church will work with our consultant/developer as we continue planning what the Village at Trinity will look like. This is taking a while, but we want to do it in the right way. We’ve had our attorneys look at the draft multiple times and have had Josh Durham look at the contract and provide comments. We estimate that finalizing a contract for Session to approve of will take a few more weeks. This step needs to be completed before we can submit a rezoning plan to the city for their approval.

At the same time Philips Academy is proceeding down the path with fundraising for their new building. They would like to locate the building in the northwest corner of the campus on Providence Road. In addition, they would like to buy the land underneath their building. We are still working through the impacts to the site plan for this change and more information will follow. Of course, the Session would need to approve this, and the Congregation would need to vote on any land sale.

Now that we have an idea of the proposed location of the new Phillips Academy building and that the rear parking lot area will remain essentially unchanged, the work related to the Weekday School can focus on the location of the new school entrance as well as how stacking (queueing) would work to safely get the children of both schools on and off campus each day in the Village at Trinity. That work is ongoing.

We’re fortunate that Eric Robinson has joined the church as Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries as we think through what our campus will look like. We will seek guidance, along with yours, on updates to our physical spaces to best engage not only the youth in our congregation but the youth in the community.

These are just some of the bigger updates. We remain in contact with many advisors and experts, including the city, our city council representative, potential missional housing partners, the presbytery, and are relying very heavily on the guidance and expertise from TFLLC in making this all happen. Expect continuing communication from the Way Forward Implementation Team through the Weekly Word and our website. FAQs are planned soon based upon your previous thoughts and questions, and we will continue to update you periodically in Worship. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a Way Forward Implementation Team member or email us at wayforward@trinitypreschurch.org if you have questions or concerns.

Thank you for your ongoing support as we continue this new and exciting chapter of Trinity’s future.

June 10, 2026

The team continues to listen, learn, and discern. Over the past few months, we have hosted eight cottage meetings, met with small groups, spoken with the Philips Academy Board, met with the directors of Philips Academy and Weekday School, and held many one-on-one conversations with members. These conversations have been invaluable. Your questions, ideas, concerns, and hopes have helped us refine our thinking, evaluate possibilities, and explore new opportunities. This work remains very much in progress, and we believe the strongest vision for Trinity will be one shaped by the wisdom of the entire congregation. If you have questions, feedback, or ideas that you would like to share, we would love to hear from you. Please click HERE to send us a note by email. Thank you for being part of this important work.

April 7, 2026

The Way Forward Implementation Team continues to have conversations with the City of Charlotte regarding zoning and entitlement. However, progress is moving a bit slower than we initially anticipated. While we are eager to provide the Congregation with additional information about the project, the planned Town Halls may not take place until this Fall. To keep everyone informed ahead of the Town Halls this fall, the Way Forward Implementation Team will be organizing a series of gatherings that we are calling Cottage meetings. These will begin after Easter, running from mid-April to mid-May. We plan to integrate these meetings with existing gatherings where possible, such as Bible Study classes, and will also schedule dedicated Cottage meetings on Sundays after Worship. The meetings are intentionally designed to be small, with around 15 participants per session. While signing up will not be required if you are a part of an existing group, we will ask Congregation members to sign up for the Sunday afternoon Cottage meetings. All gatherings are expected to last approximately 90 minutes. During these, we will cover:

• A brief history of the work undertaken
• The theological foundations guiding our efforts
• An overview of the Vision for the project
• An early draft of the site plan
• Discussion of high-level financials

In addition, these meetings will provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions and engage with the Implementation Team. Cottage Meeting Attendance If you are a member of the Thursday Class, the Sons of Timaeus, or the Men’s Bible Study Class, you do not need to do anything. The Way Forward implementation team will come to you. Those dates are:

• Thursday Class – April 16
• Sons of Timaeus – April 17
• Men’s Breakfast – May 11, if needed

There are two planned Cottage Meetings on Sunday afternoons at 12:15 p.m. Please feel free to bring your lunch if you attend. You will need to register for this, so that we can keep the group size to 15 or so folks for each Cottage meeting. Those dates are:

• May 3: Click on this link to register https://tinyurl.com/2tcrnncj
• May 17: Click on this link to register https://tinyurl.com/mpm83vdp

Thank you for your ongoing support and engagement.

April 1, 2026

The Way Forward Implementation Team continues to have conversations with the City of Charlotte regarding zoning and entitlement. However, progress is moving a bit slower than we initially anticipated. While we are eager to provide the Congregation with additional information about the project, the planned Town Halls may not take place until this Fall. To keep everyone informed ahead of the Town Halls this fall, the Way Forward Implementation Team will be organizing a series of gatherings that we are calling Cottage meetings. These will begin after Easter, running from mid-April to mid-May. We plan to integrate these meetings with existing gatherings where possible, such as Bible Study classes, and will also schedule dedicated Cottage meetings on Sundays after Worship. The meetings are intentionally designed to be small, with around 15 participants per session. While signing up will not be required if you are a part of an existing group, we will ask Congregation members to sign up for the Sunday afternoon Cottage meetings. All gatherings are expected to last approximately 90 minutes. During these, we will cover:

• A brief history of the work undertaken
• The theological foundations guiding our efforts
• An overview of the Vision for the project
• An early draft of the site plan
• Discussion of high-level financials

In addition, these meetings will provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions and engage with the Implementation Team.

January 30, 2026

Early planning work is underway on the Village at Trinity. You have met the Team members in the congregation working on this effort. Now, we want you to meet some of Trinity’s Key Partners who are invested with us in unlocking the true value of our land assets.  We have hired a developer, Shook-Kelly. Terry Shook is connected to our congregation, and his company is nationally recognized as an award-winning design firm specializing in architecture, interiors, and branding. Some of their past projects in Charlotte have included Union Seminary, Waverly, Birkdale Village, and The Sharon (Sharon Towers). These developments have showcased Shook-Kelly’s ability to blend innovative design with functionality, contributing to the growth and modernization of urban spaces in Charlotte and North Carolina.  Doug Bradley will be co-developer. He is a member of our congregation, whom you have met in earlier communication. Doug has been a general contractor for many years and has redeveloped several large multi-family residential buildings.  Both Terry and Doug were recommended to us on the advice of Liz Ward, another connected partner at Give Impact. Give Impact is an advisory services firm focused on the underhoused and upward mobility solutions through real estate. Liz consulted on our original Vision plan and recommended Terry and Doug to us for their skill set, their connection to us, and their intentional desire to invest in the future of our church.  Two other partners are key. One is our Weekday School (WDS), directed by Amy Vaughn. You all know Amy. She and her staff have made a vibrant, welcoming, and learning space for some 200 children. With the proposed changes for the WDS in the Village at Trinity plan, Amy is most excited about being able to better secure the safety of our children while adding new space for enrichment of existing programs and adding new programs within the existing school charter. The school is thriving with a student enrollment waitlist.  Lastly, but no less important, is our key partner, Philips Academy. Our primary contact there is Deborah Hofland, Executive Director. Philips Academy is excited by the addition of a new building (they will separately raise money to build) and the ability to add new students (current census is 85 students – space-capped enrollment), with additional space to fully implement a bridge transition program and a vocational training facility. Philips Academy just hit a 20-year milestone since its founding by members of our congregation. The Way Forward Implementation Team

December 16, 2025

Earlier this fall, a new task force was formed to help our congregation realize a new vision for our campus to ensure we can continue to meet the needs of our church family and community for decades to come. This new task force, the Way Forward Implementation Team (WFIT), is responsible for implementing the plan developed by the Way Forward Task Force. Reporting to Session, the WFIT will provide oversight and governance of the plan to transform our campus for the future, working closely with our consultants and community partners to guide you through options and decisions along the way. You will hear much more from the WFIT in the coming months. In the meantime, please take time to get to know the team, many of whom have been involved in this transformational work since the beginning. Warren Henry Warren Henry, Sr. and his wife Sarah have been members for 28 years. They have two grown children (Doug and Marie) and two grandchildren (Feliks and Lili). He is retired from the banking industry, and his work focused on Risk Management. Past church service includes serving on the Session two times, serving as Clerk of Session and acting as Chair of the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee. He is excited to be on this project to translate the vision created by the Way Forward Task Force into reality.

Eric Banks Eric Banks and his wife Elizabeth have been Trinity members for over 10 years. Both Eric and Elizabeth have served many roles including Session, Sunday School, Organ Restoration Task Force, Communications, Usher, Buildings and Grounds Chairman and The Way Forward Task Force. Eric also served on the Board of Philips Academy. Eric and Elizabeth live with Elizabeth’s sister, Melissa, in the neighborhood adjacent to the church and have three children: Liz (32), John (30) and Caroline (18). Eric comes from the wireless network engineering and implementation industry, and Elizabeth is a former CMS teacher.

Brian Field Brian Field is a child of Trinity, baptized and raised in our church. He is married to Ali Field, and they have two children, Anna and Charlie, who were also baptized and raised at Trinity. Brian is a middle school history teacher and coach at Providence Day School. He has served Trinity as an Elder, chair of the ONC, a member of the APNC, organized the ushers for several years, and as a youth Sunday School teacher. For the past 3.5 years, he has served on the Way Forward Task Force and is looking forward to continuing this exciting work as a member of the Implementation Team.

Suzanne Sawyer Susanne Sawyer and her husband George have been Trinity members for 53 years. They have three married children raised in Trinity and seven grandchildren. She is grateful for the many Montreat weekends where questioning and celebrating one’s faith were welcomed, for Gilchrist Lectures which challenged and inspired, and for the many reminders from our own pulpit through the years of who and whose we all are. She has served as an Elder several times and on a number of Sessional Committees (WDS, Mission and Outreach, Christian Formation, Worship, ONC, and (2)APNC), taught Youth and Adult Sunday School, shared rich friendships, and is happy to experience new friendships among the young families drawn to this Trinity faith community. She is excited to be a member of the Way Forward Implementation Team. Anne McGovern Anne, her husband Eric, and their two children, Maddy (7) and Wesley (11), have called Trinity home for the past 10 years. Anne’s love for Trinity has led her to support the church in many ways, including serving on Session and numerous committees, teaching Sunday School and chairing the Trinity Anti-racism Task Force. She is looking forward to bringing her skills as a communicator and decades of professional experience in public relations to the Way Forward Implementation Team. Rev. Nick Cheek Nick is married to Rev. Ashley Cheek, and together they have three children: Lydia, Nicholas, and Ada. Nick has served congregations in various capacities, including associate pastor, senior pastor, chaplain, youth pastor, contemporary worship director, and supply pastor. He is passionate about preaching, pastoral care, visioning, and fostering healthy relationships. Nick views the Way Forward project as an expression of faithful stewardship for the land entrusted to Trinity. Over the past eight months, you may have heard him say, “God is up to something at Trinity.” He believes that God is indeed at work, and he feels blessed to be serving with you during this season of discernment and positive change.

Rev. Rebecca Heilman Rebecca has been ordained in the PCUSA denomination for more than seven years and has served at Trinity for a little over five. She attended Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA where she met her now husband of three years, Douglas Campbell, who is a teacher in Cabarrus County. They share a son together, Marius, and three rambunctious black dogs – Sadie, Nymeria, and Skip. Her family keeps her grounded and reminds her to be present in the moment. In ministry, Rebecca feels called to fostering community, one on one relationships and the faith formation of children, youth, and adults. The Way Forward project invites us to embody our faith in the here and now. It encouraged us to listen to the present and future leaders of the church, the children and youth, who love this place as much as we do. May we look forward with hope, knowing God will lead us by the hand. Jim Miller Jim Miller and his wife Kaye have been members at Myers Park Presbyterian (where they met!) since 1980. They have two grown children (Lindsay and James IV) and one grandson (Luke). Jim is retired from his own small sewing thread business. His service at Myers Park includes several terms as active Deacon and Elder and he has served as Chair of Finance, Stewardship, Personnel, ONC, and Endowment. But most notably, he served as Building Committee Chair for 7 years during construction of the Outreach Center and renovation of Celebrate Worship and meeting space. He is honored to serve as a non-voting advisor to the WFIT. He is also Trinity’s Liaison to Presbytery. As we discern God’s future for our congregation, this team will be there every step of the way to guide us. When you see these folks around Trinity’s campus, please thank them for their leadership and feel free to ask them questions about next steps. Starting in late January, you’ll start to receive regular updates on the team’s progress and opportunities to get involved in this important work.

December 2, 2025

Dear Trinity Family, Over the last 20 to 30 years most mainline Protestant denominations have suffered a decline in membership and overall financial resources. Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlotte has seen a similar decline. Several churches in the Charlotte Presbytery have been forced to sell assets, merge with other existing Presbyterian churches or even close in the past 5 to 10 years as a result. Trinity’s congregation, pastors and Session have seen the overall trends and have talked about various ways we might stabilize those trends and be good stewards of our assets in support of our Weekday School, Philips Academy, our community and various mission partners and our congregational needs including maintaining several larger, older buildings. In late 2021 and early 2022 the Session continued to talk about these issues and came up with a specific plan that while honoring our traditions would chart a path for Trinity Presbyterian Church to thrive into the future. A Sessional Committee, the Way Forward Task Force (WFTF) began meeting in March 2022 and met regularly throughout the past 3 ½ years. As one of the first steps, Olanda Carr, from the Presbyterian Foundation, worked as a consultant with the task force, and the WFTF began the journey together by reading the book, Sailboat Church, by Joan Gray. Following the discussion of that book, the WFTF entered into a period of 40 days of daily devotional reading, prayer, and discernment before coming back together to begin conversations about what might be an exciting new future for Trinity Presbyterian Church. The discussions centered around ways in which we can utilize our land to best serve existing missions like the Weekday School and Philips Academy, while also exploring new mission opportunities like affordable housing that could serve the needs of our community. Initial discussions took place with organizations like Dream Key Partners, Give Impact Charlotte, and the YWCA, and extensive research was conducted on other churches that had undertaken similar work. In 2023, the Presbyterian Foundation performed a financial analysis of Trinity, and the WFTF continued to meet with organizations in the area to help us learn more about what exciting opportunities that might exist for our church. The Presbyterian Foundation completed a detailed financial analysis of our church which provided an in-depth overview of our operating metrics and trends that will help us better prepare for the future. Out of all of the prior work, the WFTF came up with a wish list that was dubbed, The Village at Trinity, that consists of:

• A reinvigorated and refocused Trinity Presbyterian Church
• A new facility for our Weekday School
• Expansion of the facilities for Philips Academy
• Attainable Housing
• Market-rate real estate products
• An open, park-like area throughout the Village
• Room for retail or mixed use for appropriate partners
• A community-type center

The WFTF presented this vision to session in May of 2023 for their feedback, which generated great excitement and an overwhelmingly positive response. Over the summer the WFTF met with some of the organizations previously mentioned to determine which partner or partners can best help us bring this vision to reality. After over eighteen months of prayer, discernment, research and meetings, as a next step the WFTF decided to partner with Give Impact to help take the next steps towards fleshing out our vision. In 2024, the Way Forward Task Force took its next critical steps by engaging Liz Ward and Maya Bullock from Give Impact Advisory Services. The team of the WFTF and Give Impact met regularly with a focus on digging deeper into our original vision, as well as doing research on zoning, deed restrictions, and property valuation. One notable adaptation to our wish list is a shift from a community rec center/gym to dedicated space for our church’s children and youth ministries. This came out of feedback from our membership on the need to prioritize these important ministries of the church, as well as discerning that a “gym” approach would not be the best use of our assets and resources. In 2025, the overall Villages of Trinity Plan came together. In consultation with our many consultants and partners, the WFTF put together a potential site plan that lays out visually how all of the various parts of our campus, both existing and planned, will look. The Session continued to be informed and was excited by the plan. The Villages of Trinity Plan was reviewed and approved by the Session in August 2025.To recap, over the past 3 1/2 years, the Way Forward Task Force worked diligently to discern a future plan for Trinity Presbyterian Church – one that is true to our history, while creating a lasting legacy that serves our community and the church. This group has dreamed, researched, met and talked with many experts, received feedback from the congregation and our partners on our campus, and prayed, resulting in an exciting and compelling vision for the path forward. We want to thank the members of this task force Louise Sanford, Sherese Smith, Eric Banks, Brian Field, Christie Jameson and Gary Sugg, Jr. for all of their efforts. They have laid out an exciting path forward. Their work is now complete, and the Way Forward Task Force has been dissolved.For the next step in this important work, a new task force called the Way Forward Implementation Team (WFIT) has been created, still reporting to our Session, to implement the plan that the Way Forward Task Force has laid out. This group is charged with oversight and governance of the overall project, coordination and project direction, congregational and community communication, and alignment with our mission. While a few members of the Way Forward Task Force will remain on the WFIT, the team has several new members chosen for their specific skills to help guide the overall efforts and timeline. You will get to know these members a bit more with subsequent communication. The WFIT will also rely on various consultants who have done this type of work before – some within our congregation, but many at other organizations, including subject matter experts in various fields. The WFIT has already met a couple of times to begin to lay out the timeline and plan for the critical communication efforts that will come early in this process. WFIT is setting up ways to receive additional feedback, and they are also planning for a series of Town Hall type meetings to show a lot more detail on the plan, receive public feedback, and answer questions. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. 2nd Corinthians 5:17 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18,19 The Way Forward Implementation Team

August 29, 2025

Dear Trinity Family,

We know many of you have questions about the progress of the Way Forward Task Force. As your Session, we want to share an update on our conversations with the Task Force and the important work they are doing to help us discern a faithful vision for Trinity’s future.

This year, the Task Force has continued its careful due diligence, working to bring the Trinity campus vision to life. They have also been developing a proof-of-concept that will give us confidence to move forward with a bold vision for our campus. At the heart of these conversations is our deep and ongoing commitment to children, youth, and families. This includes providing modern facilities for our on-campus educational partners. Our intergenerational ministries, our Weekday School, and our partnership with Philips Academy remain foundational to who we are as a church and vital to ensuring Trinity’s long-term health and impact.

In support of this vision, last Sunday the Session voted to reaffirm our long-term commitment to Philips Academy as an integral part of our Trinity community. We will share more details soon about what this continued partnership will look like.

In the coming months, you will hear about the proposed recommendations from the Way Forward Task Force for the Weekday School, Phillips Academy, and our Trinity Church grounds. We are eager to continue these conversations with you and to imagine together how God is calling us to grow as a community of faith while we evolve our campus for future generations.

With gratitude and hope,
Your Session

May 28, 2024

Since our last update in February of this year, the Way Forward Task Force has met with Give Impact on eight occasions, continuing to dive into the necessary due diligence work required for a project of this magnitude.  These meetings have included a site visit to Trinity by Give Impact and a potential development partner, meetings where we continue to flesh out all of the details surrounding deed restrictions and zoning requirements for our church property, and to further discuss our priorities from our Wish List for the Village at Trinity, along with potential implementation strategies. One notable adaptation to our wish list is a shift from a community rec center/gym to dedicated space for our church’s children and youth ministries. This came out of feedback from our membership on the need to prioritize these important ministries of the church, as well as discerning that a “gym” approach would not be the best use of our assets and resources. This vital work will continue through the summer and our goal is to host a Town Hall meeting with the congregation in the early fall to share a more detailed update along with conversations to further explore the topic of Affordable Housing and how God is calling Trinity to respond.