Trinity Parish
The first church building in Martinsburg was built in 1776 and was relocated to our current location in downtown Martinsburg in 1839, with construction completed in 1843. Major renovations occurred in 1954 with the excavation of the undercroft to build classrooms. During 1966 a new Parish Hall was built and the Sanctuary extensively remodeled with the addition of the choir loft, a freestanding altar, new offices, parish library, and a chapel. A bequest provided a fine Moeller pipe organ in 1981. A Columbarium was installed in the Narthex in 1994. Stained glass windows added over the years have enhanced the beauty of the church.
Through the years Trinity has demonstrated its commitment to outreach ministry. The first church-sponsored day care center in Martinsburg opened in our undercroft in 1969. Norborne Day Care Center is now in its 35 th year of operation serving the children of our community. Meals on Wheels and Hospice had their beginnings in the early 1970s through the combined efforts of members of Trinity and other area churches. At the end of the Viet Nam War, Trinity sponsored the relocation of two Cambodian families to Martinsburg. Both families remain members of the parish. Members of Trinity and St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church worked diligently to open the first congregate housing facility in Martinsburg in 1983, King's Daughter's Court, and established an emergency food and shelter program, the Congregational Coordinated Action Project (CCAP). Today, Trinity parishioners volunteer for many outreach programs: Hospice, Loaves and Fishes, Berkeley Senior Center, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, PASS program, Norborne Day Care, Salvation Army, Red Cross Blood Drive, Rescue Mission, Berkeley County Humane Society, United Way, and Shenandoah Women's Center, to name a few. Parishioners also provide book bags and school supplies for one of our local schools. We support the Sisters of Charity, a local community of three Episcopal nuns, on their missions to Haiti by providing medicine and other much needed items for handicapped and disadvantaged children. For more than 20 years, Alcoholics Anonymous has held meetings in the undercroft.
We count among our blessings the children in the parish. A revitalization of youth education began this past year with the introduction of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Fully equipped Atriums are in place for Level I and Level II, and four parishioners are trained catechists. The Interim Rector and his wife were instrumental in establishing this program. Older youth are using Rite 13 and Journey to Adulthood curriculum.
We are fortunate to have about 20 dedicated and faithful acolytes. Young people in the parish have always felt a strong connection to Peterkin and enthusiastically attend the summer camps and diocesan youth retreats. While we have no formal EYC, the Junior and Senior High Sunday school classes actively participate in Diocesan youth activities. They also serve the community by preparing and serving a meal at the Rescue Mission, collecting food for the local food pantry, and providing supplies for the Sisters of Charity mission in Haiti.
The Sunday morning worship schedule is Rite I at 7:30 and Rite II at the 10:30 service. Breakfast follows the early service and then choir rehearsal and Christian education are offered at 9:30. We enjoy fellowship and refreshment during coffee hour following the 10:30 service. A very dedicated corps of acolytes, ushers, lectors, chalice bearers, Altar Guild members, and choir serve the church faithfully each Sunday morning.
Each weekday morning a small gathering of parishioners meet for Morning Prayer. On Wednesday this service is followed by breakfast in the Parish Hall. Holy Eucharist is celebrated at noon each Wednesday. Lay Eucharistic Ministers and Hospital Callers provide a vital ministry to parishioners who are unable to attend church services. Currently the parish staff consists of an Interim Rector who has been with us for two years, a part-time secretary, an organist/choir director, and a part-time paid sexton. Lay leadership has been essential to the life and vitality of the parish during this time of transition.
A very dedicated group of women in St. Mary's Guild offer their ministry of hospitality by providing receptions following funerals, hosting a monthly luncheon for our “senior” church members and providing gifts at Christmas and Easter to our home bound parishioners. They raise funds for outreach projects through the annual Courtyard Sale, Christmas Bazaar, Chili Supper, and Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper.
As one of the largest churches in the diocese, Trinity has served as host parish for Diocesan Convention on several occasions. Lay and clergy from the parish have represented the diocese as deputies to General Convention. Parishioners from Trinity currently serve the diocese on the Commission on Ministry, Standing Committee, Finance Committee, Peterkin Advisory Committee, Constitutions and Canons, and Virginia Theological Seminary Board of Trustees. Trinity is proud of the fact that four Bishops in the Episcopal Church were either one-time parishioners or rectors of the parish.