Trinity Church, Houston
Encyclopedia
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, is a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
church in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas
Episcopal Diocese of Texas
The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is one of the largest dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The diocese consists of all ECUSA congregations in the southeastern quartile of Texas, including the cities of Austin, Beaumont, Galveston, Houston and Waco.The 153 congregations...
.
History
Trinity was founded in 1893 as a mission from Christ ChurchChrist Church Cathedral, Houston
Christ Church Cathedral, Houston is the cathedral church for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. The congregation was established in 1839, when Texas was still an independent republic. It is the oldest extant congregation in Houston and one of the oldest non-Roman Catholic churches in Texas...
in a part of Houston then called the "Fairground Addition", now known as Midtown
Midtown, Houston, Texas
Midtown is a district southwest of Downtown Houston, bordered by Neartown and U.S. Highway 59.-History:Around 1906 what is now Midtown was divided between the Third Ward and Fourth Ward. Before the 1950s what is now Midtown was a popular residential district. Increasingly, commercial development...
. It is the second-oldest Episcopal parish in Houston. Trinity was, at one time, one of the largest parishes in the Episcopal Church. Such notables as Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
and Denton Cooley
Denton Cooley
Denton Arthur Cooley is an American heart surgeon famous for performing the first implantation of a total artificial heart. Cooley is also founder and surgeon in-chief of the Texas Heart Institute, chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at St...
have been members of the parish. Its membership declined sharply as its parishioners moved to the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 2000s membership has grown steadily.
Five rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
s of Trinity have gone on to be bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s in the Episcopal Church. Another has served as dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of a cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
.
The Reverend Hannah E. Atkins became Trinity's fifteenth rector in September 2007.
In 1990, Trinity founded the Lord of the Streets Mission, a mission of the Diocese of Texas to the homeless of Houston. Although no longer under the auspices of Trinity Church, Lord of the Streets' services are held at Trinity.
The church building
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
firm, Cram
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
and Ferguson, whose Houston work also includes several buildings at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
and the Julia Ideson Building of Houston Public Library
Houston Public Library
Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. The library system has its headquarters in the Marston Building in Neartown Houston.-History:It can trace its founding to the Houston Lyceum in 1854...
. The church's Morrow Chapel was renovated in 2002 and features world-class stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, artwork, and liturgical furnishings by such artists as Kim Clark Renteria, Kermit Oliver, Troy Woods, Shazia Sikander, and Selven O’Keef Jarmon. The church also houses a 1918 Pilcher pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
, which was recently restored.
At the church
At Trinity, there are ministries for all ages, varied opportunities for spiritual growth, and many programs in which to reach out to others in the community. In addition, special events often take place at Trinity, including the annual Animal Blessing, in the autumn, and Jazz Festival, in the winter. There are also occasional Sunday-evening concerts and special services such as Choral Evensong and sung ComplineCompline
Compline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St...
presented by the Trinity Choir, as well as worship in the Taize
Taizé
Taizé is the name or part of the name of several places in France and an asteroid:* Taizé Community in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, a monastic order visited by many young people* Taizé, Saône-et-Loire in the Saône-et-Loire département...
tradition.
Further reading
- Davies-Cooley, Gayle. Pillar of faith: Trinity Church at 100, Trinity Episcopal Church, Houston. (Houston, 1992).