TROY — Trinity Episcopal Church will celebrate its 50th anniversary at 60 Dorset St., Troy, on Sunday, June 26, 2016, at 9:30 a.m.
“It was a terribly hot day but every seat was full and they had chairs lined up in front of the pews,” said Dale Benedict, a long-time member of Trinity Episcopal Church, remembering the June 26, 1966 consecration for the church.
The 9:30 a.m. Sunday service will include special music and liturgy. The One More Time Swing Band will be providing music at the picnic and carry-in lunch following the service. The public is cordially invited.
Trinity has long been a part of Troy, when in 1831, May 27, 31 people responded to a “Call to Meeting” notice sent out by the Rev. Ethan Allen of Christ Church, Dayton. They met at the Troy Courthouse and established Trinity Church.
Trinity takes pride in its history. Thomas Barret fought in the War of 1812 and helped fight the cholera epidemic in 1849. His home later became a station for the Underground Railroad and he taught some thirty fugitive slaves in the undercroft of Trinity Church’s building, at the corner of Franklin and Walnut streets, which opened in 1835. The church itself became an Underground Railroad station.
In 1951, the Rev. George Workman and his wife Mary Jane, came to Troy and stayed until Workman’s death in 1979, and the church’s ministries prospered and grew under their stewardship. With space outgrown, a building fund was begun in 1955 and in 1966, due to the work of many dedicated members, including William H. Hobart Jr. the committee chair, Trinity opened its doors.
The Rev. Marjorie Manuel will preside over the June 26 service.
