Our History

On Trinity Sunday 1889, eighty-two people attended the first Episcopal service in Newton Centre in a rented hall. Rectors and theology students, including Edward T. Sullivan, a student at the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, conducted services. The Rev. Sullivan became Trinity Parish's first rector in 1891, and the church flourished under his extraordinary 51 years of leadership.

In its early years, Trinity Parish grew along with the population of Newton Centre and the rest of Newton, as the entire area was transformed from a collection of villages, surrounded by farms, to an increasingly suburbanized town. In 1893, the parish built a small wooden church, and Trinity’s expanding congregation had its first permanent home.

Trinity’s growing congregation eventually needed a larger church, and on May 13, 1915, the cornerstone of the present church was laid. The architect was George W. Chickering of Boston. In its design and construction, Trinity Church benefited from the skills and devotion of all members of the parish, including Robert Casson and John Evans, who were nationally known artists in interior woodwork and stonework, respectively. The new building was completed quickly, and the first worship service was held in our present church on Palm Sunday, April 16 1916.

Over the next several decades, Trinity continued to grow. As regular attendance increased, programs and activities proliferated. Adapting to the growing needs of the congregation, Trinity Parish added to the church building and amended the parish bylaws.

After the Rev. Sullivan’s retirement in 1942, the Rev. Frederick M. Morris served the congregation until 1948. Trinity Parish’s third rector, the Rev. Howard R. Dunbar, served from 1949 to 1972, a period that spanned both continued growth in the parish, and then a dramatic decrease in the number of parishioners during the 1960’s, largely due to demographic changes in Newton. Despite the waning attendance in the 1960’s, three services were held each Sunday. In 1972, after the Rev. Dunbar retired, the parish called the Rev. Carl P. Ijams as rector.

Trinity’s finances strengthened over the final few decades of the 20th Century, as generous bequests to the parish increased Trinity’s endowment. These contributions from many parishioners and the professional management of the endowment fund, carefully monitored by the investment committee and the vestry, has provided Trinity with the financial stability that has enabled Trinity Parish to survive difficult times, regroup, and grow again.

In 1993, the Rev. Ijams retired as Trinity’s fourth rector, after 21 years of service. In 1995, the Rev. David L. Danner came to Trinity. With his leadership and the vigorous support and participation of the congregation, the parish began to grow again, attracting an increasingly diverse congregation both in geographic origin and family participation.

With the support and guidance of our Interim, the Rev. Bailey O. Whitbeck, and our priest associate, the Rev. Sharon Ciccarelli, Trinity Parish is currently searching for the sixth rector in its 117 year-history. Trinity continues its worship, outreach, and parish activities in anticipation of the next chapter of its spiritual growth and ministry.