The Church of the Holy Trinity stands at 2300 West Lafayette Avenue in West Baltimore, where Lafayette Avenue meets Wheeler Avenue, and it is known for two things: the Sunday celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 9:30 a.m., and a long record of organizing the block around practical needs. Founded in 1875 and reestablished in 1953 as a mission parish for Black Episcopalians in West Baltimore, Holy Trinity belongs to the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland and states its purpose plainly: "To restore, uphold and maintain all people in unity with God and each other in Christ." A first-time guest can expect a formal, lectionary-driven Sunday service and, within a few blocks, a health fair, summer meals and backpacks for children, free CPR and Narcan training, and a free week-long camp for girls.
Sunday at 9:30: The Holy Eucharist
The principal form of worship at Holy Trinity is the Holy Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper. In it the congregation remembers the Last Supper Jesus shared with his friends and receives the sanctified bread and wine as his body and blood, a holy meal the church describes as a way to refresh the spirit and strengthen people to do God's will. The Sunday service is the Holy Eucharist, Rite II, using Eucharistic Prayer A from the Book of Common Prayer together with lectionary readings.
The congregation summarizes its theology in one line: "We worship according to what we believe." A Public Service of Healing is celebrated on the third Sunday of each month, when persons seeking spiritual and physical healing are blessed with the laying on of hands and anointing with oil. Since indoor worship resumed on September 12, 2021, every service has been hybrid, with worshippers present in the building and others joining on Zoom. A new audio and visual system has made that livestream smoother, and more Afro-centric hymns and songs have been added to Sunday worship.
The service is streamed live on Zoom, and the church's welcome is just as plain: all are welcome to worship and fellowship, in person or on Zoom.
What a First-Time Visitor Should Know
- Sunday Eucharist: 9:30 a.m., Holy Eucharist Rite II, in person and on Zoom.
- Virtual Sunday School: 10:30 a.m. on Sundays.
- Healing service: the third Sunday of each month, with laying on of hands and anointing with oil.
- Church office: open Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. by appointment only, closed Monday, Tuesday and Friday.
The church sits at 2300 West Lafayette Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21216, and the office phone, (410) 945-0002, reaches the parish staff. Holy Trinity is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit entity, and giving runs through an online giving form that supports the general fund, pledges, bereavement gifts, capital improvements and other named funds, with a 2.2 percent convenience fee added automatically to each donation.
Sunday School for Ages Five to Seventeen, and Adults
The mission of the Sunday School is to give the youth of the church and community a chance to learn Christian beliefs and values and to encourage spiritual growth. Boys and girls ages 5 to 17 are welcome, along with adults, and classes run from pre-K through high school. Lessons use scripture, prayer, music and personal stories, and the program leans on hands-on work such as crafts, games, service projects and skits that reinforce the lesson, with children sharing what they have learned with others.
Sunday School at Holy Trinity is older than the present building. The Rev. Otis Glazebrook recorded that the first service, Sunday 11 a.m. on October 17, 1875, took place only an hour after a Sunday School had been organized. A 1953 diocesan survey counted 68 students, and enrollment rose to 90 the following year, with classes meeting at 9:15 a.m. from September through June in the church undercroft. Dedicated classrooms in the education annex opened in 1970. After the suspension of in-person activity in March 2020, classes resumed virtually in December of that year and have continued online at 10:30 a.m., drawing students from Delaware, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and counties around Maryland as well as Baltimore.
From a House on Gilmor Street to Lafayette Avenue
The Church of the Holy Trinity began on October 17, 1875, in a house at 306 N. Gilmor Street, as a mission of Memorial Episcopal Church with additional help from Emmanuel Episcopal Church. By November 1875 the congregation was strong enough to build a church at Gilmor and Tennant Streets, where Tennant is now Riggs Avenue, and that building was dedicated on Sunday, February 13, 1876. As the congregation grew, the decision was made in May 1920 to sell the building and move. The lots at Wheeler and Lafayette Avenues had been purchased in 1917 by the Episcopal Church Extension Society.
The cornerstone was laid on June 11, 1921, and construction was finished by the end of January 1922. The new building was designed as a combination parish house and worship space. The Rev. W. Weir Gilliss held the inaugural service on Sunday, January 29, 1922, and Bishop John Murray dedicated the church on February 19, 1922. An education annex followed later, giving the parish classrooms, meeting rooms and offices.
Reestablished in 1953 for West Baltimore
The neighborhood around Holy Trinity changed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1948 that restrictive covenants were no longer enforceable. As families of color bought homes nearby, the Holy Trinity congregation decided in 1953 to merge with St. Bartholomew's Church, about three miles west in the Ten Hills neighborhood on Edmondson Avenue. On June 18, 1953, the independent white parish deeded the land and building, including the pipe organ, pews, memorials, ornaments and altar furnishings, to the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland without restrictions, and asked that the property keep the name Holy Trinity and be used for the establishment of a "Negro Mission."
Bishop Noble Powell quickly moved to reestablish Holy Trinity, appointing the Rev. Van Samuel Bird as vicar and giving temporary oversight to the Rev. Cedric Mills, rector of St. James' Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square. The first service was held on Sunday, October 4, 1953, conducted by Rev. Bird and Rev. Mills, with Father Mills and his choir taking part in the opening services. Bishop Powell also appointed a seven-member advisory committee: Earl Turner, treasurer; Harold Macklin, clerk; Jerome Hall; Dr. Clyde Dillard; Algernon Prestwidge; Julian Harper; and William Wilson.
Under Rev. Bird and his wife Eva, the congregation grew to nearly 400 members. Two Sunday services, a midweek service, Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, community meetings, discussion programs and an annual carnival were joined by guilds including the Acolytes, Altar Guild, Chalicers, Choir, Churchmen, Churchwomen, Dorcas Guild, St. Elizabeth's Guild, Ushers and Youth Fellowship. In July 1964 Rev. Bird was called to establish a church in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and before leaving he began the process of making Holy Trinity a self-supporting parish.
Parish Status, an Education Annex, and 33 Years with Rev. Eddie Blue
The Rev. Robert Meaker Powell, who had served as supply vicar during a 1957-1958 sabbatical of Rev. Bird, became the new vicar. By the end of October 1967 the leadership had written articles of incorporation and a constitution and petitioned for admission to full parish status; the Diocesan Convention of 1968 accepted Holy Trinity with Rev. Powell as rector, and the congregation grew past 500 members. More room was needed for ministries and community activity, so in June 1965 the Vestry hired the architectural firm of Smeallie, Orrick and Janka to design an annex of classrooms, meeting rooms and offices. Construction began around 1968, the Right Rev. Harry L. Doll sealed the cornerstone in May 1969, and the completed building was occupied in October 1969. On Sunday, November 1, 1970, Bishop Doll dedicated it and officially opened the Trinity Day Care Center, designed to accommodate 45 children and administered by the Baltimore City Department of Social Services; it closed at the Holy Trinity location around 2014.
The Rev. Linwood W. Garrenton was installed as rector on October 8, 1972. Stewardship improved, the mortgage on the education building was liquidated in 1975, and lay participation grew; by 1982, fourteen new organizations had joined the fifteen already in place before 1977. In early 1984 the Rev. Eddie Michael Blue was called as rector, and he shepherded Holy Trinity for almost 33 years. Under him the church increased its involvement in diocesan activities, adopted two neighborhood public schools as part of its community outreach ministry, continued its support of the James Mosher Baseball League, the oldest continuously operating African American little league in Maryland, and opened the Jabez Clinic in the Trinity Life Center, two adjacent row houses the church acquired in 2001 and sold in 2017. The clinic was opened by Cynthia Lynn Corbin, a licensed nurse practitioner and member of Holy Trinity. Rev. Blue also issued a monthly newsletter and embraced new technology by building an online presence and a Facebook platform. A reunion of all the living clergy who had shepherded the church since 1953 marked the 38th anniversary in October 1991.
Urban Mission: Unity in the Community and the Health Fair
When Rev. Blue retired in late January 2017, the Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton appointed the Rev. Ramelle McCall as West Baltimore Urban Missioner for the Diocese of Maryland and priest-in-charge at Holy Trinity. Rev. McCall said he planned "to bridge area churches, social non-profit organizations, community groups and diocesan resources to address issues of poverty, violence and racism in West Baltimore," and he quickly involved members in programs that became Holy Trinity's main annual gathering, Unity in the Community. The first one, held in August 2018 on the church grounds, was planned with Baltimore City Teachers' Union President Marietta English and focused on backpacks and school supplies plus activities for nearby residents; over the years it expanded to include health, employment and legal services. The urban mission work also points to projects such as the Coppin Our House mentoring program, Legal Day with free legal advice for the community, and a community giveaway of book bags and other items. In April 2019 the Annual Parish Meeting called Rev. McCall as rector.
When the pandemic suspended in-person worship in March 2020, Rev. McCall held weekly Sunday Morning Prayer services and Lenten series programs on Zoom, and Sunday School met virtually as well. As limited outdoor gatherings were sanctioned in mid-2021, he led hybrid Sunday services on the church lawn, weather permitting, and dispensed Eucharistic elements in drive-by Communion kits at least once a month. Indoor worship resumed on Sunday, September 12, 2021, in person and livestreamed on Zoom.
The Rev. Benita Keene-Johnson, who had attended many Holy Trinity services and events in support of her son, was appointed interim priest after Rev. McCall left in July 2022 and then served as priest-in-charge until her retirement in February 2026. During her time the outreach ministries expanded to include support for veterans, women in special circumstances, caregivers, and infants and toddlers. She created the health fair in memory of the late Cynthia Lynn Corbin, bringing health services and information to the community, and encouraged the creation of a week-long summer day camp for girls.
Girls Empowerment Camp and Practical Health Training
The Girls Empowerment Camp is a free week-long day camp for girls ages 9 to 12, run by the Empowering a Healthier Community Outreach Ministry, with Dr. Darrilynne Arnelle-Mazyck as camp executive director. Speakers, instructors and interactive activities cover five areas: healthy body, healthy mind, healthy choices, creative expression and life skills. The camp's aim is open, informed and age-appropriate discussion so that girls are equipped for the challenges of adolescence and teenhood; breakfast and lunch are provided during the week, and the program has been funded in part by an endowment grant from the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.
Under Dr. Arnelle-Mazyck, the outreach ministry, which gives residents of Baltimore City and surrounding communities information and services related to physical and mental well-being, has sponsored the Cynthia Lynn Corbin Health Fair, Blessings in a Backpack, a summer weekend meals program, a Pampers diaper drive that supplied diapers for 10 families over four months, a caregivers' workshop for those caring for dementia patients, and Mommy and Me Baby Yoga. The ministry also offers free First Aid and CPR certification through the American Red Cross, Hands Only CPR with the Baltimore City Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services, and Narcan training with the Baltimore City Health Department.
Clergy, Lay Ministry, and What the Church Believes
The Rev. Carole Douglas serves as Long-Term Supply Priest and has led the congregation through Holy Week and Easter. Holy Trinity also relies on licensed lay ministry: William Hunt was approved as the parish's first Licensed Lay Minister by the Rt. Rev. Carrie Schofield-Broadbent, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, and the diocese licenses lay eucharistic ministers and lay eucharistic visitors for three-year terms. A lay eucharistic minister administers the consecrated bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist when there are not enough priests and deacons to assist the celebrant; a lay eucharistic visitor assists the priest and takes Communion to those who are ill or otherwise unable to attend. Marsha Jameson was commissioned as a lay evangelist by Bishop Schofield-Broadbent on May 16, 2026, a ministry that emphasizes authentic conversation, invitation and helping others recognize where God is active in their everyday lives. Bryan Alston serves as organist, and the choir, acolytes and altar guild support the music and liturgy of the Eucharist.
The official theology of the church is found in the Book of Common Prayer. The parish holds the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the word of God, containing all things necessary for salvation; understands baptism as burying the believer with Christ in his death, sharing in his resurrection and rebirth by the Holy Spirit; and recognizes a ministry of lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons.
Groups That Keep the Block Connected
Alongside worship and Sunday School, Holy Trinity's fellowship life runs through the Churchmen, whose meetings recur monthly, and the Churchwomen, who gather around service to the community. Annual gatherings include Unity in the Community, the health fair, and family events such as trunk-or-treat, and the summer brings the James Mosher baseball season and the Girls Empowerment Camp. The church's own calendar of events carries the dates of these recurring activities, and the parish office keeps the building, the vestry and the outreach ministries running alongside them.
Holy Trinity's shape today is a direct outgrowth of its first fifty years, its reestablishment in 1953, and the decisions of successive rectors and vestries to put the buildings at Lafayette and Wheeler to work for the neighborhood: a sanctuary for the Holy Eucharist, classrooms for a Sunday School that reaches across several states, a health fair, a meal program, a camp for girls, and training that neighbors can use to help in a crisis.