Holy Trinity Episcopal Church stands at 2201 Spring Lake Road in Fruitland Park, a small Lake County town between Leesburg and The Villages, and has occupied its yellow-pine Carpenter Gothic sanctuary since the late 1880s. The parish, which is marking 140 years of continuous ministry, has grown from a congregation of nineteen communicants into a vibrant Episcopal community with three weekly Sunday services, a Wednesday healing service, an affiliated school for students with learning differences, and a thrift store whose proceeds support that school. Its motto, A place to Belong, Blossom, and Bless, sets the tone for everything that happens on the campus.
A Church Born in 1886, Built of Yellow Pine
Holy Trinity was founded on December 19, 1886, when fifty people gathered for Evening Prayer at Stapylton's dining hall. A second service followed on January 2, 1887, at the Forest's Club clubhouse, with fifty in attendance and nineteen communicants. As the congregation searched for a permanent home, services alternated between locations until Sunday, January 23, 1887, when a temporary church was set up in the John Vickers-Smith barn on Lake Geneva.
The site for the permanent church was chosen in late January 1887, and construction ran through the spring and summer of 1888. The result was a building whose interior and exterior are made entirely of yellow pine, designed in the Gothic style known locally as "Florida" or "Carpenter" Gothic. Holy Trinity Mission held its first service in the new structure on December 2, 1888, at three in the afternoon. From those beginnings the congregation has operated almost continuously, with only brief closures for hot weather or ailing rectors, transitioning from Mission to Parish and remaining a fixture in Fruitland Park ever since. A history of the parish, Coming Home, The History of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, is available for purchase, and a brief timeline is posted for anyone who wants to walk through the milestones.
"Belong, Blossom, and Bless": The Parish Vision
The parish describes its vision as being a warm, welcoming, and Christ-centered community where everyone can belong, blossom, and bless. Its mission statement spells out the work behind that vision: to invite, welcome, and connect all people to God and one another in the name of Christ, who came that all might have life in abundance.
The congregation is intentionally diverse. Parishioners come from every part of the country and every walk of life - working, retired, and in school. Some are lifelong Episcopalians and others came to the Episcopal Church from other denominations. They hold varied opinions on political and social questions, but are united in a love of Christ and a commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. As the parish puts it plainly, There is room for you!
Worship in the Episcopal Tradition
Worship is the primary task of the parish, and at Holy Trinity it is participatory, rooted in the Book of Common Prayer. Each service includes scripture readings, a sermon, prayers, and Holy Communion. On Sunday mornings two distinct liturgies are offered. At 8:00 a.m., the congregation gathers for Holy Eucharist Rite I, celebrated in traditional language and without music. At 10:30 a.m., the larger congregation gathers for Holy Eucharist Rite II, celebrated in contemporary language and accompanied by the choir. All baptized Christians, regardless of age or denominational background, are welcome to receive communion.
From November through April, the parish adds a Saturday evening service at 4:15 p.m., a Rite II celebration in contemporary language without music. That service gives snowbirds, winter visitors, and weekend travelers a way to worship with the parish when Sunday is taken up with other commitments. The 10:30 a.m. Sunday service is livestreamed on Facebook Live, as is the midweek healing service, so members who are homebound or away can still follow along.
The Wednesday Healing Service
On Wednesdays at 11:30 a.m., the parish gathers for a healing service that includes the laying on of hands and anointing with oil for the sick. This quiet, contemplative liturgy has become one of Holy Trinity's most distinctive offerings in central Florida. Worshippers come expecting prayer for physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, and many return week after week. Like the Sunday morning liturgy, the Wednesday healing service is livestreamed on Facebook Live.
Clergy Who Have Served Around the World
The Rev. Samuel Nsengiyumva has served as rector since February 1, 2021. Born in Rwanda and raised in Uganda, Fr. Samuel apprenticed as an auto mechanic before returning to his home country, where he worked for a tea factory as a mechanic and later a production manager. A dramatic encounter with Jesus during those years redirected him into ministry as an evangelist and church-planter, then onto the diocesan staff as a guest-house manager. He holds a bachelor's degree in Bible and Religion from Daystar University in Nairobi and a master's degree in Peace Studies (Theology and Ethics) from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana. Before coming to Fruitland Park he served parishes in Rwanda, Kenya, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Maryland. He and his wife, Marie Rose, have four adult children and two grandchildren. Rose is active in several ministries at Holy Trinity, including the choir, the Altar Guild, and Buildings and Grounds.
The Rev. Dr. Janice Gordon-Barnes, an assisting priest, has been part of Holy Trinity's clergy team part-time since 2013. Born and raised in London, she came to America in 1971 as a flight attendant, earned degrees from Northwestern and the University of Chicago, and studied at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. She was ordained deacon in June 1980 and priest on February 24, 1981, in a season when the ordination of women was actively resisted. She has served parishes in Wilmette, Illinois; Annapolis, Maryland; Lutherville, Maryland; and Joppa Towne, Maryland. Her husband, Bill Barnes, entered the resurrection in January 2021, and she now lives nearby with her cats Romeo and Juliet.
The Rev. Dr. James Jones, also an assisting priest, teaches religion at Holy Trinity Episcopal School. He retired from St. Matthew the Apostle in Miami, where he was rector for thirteen years, and now lives in The Villages with his wife, Karen.
The Rev. Richard (Dick) Labud, a deacon, has come home. A cradle Episcoparian born in Pasadena, California, who grew up between California and Florida, he graduated from Mt. Dora High School in 1977 and met his wife Lisa at Lake-Sumter State College. They have two children, Jonathan and Tricia, both engineers. Dick was ordained a deacon on November 11, 1995, by the Right Reverend John W. Howe at Holy Trinity itself, after completing diaconal studies at the Institute for Christian Studies. He then served St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Eustis for about twenty-five years, starting in youth ministry and moving into elder ministry, before returning to Holy Trinity, where he regularly assists at the 8:00 a.m. service.
The Rev. Charlie Perrin, the parish's second deacon, was born and raised in Brooklyn, where he sang in his church's boys' choir and rooted for the Dodgers until they decamped for Los Angeles. He enlisted in the Navy in 1966, served on diesel submarines in Charleston and Key West, and then settled into a twenty-six-year career at AT&T, first as a communications technician, later writing code for mainframes and managing local-area networks. He made a Cursillo weekend on Long Island in 1980, began ordination discernment in 1981, and was ordained deacon in December 1986 by the Right Reverend Robert C. Witcher, Bishop of Long Island. He and his wife Angela moved to the Diocese of Central Florida in 2017 and now serve together at Holy Trinity.
The Choir and Sharon Redding's Half-Century of Music
Music has been at the heart of Holy Trinity's worship for longer than most of its current members have been alive. Sharon Redding, the parish's Director of Music, first walked into the church in 1969 as a substitute organist for the month of December. A funny thing happened, she writes: that short substitute position lasted for twenty years! She was confirmed and made a member of Holy Trinity in 1972. After a decade as music director at a Lutheran church in Mt. Dora, she returned in 2001 and has been directing the choir ever since.
The adult choir leads the congregation in hymn-singing and regularly offers choral anthems at the 10:30 a.m. service. Rehearsals are held on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., September through Trinity Sunday. Current members include Barbara Turner, Sharon Redding, Dottie Noble, Rose Nsengiyumva, David Gnau, Naomi Aldrich, Judy Goodner, Michael Quinlan, Emily Ware, and Russ Casson. New singers are always welcome - anyone interested can contact Sharon Redding by email.
Discipleship and Christian Formation
Discipleship at Holy Trinity refers to the opportunities the parish offers its members and guests to grow in knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of their relationship with God in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. The core offerings include Adult Sunday School, a Wednesday Bible Study, and a Confirmation Class for those preparing to be received into the Episcopal Church. These gatherings form the slow backbone of formation alongside the rhythm of weekly worship.
Holy Trinity Episcopal School
Holy Trinity Episcopal School (HTES) shares the campus with the church and shares in the parish's outreach. The school is specifically designed for students in grades 6 through 12 with learning differences related to autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities. The Rev. Dr. James Jones teaches religion to its students, knitting the academic program into the parish's life of worship and prayer. Each year the parish hosts the Holy Trinity School Golf Benefit to support the school's work, and a brand-new venture, the Light the Path Thrift Store, was created to provide ongoing funding for scholarships and programs.
The Light the Path Thrift Store
Light the Path is Holy Trinity's newest outreach to the wider Fruitland Park community. Located at 619 N Dixie Avenue, just a short drive from the church campus, the store channels every purchase and donation back into Holy Trinity Episcopal School. The parish describes it as a place where your support helps change lives for students who need a different kind of classroom. It is staffed and supported by church members and friends of the school, and it gives the parish a tangible, daily presence in the life of the town beyond Sunday morning.
Outreach, Pastoral Care, and the Men's Group
The Outreach ministry at Holy Trinity is grounded in the gospel mandate of Matthew 25 - feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, and meeting other human needs in the name of Christ. The parish responds to a range of needs locally, nationally, and internationally, primarily through partnerships with other organizations that share its mission. A Rector's Discretionary Fund allows the parish to help with lodging, medical care, rent, and utilities on an emergency basis. Each Easter and Christmas, the Outreach team selects a beneficiary to receive that season's special offering, sharing the good news of God's love in Christ in a concrete way.
Pastoral Care is a collaborative ministry that pairs clergy with lay members of the parish. The team coordinates Lay Eucharistic Visitors who bring communion to the homebound, transportation to services, emergency meals for those in crisis, prayer shawls knitted and prayed over by volunteers, home and hospital visitation, a card ministry, and ongoing intercessory prayer. Coordinators Robin Michell, Karen Hammen, and Rob Soeldner serve as the first points of contact for anyone needing pastoral support.
The Men's Ministry gives the men of the parish and their friends a chance to gather in Christian fellowship and service. Their most visible tradition is the monthly Hot Breakfast on the fourth Sunday of every month, and in the wider community they partner with the Salvation Army, volunteering to prepare and serve breakfast and taking part in the Christmas bell-ringing campaign.
The Altar Guild and Invite Welcome Connect
The Altar Guild is the behind-the-scenes partner of the clergy. Three teams of five to six members each rotate every two weeks, setting up for Sunday services and for weddings, confirmations, baptisms, and funerals, while caring for the silver, brass, linens, altar hangings, and vestments that give the worship space its character. On Sundays a team member is present at each service to clean up and prepare for the next.
Invite Welcome Connect is the team charged with the parish's largest evangelism task: turning the motto of belonging into a working plan. They coordinate Sunday hospitality and fellowship, newcomer gatherings, and special events, and they lead the parish's community engagement work. The team is led by Judy Gygi and includes David Aldrich, Joan Ballard, Doris Brennan, John Canner, Karen Hammen, Bonnie Hultin, Elizabeth Mustin, and Deb Yee.
Baptism, Marriage, and Funerals
Holy Baptism is understood as entry by water and the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ. In the Episcopal Church the time of preparation runs about three months, after which baptism can take place during congregational worship, at home, or in another venue. The days especially associated with baptism are Easter, the Day of Pentecost, All Saints' Day, and the Celebration of Jesus' Baptism. In an emergency, when death is imminent, any baptized Christian can perform baptism.
For marriage, the parish rejoices in walking with couples who are members or whose families are members. The Rector, the Diocese of Central Florida, and the State of Florida all have requirements that couples work through together; the parish invites inquiries through the rector's email.
For funerals, the parish makes a point that there is no charge for funerals at Holy Trinity. A fee is charged only if a reception is held in the Parish Hall. Clergy and pastoral caregivers meet with families to choose scripture readings, prayers, and music, and the casket or urn is covered with a white pall as a sign that burial worship is, in Episcopal understanding, an Easter service. The Paschal candle is lit to mark the hope of resurrection. Most services follow the language of the Book of Common Prayer, which offers both traditional and contemporary rites; a Rite of Committal can be held at a columbarium, a cemetery, or a scattering of ashes.
The Annual Blessing of Animals
Every fall, around October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Holy Trinity gathers outdoors for its annual Blessing of the Animals. The brief service is open to all furry, scaly, and feathered friends; for animals that do not travel well, a photograph can be brought in their place. Each pet is blessed individually, those who have lost pets are prayed for, and the beauty of God's creation is celebrated. The clergy and pastoral caregivers also remain available to pray for animals who are ill or dying, taking seriously the Franciscan conviction that all creatures belong to God's household.
Planning a First Visit
First-time visitors are welcomed warmly. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and a staff member or clergy person will be happy to answer questions at 352-787-1500 or at office@holytrinityfp.com. Parking is easy: visitors may use the lot in front of the Sanctuary, the lot in front of the school, or the grass area next to the school. The parish asks only that handicap zones be respected.
Dress is described as a come as you are atmosphere: some people dress up, others are casual, and in the heat of a Florida summer shorts are not uncommon. Modesty is the only guideline. Services run about an hour. Fr. Samuel hosts a quarterly newcomer dinner for anyone considering making Holy Trinity their church home; details appear in the Sunday bulletin. Baptized Christians from any denomination are welcome to receive communion, and Episcopalians moving from another parish can arrange a letter of good standing to transfer their membership.
Holy Trinity lives at the meeting place of deep Episcopal tradition and small-town Florida hospitality, a Carpenter Gothic sanctuary surrounded by oak trees, with a school for students who learn differently, a thrift store that keeps its lights on, and clergy whose stories begin in Brooklyn, London, Rwanda, and points in between. After 140 years, the parish's invitation has not changed: there is a place here for you to belong, to blossom, and to bless.