Holy Trinity by the Lake Episcopal Church sits on Smirl Drive in Heath, just across Lake Ray Hubbard from Rockwall in northeast Texas. Founded in 1896 as a mission in Forney, the congregation has worshipped continuously for more than 130 years, currently under the leadership of the Rev. Keith Turbeville, the parish's rector since 2014. The church's motto, "Sharing the Light of Christ Since 1896," captures both its Episcopal identity and its long local presence in the Rockwall-Heath community.
A 1902 New England Church on the Texas Prairie
The parish's history begins with the Venner family, English emigrants who settled in Forney in 1877. After the Rev. Edwin Wickens officiated the funeral of W.C. Venner Sr. in 1893 - the first Anglican service in the town - the family asked the bishop to organize a mission. On February 19, 1896, a group of Forney residents - W.D. Adams, H.H. Rogers, Mrs. E. Venner, Miss Francis Venner, John Venner, and Henry Venner - signed an application that was granted the following day. The mission was named Holy Trinity after a church in England where Mrs. Venner had worshipped in her youth.
W.D. Adams advertised in The Churchman, an Episcopal publication, for an architect. Robert H. Slack of New Bedford, Massachusetts, answered, and the New England-style plans eventually arrived by mail. The 75-foot frontage for the building was assembled from three donated lots, with subscriptions ranging from twenty-five cents to five dollars collected to fund a bell that proved too large for the original tower. The completed building, fixtures, and furnishings cost about $2,800, and Bishop Alexander C. Garrett consecrated Holy Trinity on Ascension Day, May 8, 1902.
The little Forney mission struggled for decades as the town's expected growth never materialized. With the construction of Lake Ray Hubbard in the 1960s and 70s, the congregation decided to move the building to a more central location. In August 1973, the steeple and bell were removed, the wings taken off, and the structure was trucked across Interstate 20 to four acres on FM 1140 in Heath. Telephone crews lowered ninety-six phone lines and electric crews took down 110 high lines to make the route possible. On October 2, 1982, the 87th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Dallas granted Holy Trinity full parish status, and the Rev. James Galbraith became its first rector.
Steady expansion followed. A 1998 project enlarged the sanctuary to 200 seats and added a parish hall, library, and offices. A nearly 8,000-square-foot educational facility opened in late 2004 after a $1.5 million capital campaign. In 2017, cameras were installed in the sanctuary for overflow projection and Wi-Fi blanketed the campus. A new hand-crafted altar, lectern, and pulpit followed in 2018, and a 2019 expansion enlarged the parish hall, rebuilt the kitchen, and added a new Transept with fifty additional seats, a wheelchair-accessible restroom, and improved entry into the sanctuary.
Three Sunday Services and a Saturday Casual Eucharist
Worship at Holy Trinity by the Lake centers on the Holy Eucharist in the Episcopal Church's Rite II. On Sundays, an 8:15 a.m. spoken service (without the choir) and a 10:30 a.m. service with full music give the parish two principal Sunday offerings. A 5:00 p.m. Saturday evening service offers a more casual Rite II setting with contemporary music, and a 5:30 p.m. Wednesday healing service is held online.
The 10:30 Sunday service is livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook for those traveling or unable to gather in person. The liturgy follows the standard Episcopal shape: the Ministry of the Word with praise, scripture readings, a full sermon, recitation of the creeds, intercessory prayer, confession, and the sharing of the Peace, followed by the Holy Communion. All baptized Christians, regardless of age, are welcome to receive the bread and wine; receiving either the bread or the wine is considered full communion. Children who prefer not to receive may cross their arms to receive a blessing instead, and a Communion Instruction class is offered for children in third grade or older. Everyone is invited to share refreshments and fellowship in the parish hall after each service.
Worship livestream is available at htbtl.org/livestream.
Children, Youth, and the Nursery
Children are woven directly into parish life. The nursery, staffed by professional caregivers, teachers, students, and parents, serves newborns through age four on Sunday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to noon and is also available for occasional special events.
Children's Chapel takes place during the 10:30 service, when grade-school children process out of the sanctuary just before the Gospel reading. They gather in the youth space for an age-appropriate discussion of the day's Gospel, a related craft, and songs that the Children's Choir later performs in church. The children rejoin their families at the Peace and share communion together at the altar rail.
FAME, a parish-developed program for kindergarten through fifth grade, meets twice a month on the second and fourth Sundays after the 10:30 service. Sessions include music with Orff instruments, games, crafts, and lunch. Laura Weeks, the Children's Ministry Director, oversees all areas of the children's work.
Middle and high school youth gather through the youth group, which emphasizes outreach, fellowship, and social events. Mission trips, a fall Blessing of the Backpacks, and seasonal gatherings such as an October Trunk or Treat are part of the rhythm. Summer camp is offered in partnership with All Saints Camp, and registration opens each spring.
Music as Worship
Music holds a central place in parish worship. The choral choir, led by Organist and Choir Director Jon "Whit" Whittington, sings at the 10:30 Sunday service with traditional hymns, frequent special music, and additional instruments accompanying a digital pipe organ. The Handbell Choir rehearses on the second and fourth Sundays at noon and performs in the fall and spring.
Saturday evenings offer a different feel. The 5:00 p.m. service features electronic keyboards, occasional violin and guitar, and rich harmonies for congregational singing under Saturday Music Director Dennis Kinzler, who is always looking for new vocal and instrumental talent. A music archive on YouTube goes back several years and includes performances by visiting groups such as the Saint Benedict's Quartet and a Scottish piper.
The Labyrinth on the Parking Lot
One of the parish's most unusual spiritual resources is its outdoor pavement labyrinth, painted on the parking lot and available around the clock to parishioners and the surrounding community. The Labyrinth Guild helps members and visitors experience this ancient walking meditation as a tool for personal and spiritual transformation, with parish-led events tied to World Labyrinth Day each May. A small canvas labyrinth is also available for indoor use, and a home study introduces beginners to the practice.
Adult Formation and Small Groups
Sunday morning adult formation meets at 9:30 a.m. in the parish hall. The Spirituality Class, led by Sheila Clark, gathers on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 a.m. in the Undercroft to explore prayer through artwork, music, mandalas, the labyrinth, and reading. A bi-weekly Vine and Branches prayer group provides intercessory prayer, while Daughters of the King and the Brotherhood of St. Andrew offer separate men's and women's fellowship rooted in prayer, study, and service. Three book clubs meet monthly on Sunday evenings, and Cursillo small groups meet weekly to deepen discipleship after weekend retreats.
Fellowship also happens around tables. Dinners for 8 rotate groups of longtime and newcomer parishioners through each other's homes or the parish hall every few months, creating one of the parish's most reliable ways to meet new people. Coffee Chat gathers at a Heath coffee shop on the first and third Monday mornings for casual conversation with clergy.
Serving the Community Beyond the Parish
Outreach is described by the parish as a core expression of its faith. The Brotherhood of St. Andrew runs One Man's Treasure, an ongoing clothing drive that supplies men recently released from prison in the Dallas area. Holy Trinity's food pantry and clothing drive support several regional partners, including the Forney Food Pantry and Helping Hands of Rockwall. Sandwich Sunday sends home-made sandwiches to Austin Street Center every two months. Holy Meals on Wheels provides meals to parish families during times of new babies, illness, or bereavement, and the Angel Tree each Christmas delivers gifts to children in need.
Parishioners also support national mission work through Feed My Starving Children, Patriot Paws, and Women in Need. First-weekend cash offerings each month go to the Rector's Ministry Fund, which provides flexible assistance to urgent needs in the parish and surrounding community. Online giving is available through the parish's Realm account.
Clergy, Staff, and the Vestry
The Rev. Keith Turbeville has served as rector since 2014, after stints at Christ Church in Greenville, South Carolina, and as Vicar of St. Elizabeth's in Buda, Texas. He holds a Master of Divinity from the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin and did theological study at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. He was ordained through the Diocese of Virginia at the National Cathedral.
Ministry staff includes Laura Weeks (Children's Director), Jon "Whit" Whittington (Choir Director and Organist), and Dennis Kinzler (Saturday Music Director). Lay leadership is provided by the vestry, with Matthew Mulliken serving as Senior Warden and Dave Unger as Junior Warden, alongside James Braaten, Reese Dalton, Greg Fox, Sally Meek, Art Nelson, Brian Ratzer, and Cathy Wicker.
Holy Trinity by the Lake is a parish of the Episcopal Church within the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. The church office is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and can be reached at (972) 771-8242 or info@htbtl.org.