At 143 Lincoln Street in North Easton, Massachusetts, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is an ELCA congregation shaped by a long history of welcoming newcomers. Holy Trinity is known for Sunday worship that follows a historic Christian pattern, a rich musical life, creation-care work on its 14-acre campus, and practical service to neighbors. Members and visitors come from Easton, Stoughton, Sharon, Brockton, Mansfield, Taunton, West Bridgewater, and other nearby towns. The congregation's purpose is direct: “God calls us to follow the example of Jesus, acting boldly to build community with diverse people and to nurture creation.”
Sunday at 9:45: Gather, Word, Meal, Sent
Sunday morning worship begins at 9:45 a.m. at 143 Lincoln Street in North Easton. The service generally runs a little over an hour, and coffee hour follows immediately. Inside is a spacious midcentury-modern sanctuary; in warm months, Holy Trinity often shifts the gathering outdoors. The Sunday order is Gather, Word, Meal, Sent: the people of God gather by the Holy Spirit, God's word is proclaimed, the risen Christ is shared at the table, and worshipers are sent into daily life. The congregation celebrates the Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, the Mass, or the Lord's Supper.
The service follows the historic pattern of Christian worship while keeping its language accessible to people arriving from other traditions and denominations. Music is a blend of traditional hymns, inspirational repertoire, and Taizé songs, with experiments into spirituals and contemporary styles. The rhythm carefully balances speech, silence, singing, and ritual, creating space for prayer and attention to God's word. A complete worship booklet makes the whole service easy to follow without moving between hymnals and loose papers. Seasonal midweek services in Lent and Advent focus on a particular theme and draw on varied musical styles.
Holy Trinity understands the sacrament of Holy Communion as a gift from God for all people. No Lutheran background is required. Any child old enough to put out a hand is old enough to receive the meal, and anyone seeking closeness to the community gathered in God's name is welcome to receive bread and wine. Communion is usually served in individual glasses, with white wine and red grape juice for children and anyone who prefers to avoid alcohol. Bread is customary, with white wafers used occasionally, and gluten-free wafers are also available. Anyone unable to reach the communion rail can signal an usher or the pastor, and Communion will be brought to them.
Children are welcome at worship, and the congregation's formation begins with Sunday Church School, where Bible stories come alive through creative storytelling, crafts, drama, song, and lessons. Youth gather for confirmation classes, service projects, team-building, and activities that connect faith with everyday life. Families also encounter partners such as School on Wheels and Raising Multicultural Kids. For those who arrive by car, a large parking lot, the driveway, and the rear lot offer parking; the outdoor labyrinth can be walked at any time.
Summer worship began during the COVID-19 pandemic and became a relaxed, informal gathering in the church's wooded setting. Services move outdoors when there is no rain and the temperature is below 80 degrees, and indoors when the weather does not cooperate. Holy Trinity also livestreams many Sunday services. The 9:45 worship livestream is available through YouTube, Facebook, and the church's own player, while a collection of recorded and virtual worship services remains available for viewing.
From Swedish Homes to Holy Trinity
The congregation's story begins with Swedish immigrants who began arriving in North Easton as early as 1865 to build lives and work in a new country. They first gathered in homes, worshiping in their native language and with their own customs so that they could preserve their Lutheran heritage. That willingness to welcome people while respecting the worship they carried with them remains visible in Holy Trinity's identity. The congregation continues to define itself by radical hospitality, welcome, and the dignity of every person.
The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church Society was organized in October 1890 with 84 members. In March 1892, Pastor A. J. Norlin met 20 members to complete the congregation's organizational arrangements. Land at Jenny Lind and Williams Streets was purchased that year, a church building was completed, and the congregation was received into the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in February 1893. In 1950, the word “Swedish” was dropped from its name, leaving Lebanon Evangelical Lutheran Church. Growth after World War II made the original site too small, so William and Mary Ames Parker gave the congregation 14.6 acres on Lincoln Street. Groundbreaking began in 1959, the first worship in the new building took place that Christmas Eve, and the church was dedicated in 1960. The name became Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1958. It joined the Lutheran Church in America in 1963 and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1988; today it belongs to the New England Synod.
Holy Trinity's identity as an ELCA congregation grows out of a Lutheran emphasis on salvation through God's grace rather than human achievement. The church centers its life on the Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and understands baptism at any age through water and word as forgiveness, salvation, and inclusion in the body of Christ. The weekly Eucharist, the open welcome, and the commitment to antiracism, social and economic justice, and environmental care are not separate additions but parts of one Christian identity.
That history of welcome continued when Holy Trinity sponsored two refugee families in 1980. The first came from Vietnam and included a mother, her four children, and the mother's sister; all four children later graduated from college with engineering degrees and became U.S. citizens. The second was a family of four from Cambodia, including two children, and eventually settled in Vermont. Later, the congregation made an intentional welcome to people who identify as LGBTQIA+, witnessed that welcome through an annual Transgender Day of Remembrance Service, and embraced responsibilities for antiracism, justice, and creation care.
The COVID-19 pandemic ended in-person worship several times and brought new forms of ministry. Technology, a specialized Shepherding Ministry, and a Prayer Angel Ministry kept people connected, while the Feeding the Hungry Ministry began. Outdoor worship grew from the same period, and regular livestreaming began in 2024. Those changes did not replace Holy Trinity's in-person life; they expanded the ways the congregation could gather, serve, and make the welcome of Christ visible in North Easton and beyond.
Welcome as a Public Practice
Holy Trinity is both a Reconciling in Christ and an Open and Affirming congregation. Its public welcome embraces every race, ethnicity, heritage, culture, age, gender identity and expression, sexual identity, physical or mental ability, socioeconomic status, and place on the journey of faith. It commits itself to antiracism, social and economic justice, and environmental care. Since its 2016 congregational adoption of Reconciling in Christ, this welcome has been made especially public through the RIC witness and the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance Service. The congregation's insistence on dignity and belonging shapes worship, community meals, education, advocacy, and life together.
The welcome also has a sacramental shape. Holy Trinity joyfully baptizes people of any age, trusting God's free gift of grace through water and word. The promises of forgiveness, salvation, and inclusion in the body of Christ become alive in Holy Baptism, and the congregation recognizes one baptism rather than a uniquely Lutheran one. People coming from other Christian traditions are welcome to discuss baptism for their children. At the table, the open invitation to Communion makes welcome tangible: belonging is expressed through shared bread and drink rather than a test of background or belief.
The congregation also explains the word “evangelical” in its original Lutheran sense. Derived from the Greek euangelion, “good news,” it refers to belief in salvation through God's grace, not the political and cultural meanings sometimes attached to the term today. Holy Trinity holds these convictions within the wider ELCA, where its congregation belongs to the New England Synod and participates in relationships with other Lutheran bodies and churches in full communion. Its distinctive identity is thus both thoroughly Lutheran and emphatic that no one must be Lutheran, or even Christian, to be welcomed at the table.
An 1859 Organ and a Music-Making Congregation
The centerpiece of Holy Trinity's music is an E. & G. G. Hook pipe organ, Opus 254, built in 1859. It first stood in the Church of the Unity on West Newton Street in Boston, then moved to Zion Lutheran Church and later All Saints Lutheran Church. Removed in 1979 and held in storage, the instrument was restored for North Easton, where installation continued through 1982 and dedication took place that November. With its Great, Swell, Choir, and Pedal divisions, the organ supports traditional liturgy and hymns, accompanies choirs and soloists, and serves concerts and public events. Its more than 160 years of use make it both a worship resource and a living link to the congregation's immigrant and building history.
The organ is only one part of a generous music ministry. The vocal choir rehearses weekly and regularly sings in worship. Three octaves of handbells and two octaves of handchimes are played by volunteer musicians, with smaller groups often accompanying services and larger groups rehearsing for special occasions. Children sing as a choir and occasionally take solo pieces. Solo music, guest musicians, and traditions from around the world broaden the sound of worship. The church deliberately includes traditional hymns, spirituals, Taizé songs, contemporary music, and other cultural expressions rather than asking one style to represent the whole congregation.
Logan Heath, Interim Director of Music Ministry, brings experience in collaborative piano work with choirs of many ages and skill levels. Art projects welcome all ages and abilities, recitals invite the community, and instrumental and vocal concerts extend the arts beyond Sunday worship. Guest musicians sometimes come from the congregation and sometimes from community relationships. Music is treated as a life-giving part of community and worship, not simply as decoration. It shapes the congregation's identity as both an arts program and a church, and it gives members many ways to participate.
Creation Care at the Lincoln Street Campus
Care for creation is one of Holy Trinity's defining commitments. Working with Lutherans Restoring Creation, the congregation adopted a Care-for-Creation Covenant in 2024. It affirms God as the source of all things, Christ as redeemer of all things, and the Spirit as sustainer of all things; calls all life sacred; and names the congregation's vocation as Earth-keepers who care for creation and live justly so all creatures can thrive. The covenant shapes worship, education, decisions about buildings and grounds, habits at home and work, and public ministry concerning environmental legislation and policy.
Those commitments are visible around the Lincoln Street property. A pollinator garden supplies nectar and pollen for monarch butterflies, bees, moths, and other insects, while a developing milkweed bed supports monarch caterpillars. Native plants include black-eyed Susan, butterfly weed, coreopsis, goldenrod, mountain mint, yarrow, and other flowers. The congregation also maintains a recycling program and offers environmental education. Outside worship and public environmental work make the church's ecological theology part of shared community life rather than a statement confined to belief.
Trails from the Lincoln Street property connect with additional hiking routes on conservation land in North Easton. The 14 acres of gardens and woodlands are open to the public, and a Memorial Labyrinth in front of the education wing provides a place for walking, reflection, meditation, and prayer. The wooded setting that makes summer worship feel informal also gives the congregation room to practice reciprocity with the natural world, honoring the land rather than treating it as background.
Meals for Neighbors and Partnerships Across Southeastern Massachusetts
Feeding the Hungry is one of the congregation's most concrete forms of service. Volunteers gather weekly at Holy Trinity to assemble lunches for people experiencing homelessness at Father Bill's/Mainspring in Brockton. Once each month, they also prepare dinner in members' homes, collect the meals, and deliver them to Father Bill's. The practice grew from Holy Trinity's wider response to homelessness and reflects the conviction that hunger is not a condition for people to be sent away. It is an invitation to notice a neighbor's need and bring what is needed.
Holy Trinity also works through close partnerships. The Rose Conservatory uses music to transform the lives of children in the Brockton school district through discipline, scholarship, and compassionate leadership. School on Wheels receives financial gifts and labor of love, including collecting and packing backpacks for children experiencing homelessness; the organization also provides tutoring and college preparation for high school students. Raising Multicultural Kids cultivates racial and cultural competence in local communities. Easton Women of Today assists individuals, families, and organizations, supports scholarships, and has raised tens of thousands of dollars for local groups including the Easton Food Pantry, Taunton Area Community Table, Schools on Wheels, Buddy Dog, and Habitat for Humanity.
The justice commitment reaches beyond immediate needs. Holy Trinity supports people on the margins, including transgender and gender-diverse teens and adults, and people living under occupation in Palestine. The congregation's public welcome is also expressed through an annual Transgender Day of Remembrance Service, sponsorship of Cub Scout Pack 76, and a host Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that gathers Monday evenings at 6:30 in the fellowship hall. Partnerships with community organizations extend the church's concern for the beloved community beyond its own membership.
Holy Trinity's public witness also includes gun violence. The congregation recognizes discrimination as a factor in gun violence and acknowledges the toxic intersection of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, racism, and white nationalism. It addresses that harm through prayer, education, and advocacy, following Jesus' call to be peacemakers, pursue justice, and protect vulnerable people. The Memorial Labyrinth has also provided a place for public remembrance and reflection on mass shootings. Concern for gun violence belongs within the larger covenant of welcome, because communities cannot be truly safe when prejudice, exclusion, and violence go unchallenged.
Learning and Serving Across the Generations
Children's and youth formation is woven through worship and service. Sunday Church School uses the Bible and faith through creative storytelling, crafts, drama, song, and lessons. Confirmation classes, youth group activities, service projects, team-building, camping, and connections with School on Wheels and Raising Multicultural Kids help young people grow in faith and across generations. Holy Trinity provides scholarships for children and youth to attend Camp Calumet, an ELCA camp in the woods by Lake Ossipee in New Hampshire, and families can explore Drama Kids, led by Heather Dunham, for imaginative stage experiences that build life skills on and off the stage.
Adult formation is equally flexible. Small groups can be found, suggested, or created around book studies, Bible studies, spirituality, current affairs, social justice, and environmental issues. Groups meet in person or by Zoom for short- or long-term commitments. Discussions have explored A Journey to Palestine, Voices of Refugees, Race and Christianity, and Catching Up with the Spirit: The Book of Acts. The Senior Club gathers around a meal to hear invited speakers discuss travelogues, town government, and timely health issues. Members can also join the Building and Grounds Crew for projects such as repairs, painting, mowing, and shoveling.
Stephen Ministry adds a deliberate form of spiritual care, with trained ministers offering support to people going through difficulties. The church also provides scholarships for higher education, including dedicated awards for nursing and health professions, ordained ministry and other church vocations, and broader post-high-school study. Planned and legacy gifts can support outreach, new ministries, capital improvements, and the Mission and Ministry Fund, with at least one-fifth of unrestricted gifts directed to outreach in the community, the synod, and wider church. Giving supports the congregation's ministry and outreach, including online gifts and planned giving.
Volunteers contribute through many practical paths: preparing meals, caring for the pollinator garden through the Green Team, supporting the Red Rose campaign for the Rose Conservatory, maintaining buildings and grounds, sharing music, and serving as ushers or readers. These roles welcome people with different interests and gifts, and the congregation's small size makes personal connection central to finding a place to serve.
Rooms, Trails, and a Shared Building
Holy Trinity's spacious, flexible facilities are offered to the wider community. The sanctuary seats 350 for ceremonies, musical performances, and large gatherings. A smaller chapel, fellowship hall, stage, attached kitchen, lounge, and several classrooms create additional options; the fellowship hall accommodates 200 in auditorium style or 125 around tables. The grounds include a large parking lot, lawns for outdoor events, gardens, the wooded trails, and the outdoor labyrinth. Funerals, meetings, celebrations, educational programs, and community gatherings all have a place in this shared setting.
Bristol Trinity Episcopal Church has shared the building since 2014, worshipping in the chapel and using rooms in the education wing. Because both congregations worship at 9:45, they often share fellowship and service projects and worship jointly for some summer services and special events. This long partnership is one reason Holy Trinity describes sharing its space as part of its mission. Affordable facility use, a Memorial Labyrinth, and trails that open onto conservation land all reflect a practical understanding of hospitality: the church's building and land serve the people around it.
Facility use is designed to remain affordable for individuals and small community organizations, with provisions for longer-term use and special arrangements. The fellowship hall and its attached kitchen open directly toward the parking lot, the sanctuary supports larger ceremonies and performances, and smaller rooms accommodate meetings, seminars, and classes. Priority goes first to congregational programs, then to nonprofit groups supported by the church, other nonprofit organizations, and finally private or for-profit events. Sharing the property this way turns the church's practical resources into an extension of its welcome.
A Small Congregation with Wide Doors
Pastor Kaylie Hope Ines brings a blend of parish, campus, youth, children's, pastoral-care, and community-engagement experience to Holy Trinity. She grew up in Wichita, Kansas, and earned a degree in psychology and religion with a sustainability minor from Bethany College. She completed her Master of Divinity at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary with a concentration in climate justice and faith, then served two ELCA congregations in Kansas and worked as an on-call hospital chaplain. Her ministry emphasizes compassionate care, collaborative leadership, and helping people connect faith with everyday life.
Holy Trinity is a small congregation with many ministries carried by staff and volunteers. Music, care for creation, hospitality, meals, education, justice work, facility use, and pastoral care are not departments apart from one another; they express the same purpose of following Jesus, building community with diverse people, and nurturing creation. At its center is a community that holds together a historic organ, a contemporary welcome, art and environmental stewardship, shared meals, and a table open to all. That is Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in North Easton, a church whose welcome is lived through worship, service, and the sharing of its home.