Across from PLU, in the Heart of Parkland
Set in the Parkland neighborhood of Tacoma, directly across the street from Pacific Lutheran University, Trinity Lutheran Church has occupied the corner of Park Avenue South and Wheeler Street since 1919. Generations of PLU students, faculty and longtime Parkland families have walked those same blocks to the sanctuary, and the relationship between church and university shapes nearly everything the congregation does.
Trinity is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, one of more than 8,500 ELCA communities in the country and a member of the Southwestern Washington Synod. Theologically it is Lutheran to the core, with a liturgical worship life, an open communion table, and a strong ethic of feeding neighbors. A glance at a typical Sunday shows what the congregation is best known for: a 10:00 AM service with Holy Communion, a full choir, two distinguished pipe organs, a sanctuary filled with hymn-singing, and a building that doubles as the neighborhood's food pantry and preschool.
Founded in 1919, Part of the Parkland Community
The congregation was founded in 1919, the same year the Parkland area was taking shape as a distinct Tacoma neighborhood and Pacific Lutheran University was beginning its long history on the other side of Park Avenue. Trinity's "old Gray Church," pictured in early congregation photographs and dating to around 1940, still stands on the property and is a reminder of the parish's longevity in the community.
More than a century later, Trinity describes itself as a place where "all are welcome" and invites neighbors to share their gifts in worship, congregational life and outreach. The congregation has invested heavily in two directions that reflect its roots. The first is its relationship with Pacific Lutheran University. The second is a cluster of outreach ministries that have grown into some of the most visible hunger-relief efforts in Parkland.
Sunday Worship with Holy Communion
Worship is at the heart of Trinity's identity. The weekly service is held every Sunday at 10:00 AM in the sanctuary, with the entrance on Wheeler Street. Communion is celebrated at every service, and the table is open to anyone who wishes to receive it.
The order of worship is liturgical. Trinity describes liturgy as "the work of the people," meaning the gathered congregation actively participates in prayers, Scripture readings, creeds and sung praise rather than watching a performance. The service is livestreamed on the congregation's YouTube channel, beginning at 10:00 AM and available afterward as a recording. Worshipers at home are invited to prepare bread and wine (or juice) for themselves and their families so they may share in communion from their living rooms.
The yearly rhythm includes a Christmas Eve Candlelight service, Wednesday evening worship in Advent and Lent, services for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, an Easter festival with procession and brass instruments, and occasional outdoor services in the courtyard.
Two Organs, a Steinway and the Evergreen Brass
Music holds a special place at Trinity, both for what it offers the congregation week to week and for the instruments that fill the room. The sanctuary's main organ is a three-manual instrument built by the Schlicker Organ Company in 1969, with subsequent pipework and voicing by Pasi Organ Builders and Paul Fritts and Company. In the chapel stands a much older pipe organ, built by George Kilgen and Son in 1890. A Steinway B grand piano from 1909 rounds out the collection. Specifications for both organs are available as PDFs.
The Trinity choir, directed by Dr. Jonathan Wohlers, sings at the 10:00 AM services each week and draws its repertoire from the great body of Lutheran choral music. Rehearsals are held Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM, before the service, and new singers are welcome to join at any point in the year. In addition to weekly music, the sanctuary hosts periodic concerts, including an annual summer concert by the congregation's ensemble-in-residence, the Evergreen Brass Quintet.
Feeding the Neighborhood Through a Busy Food Pantry
Trinity's feeding ministry is one of the most active parts of parish life. The food pantry is open three days a week, year round - Tuesday and Friday from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and Sunday from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM. Because of high demand and reduced donations, visits are limited to eight per month, and a home delivery program is offered for people who cannot come in person.
The pantry partners with the Emergency Food Network, several area farms, the Center for Food Preservation, and Soup 'N Ladle to provide fresh produce and prepared food alongside shelf-stable staples. Pierce County also connects qualifying seniors (age 60 and above) with up to fourteen free microwave meals a week, delivered to the door.
Just outside the building sits Gardens of Edible Grace, a community garden that began when a Trinity member and his Concordia Christian Academy high school students built the first raised beds. The garden now has eighteen raised beds including a handicapped-accessible bed added in 2023, planted by community members and tended in part for the food pantry. Visitors are encouraged to sit by the pond, read a book, watch the pollinator bees, and pull a few weeds if the spirit moves them.
Quilts, Kits and Baskets of Promise
Trinity has a long-running relationship with Lutheran World Relief, the ELCA's companion agency for disaster response and sustainable development. Parishioners assemble LWR Kits and Quilts throughout the year, with a dedicated LWR Quilters group meeting regularly. During Lent, the Baskets of Promise program invites worshipers to fill small baskets with personal care items that are packed into school kits shipped overseas.
Twice a year, Trinity Lutheran Church Women (TLCW), the congregation's expression of the Women of the ELCA, holds fund-raising bazaars in the spring and November. The bazaars include a silent auction, "nearly new" items and vendor tables, with all proceeds going to charitable organizations chosen by the women of the church.
Growing Faith from the Cradle to Confirmation
Faith formation at Trinity is organized under the heading of opening "hearts and minds to the wonder, mystery and beauty of God and God's good creation." The congregation offers an Adult Bible Study, Adult Faith Formation and Educational Forums, the Summer Concert Series, the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd children's program, Confirmation, and a Youth Group.
Confirmation at Trinity usually begins around eighth or ninth grade and is structured around scripture, the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Communion, and the key teachings of the Lutheran expression of the Christian faith. It marks the passage to becoming a full voting member of the congregation. Children's faith formation follows the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd model, which uses a hands-on atrium approach to introduce young children to the biblical story and the liturgy.
Trinity also shares the central moments of life with the congregation. Baptisms are celebrated as a way of welcoming new siblings in Christ. First Communion is offered as part of the congregation's open table policy, and parents who want their children instructed before receiving can speak with Pastor Jonette Blakney.
A Partnership with Pacific Lutheran University
The Trinity-PLU partnership is unusually close by geography and by intention. The two institutions share a long history and continue to co-sponsor activities through PLU's Campus Ministry. During the academic year, joint activities include Sunday worship in the Trinity sanctuary, a Thursday Yarn Group from 3:45 to 5:00 PM in the narthex, midweek supper and worship during Lent, and Friday morning prayers from 10:30 to 11:00 AM in PLU's Red Square.
Trinity also hosts Community Meals the second Thursday of the month from 5:00 to 6:30 PM (except January, June through August), sponsored in partnership with PLU Campus Ministry, PLU Wellbeing Services and Resources, and the Center for Diversity, Justice and Sustainability.
A Sanctuary for Weddings, a Cemetery Down the Road
Weddings at Trinity are a regular part of the congregation's life. The parish encourages couples for whom a worship setting is their desire, and the language used is telling: "We are not a venue, but a sanctuary." Funerals follow the same liturgical pattern, with the pastor available for conversations about either life event through the church office.
For members and neighbors who want a burial in a church-owned cemetery, Trinity maintains Parkland Lutheran Cemetery at 13600 - 8th Avenue East, Tacoma, WA 98445. A small team of volunteer co-managers keeps the grounds, updates records on Find-a-Grave and the US Gen Web archives, and works with local mortuaries and monument companies to mark graves and plan services.
Early Learning on Park Avenue South
On the same campus as the sanctuary and offices, the Trinity Lutheran Early Learning Center has been part of the congregation's ministry for years, described by parents as "a long-time bedrock of the Parkland community." The center is state-accredited through Early Achievers, employs teachers and administrators with degrees in Early Childhood Education, and serves children from six weeks through pre-kindergarten.
Classrooms are organized by age - Infants 6 Weeks to 11 Months, Toddlers 12 to 29 Months, Early Preschool 30 to 36 Months, Preschool 3 to 4 years, and Pre-K 4 to 6 years - with developmentally appropriate focus areas including language, literacy, math, science, gross motor skills, social-emotional development, and spiritual growth. Weekly chapel is offered for children ages 3 to 5, and learning is approached "through Jesus glasses." The center is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM year round. Families interested in enrollment can reach the director at director@trinitylutheranparkland.org or (253) 535-2699.
A Statement of Welcome
Trinity's Statement of Welcome names what the congregation wants to be known for: an extravagant hospitality that "extends to all people, wherever they are in their faith journey." The parish commits to welcoming people of every race, culture, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, ability, education and income level, and to ongoing work against racism and all forms of prejudice. Sunday worship, the food pantry, the Early Learning Center, the LWR quilters, the partnership with PLU, and the cemetery all flow from that simple conviction, lived out one Sunday morning and one Tuesday food-pantry shift at a time on Park Avenue South.