A Gothic Anchor on Church Street
Set at 60 Church Street in the heart of downtown Asheville, Trinity Episcopal Church has served the city for nearly 180 years. The parish's stated vocation is straightforward: "Whatever brings you to this website, we hope you find it helpful." In practice, Trinity fills that welcome with three Sunday services, a Wednesday noon Eucharist, an organ built to sing through thick plaster and stone, a children's wing organized around Godly Play, a youth ministry that travels to Ecuador and the Appalachian woods, and a slate of outreach partnerships stretching from Asheville to Graham County and beyond.
Trinity is part of the Episcopal Church, a member of the Diocese of Western North Carolina, and it wears its Anglican inheritance comfortably. The sanctuary's thick walls and stone floors were built for Tallis, Bach, Purcell, and Fauré, and they get their money's worth. The pews have been filling back up in recent years to the point that additional pews were brought back into the nave. The senior warden's 2025 report called the congregation "in a strong position to continue its ministry in downtown Asheville since its founding almost 180 years ago," with both membership and budget continuing to rise.
The Rector, the Pulpit, and the Staff Behind Him
The Rev. Dr. R. Scott White has served as rector since 2012. A native of Newport, Rhode Island, and a lifelong Episcopalian, he earned a B.A. in communications from Rhode Island College before completing a Master of Divinity at the General Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry in ministry and leadership development at the Virginia Theological Seminary. He previously served at St. Martin's in Charlotte, Christ Church in Raleigh, and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rocky Mount, and has been a deputy to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. He also serves as a Conference Leader for CREDO, a Church Pension Fund program that helps clergy reflect on the core areas of their life and ministry, and is a trustee of both Virginia Theological Seminary and the General Theological Seminary.
The Rev. Amy Peterson joined Trinity as associate rector in July 2022 after completing her M.Div. at Duke Divinity School and serving as a deacon at Saint Joseph's in Durham. She holds degrees from Texas A&M (English), Wheaton (intercultural studies), and Seattle Pacific (creative writing), and is the author of Where Goodness Still Grows, a book about Christian virtue and public life. Her weekly work includes co-leading worship and preaching with the rector, overseeing women's formation and the Creation Care Committee, teaching the midweek Eucharist, and supervising Kat Lomuscio's seminary internship.
The Rev. Mike Reardon came to Trinity in January 2024 as assistant rector and vicar of the Church of the Advocate, a worshipping community Trinity shepherds. A graduate of the University of Connecticut (philosophy) and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, Mike previously served at Grace in Asheville, the Haywood Street Congregation, and St. Paul's in Willimantic, Connecticut, and was ordained to the priesthood on January 9, 2020. He serves as clergy liaison for the Outreach Committee and is a fellow in The Leader's Way, a Berkeley Divinity School program on innovative leadership.
The Rev. Robert J. A. Zito, a deacon who is a native New Yorker and a graduate of Tulane and New York Law School, has been at Trinity since 2020 after serving at the Church of the Incarnation, Trinity Wall Street, and Christ the King in Stone Ridge. His diaconal ministry focuses on interpreting the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world through preaching, pastoral care, and congregation development. He also reinstituted the Trinity chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, which had lapsed after 1965 and was chartered at Trinity in 1887.
Assisting clergy include the Rev. Dr. Margaret Ann (Sam) Faeth, the Rev. Dennis Fotinos, the Rev. Peter Hawes, the Rev. William (Bill) E. Smyth, the Rev. Charlotte Waldrop, the Rev. Dena Whalen, and the Rev. Deacon Peggy Buchanan.
Three Sundays, Three Eucharists
Trinity's regular Sunday rhythm is built around three distinct celebrations of the Holy Eucharist. The day begins at 8:00 AM with a spoken Holy Eucharist, accompanied by organ and a soloist. From 9:00 to 9:45 AM the parish gathers in Tuton Hall for breakfast (six dollars, prepared with eggs from Dry Ridge Farm) and, for those who arrive early, a Word for Today Bible Study in the Conference Room that runs in summer in place of the regular formation hour.
At 9:30 AM the building opens up for formation. The nursery welcomes children from infancy through age three, and three Godly Play classrooms gather children from potty-trained three-year-olds through fifth grade. Middle school and high school youth meet in Trinity's youth area beneath Tuton Hall, while adults have a choice: an Adult Forum in the Undercroft or a Parents in Conversation gathering in the Clark Room, with occasional special offerings such as the rector's "God and the New York Times" series in the same room.
At 10:45 AM the principal service of the day takes place. The Holy Eucharist with Choir gathers the largest congregation of the morning, with the chancel choir, organ, and full ceremonial. The service is livestreamed to YouTube and Facebook, and a chat function allows online participants to submit prayer requests for the Prayers of the People. Coffee hour follows in the Church Street Courtyard or Tuton Hall.
At 5:30 PM the candles come out. The Celtic Eucharist is a meditative, candlelit service that draws on the liturgical traditions of Iona and Northumbria, with prayers and music from a variety of sources. The instruments change week to week and may include flute, harp, cello, and violin alongside the piano and organ. Silence is built into the service at intervals, and the darkened nave with its dozens of candles and icons makes the experience something quite different from the morning's principal liturgy. Like the 10:45 service, the Celtic Eucharist is livestreamed, and the rector and staff describe it as an easy service to bring a friend or family member to for the first time.
On Wednesdays at 11:30 AM, Trinity offers a mid-week Holy Eucharist. Before that service, the Redwood Chapel is open from 10:45 to 11:15 AM for silent prayer, with a handout of prayers and readings to guide the time.
Music That Lives in the Walls
Music is one of the defining features of Trinity's worship life. Dr. Kevin Seal, who became Director of Music and Organist in August 2024, leads the program from a renovated Austin organ that fills the sanctuary with ease. The four-rank antiphonal Austin organ was originally purchased in 1995 from Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church in Durham and revoiced by Daniel Angerstein in 2015; a recent capital campaign funded a full renovation by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut, including a solid-state system, new wind chests, several new ranks of pipes, digital Walker ranks, new actions and leathers, a fully renovated console, and a complete revoicing of every pipe. The 1976 dedication, to John Walter Tuton, rector from 1947 to 1976, still proclaims that "its music will glorify God and bring joy to our congregation, as did he during his ministry at Trinity."
Four choirs make that organ sing. The Chancel Choir, a volunteer ensemble of about 35 adults, sings at the 10:45 service each week and occasionally at the Celtic Eucharist, with rehearsals on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. The Cherub Choir, for children ages four through seven and co-directed by Dr. Seal and Nanette Popa, meets Wednesdays from 5:00 to 5:30 PM and sings periodically at the 10:45 service and on Christmas Eve. The Youth Choir, for children in grades four through twelve, rehearses Wednesdays from 5:45 to 6:30 PM. The Handbell Choir, with eleven ringers and room to grow, meets Mondays from 4:30 to 5:30 PM.
Outside the regular worship schedule, Trinity's Music Series brings world-class performers into the nave. Recent and upcoming highlights include a sold-out concert by the British vocal ensemble Voces8 that drew more than four hundred people, a complete performance of Bach's Cantata BWV 105 as a Bach Vespers service on Trinity Sunday, a Choral Evensong with the Asheville Vocal Ensemble on Palm Sunday, and a spring performance of Duruflé's Requiem with chamber orchestra. The associate rector and the music director work closely with the Asheville Vocal Ensemble, the Pan Harmonia flute and harp duo, and other regional artists on these programs.
Children, Godly Play, and the Cherub Choir
Nanette Popa, Director of Children and Family Ministries, leads a formation program built around Godly Play, the Montessori-influenced approach developed by the late Rev. Jerome Berryman in 1984 and used at Trinity for more than twenty years. The approach invites children to explore Bible stories through wonder, play, and imagination, and the parish reports that it is often just as meaningful for the adults in the room as it is for the children.
Sunday morning offerings include three Godly Play classrooms. Godly Play 1 gathers three-year-olds through pre-kindergarten. Godly Play 2 works with kindergarten through second grade. Rite in the Middle serves third through fifth graders and adds deeper theological reflection, journaling, art, and group projects. Children's Chapel runs from 10:30 AM through the Peace at the 10:45 service for Godly Play 1 and 2 children, with snacks in the Undercroft and worship in the Redwood Chapel.
The nursery, staffed by two qualified caregivers who keep up-to-date safety certifications, is open from 9:30 AM (9:00 in summer) through the end of the second service. Beyond Sunday mornings, Trinity offers Club 345 for third through fifth graders, who meet once a month for outings and service projects; 4 for Families gatherings once a season; and Come Join the Circle, a summer program in the Redwood Chapel for three-year-olds through fifth graders. Come to the Table, a two-session class with clergy on Holy Communion, prepares older Godly Play and Rite in the Middle students to receive communion at the 10:45 service. Vacation Bible School is scheduled for June 21 to 24, 2027.
All volunteers who work with children have completed Safe Church Training. Parents who prefer that their children's images not appear in Trinity's communications can submit a Media Opt-Out Form to the parish office.
Youth Who Travel, Serve, and Lead
Debbie Cox has served as Trinity's youth director since 2000, after teaching early childhood education and a five-year stint as a stay-at-home mother. She is responsible for ministries with students in grades six through twelve and their families, sits on the Camp Henry Committee, and serves on the Youth Roundtable for the Diocese of Western North Carolina. She was married at Trinity in 1990, and both of her children were baptized there.
The middle school class meets Sundays from 9:30 to 10:30 AM in the youth area, accessed from the stairs to the right of the Tuton Hall kitchen. The high school class, in a classroom on the other side of the same stairway, works to inspire theological thinking and help students transition from simple Bible stories to a more mature Christian faith.
Outside Sunday mornings, the Trinity Youth Group (EYC) meets once a month for fellowship, service projects, and social outings, with dates running from September through May. Each summer the parish organizes at least one week-long mission trip, alternating between international and national destinations. Recent trips have included a week-long backpacking Wilderness Trail experience for middle schoolers and a mission trip to Ecuador for high schoolers, with previous journeys taking Trinity youth to Chicago, Houston, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, San José, Costa Rica, and Greece.
Youth are integrated into the rhythms of parish worship. Acolytes in grades three through twelve serve on a rotating schedule at all three Sunday services; the Acolyte Ministry is the largest and most active youth group in the church, with forty-five young people serving at least once a month. Worship Ministers in grades eleven and twelve serve as lectors and chalice bearers. On Youth Sunday each May, youth plan and lead the entire 10:45 service, including the sermon.
Diocesan-sponsored retreats round out the year. The Middle School Retreat at Lake Logan runs September 25 to 27; the High School Fall Conference at Valle Crucis runs November 20 to 22; and a Spring Conference follows March 12 to 14. Camp Henry, the diocese's summer camp, is also a regular part of Trinity's youth life.
Adults Who Keep Asking Questions
Adult formation at Trinity is built around Sunday morning classes during the 9:30 formation hour and a year-long series of special offerings. The 2026-2027 theme is "A Little Leaven," drawn from Jesus' parable in Matthew 13:33 of the woman who hid leaven in three measures of flour. The rector and associate rector are using that image to frame a year of attending to the Spirit's quiet, persistent work in the world.
Recent and upcoming offerings have included a four-week class with Dr. April Love-Fordham on St. Francis and the Christian Life; a session with the Rev. Dr. Michael Delashmutt, Dean of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd at the General Theological Seminary, on artificial intelligence and our humanity; a four-week class on the Celtic Saints of Ireland in preparation for Trinity's pilgrimage to Ireland in October 2027; John Kramp's two studies on prayer through Psalm 119; Dr. Tim Owings's series on the parables of Jesus; a session on the Bible and the New York Times; the Brotherhood of St. Andrew's "Meet the Brotherhood" Sunday; a Creation Care series on the ancient practice of Rogation Days; and a three-week class on religious nationalism. The full formation community comes together in Tuton Hall each May for a hands-on Rise Against Hunger meal-packing event that produces up to 10,000 meals for communities facing hunger around the world.
Beyond Sunday morning, Trinity offers a Tuesday morning Women's Bible Study in the Conference Room and online; the Becoming Beloved Community book group, which discusses social and environmental justice at the intersection of white supremacy; the Second Chapter Book Group, which meets on the second Thursday of every even-numbered month at 10:00 AM in the Clark Room; the Literary Ladies Book Club, which meets at noon on the fourth Thursday of odd-numbered months and gathers in homes for potluck lunch and book discussion; Amy's Occasional Bookclub; and Education for Ministry (EfM), the four-year lay theological formation program based at the University of the South in Sewanee. Trinity is bringing EfM back to the parish after Hurricane Helene disrupted the schedule.
Three lay orders and communities maintain regular rhythms at Trinity. The Daughters of the King, a Christian lay order for women, meets the third Sunday of every month except July and incorporates a Rule of Prayer and a Rule of Service. The Brotherhood of St. Andrew, recently reinstated by Deacon Bob Zito, meets on the last Tuesday of the month for social fellowship and on the first Sunday of the month for prayer, study, and contemplation. The Creation Care Committee meets about six times a year and works to deepen awareness of the sacredness of creation and to tend the landscape around Trinity with a strong sense of the spirit of the place.
Service That Travels Farther Than the Nave
Trinity's outreach work stretches well beyond its downtown lot. The Outreach Committee, working from a budget of $75,000 in 2025, awards grants to organizations working in shelter, food, and children's welfare and supports twenty-one partner charities. The Red Bag Food Drive collects food for the Swannanoa Christian Ministry, Manna Foodbank, and the Appalachian Regional Ministry; a fall collection adds school supplies. Trinity has helped put together Loaves & Fishes alternative Christmas gift markets in partnership with First Presbyterian and Central Methodist, supported an Episcopal House build with Habitat for Humanity, and continued participating in Meals on Wheels in Buncombe County, where the parish has been active since the 1970s. Every other October the parish hosts a Rise Against Hunger meal-packing event.
The Appalachian Regional Ministry, launched in 2017 after the vestry asked the rector to explore new mission areas, focuses on Graham County, where Trinity volunteers travel monthly to help unload Manna food trucks, repackage boxes of fruits and vegetables into family-sized servings, and prepare meals for more than 300 people. The ministry has also collected children's books, run clothing drives, gathered school supplies, and developed a computer curriculum for elderly residents. Pastor Eric Reece of Robbinsville United Methodist Church has said that "a great benefit was the encouragement and care Trinity brought and that is priceless."
Trinity also partners with Church of the Advocate, a worshipping community the assistant rector Mike Reardon serves as vicar. After Mike's first year there, the congregation resumed a Tuesday morning contemplative prayer service and began exploring a music ministry. Members of Trinity help with outreach at the Advocate, and the Daughters of the King have collected underwear, shoes, and monetary donations for the Advocate's ministry.
Caring for One Another
Pastoral care at Trinity runs through several coordinated ministries. The Pastoral Care team meets monthly to coordinate care for the sick, grieving, and needy; the Encouragement Notes committee of twelve volunteers writes handwritten cards to parishioners facing surgery, family crisis, illness, treatment, or grief, with 239 notes sent in 2025 alone. The Meal Team delivers hearty meals to those recovering from health issues or in difficult seasons. The Trinity Caregivers' Support Group meets via Zoom on the second Friday of every month, year-round, for parishioners caring for spouses or family members with dementia, and has grown to fourteen participants. Healing Station is offered at both the 8:00 and 10:45 services, and clergy and lay Eucharistic Ministers continue to take communion to members at home when requested.
The Flower Delivery Ministry, founded in 2020 after a virtual Easter left the sanctuary's flowers without a congregation, has now delivered more than 1,550 arrangements to parishioners in retirement communities, nursing homes, and homes. Each Sunday, a team of thirty-plus volunteers meets in Tuton Hall to rearrange altar flowers into smaller vases for delivery.
The Building, the Garden, and Getting There
Trinity's sanctuary was designed, as Dr. Seal likes to note, for music. Its thick plastered walls, stone, and wood resonate with the music of Tallis, Bach, Purcell, and Fauré, and many musicians have noted the effortlessness needed to produce beautiful sound in the room. The Austin organ, the chancel choir, and the candlelit Celtic Eucharist each put that architecture to work.
Accessibility has been a priority in recent capital projects. A professionally inspected elevator near the courtyard entrance serves worshippers who use wheelchairs, strollers, or have limited mobility, taking them up to the nave level. An induction loop system, also called a Telecoil, broadcasts the spoken word, music, and other audio directly to hearing aids and cochlear implants equipped with a T-coil. An ADA-compliant door on the ground floor gives wheelchair users direct access to the elevator without traversing a ramp. Ushers and greeters are trained to help with both the elevator and the Telecoil system.
Parking is available in two church lots that together accommodate about ninety-three cars, plus more than twenty spaces at Ravenscroft Suites fully available to church members on Sundays. The senior warden's 2025 report flagged upcoming development pressure on the smaller lot on Ravenscroft and Aston Streets, including two announced six- and seven-story housing complexes on Coxe Avenue and Aston Street across from the church. The parish purchased the house and lot at 75 Church Street (the Trinity Annex) and the adjacent Trinity Place property, both of which generate income for the church and provide flexibility for temporary parking as the neighborhood densifies.
Trinity hosts weddings, funerals, baptisms, and concerts, and rents its spaces to outside groups through an Event Space Request Form. Suggested donation ranges are available for groups from ten to 250 people, and rooms available include Tuton Hall, the Undercroft, the Conference Room, the Clark Room, the Upstairs Library, and the Upstairs Classroom. Weddings follow the Book of Common Prayer, are conducted by Trinity's clergy, and are not scheduled around Thanksgiving, the Twelve Days of Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day, the Fourth of July, or during Lent. Funerals can be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, at the Trinity Memorial Garden, or at another Asheville-area location, and Trinity offers a Memorial Garden Contract for those who want to plan ahead. Baptisms are typically scheduled around Pentecost, All Saints' Day, the Baptism of Our Lord, or a bishop's visit.
Becoming Part of Trinity
Trinity's formation year points newcomers toward a natural path into parish life. The adult formation class "Exploring the Episcopal Experience," taught by the rector from January through February, is designed especially for those new to the Episcopal Church or new to Trinity, and prepares participants to be confirmed or received by the bishop when he visits. Confirmation is open to anyone in sixth grade or older who has completed the preparation classes; youth confirmation is held through Debbie Cox and adult confirmation through Scott White. Baptisms are welcomed from infancy through elder years, with parents, guardians, and godparents making promises on behalf of infants and small children.
Newcomers can fill out a visitor's form online or pick up a Welcome Card at the church, after which a member of the Congregational Development Ministry Team follows up. Trinity Connect Sunday School classes meet five times a year as a way to learn more about the parish. Sunday Supper Clubs, informal dinners held in members' homes on a rotating schedule, are intended to get to know other Trinity members in a low-key setting. Name tags are available at no cost to new members, with a suggested ten-dollar donation for replacements.
The church's calendar moves with the seasons. Wednesday evenings in Advent bring a Music for Advent series at 12:15 PM with performers that have included Asheville Baroque and a flute and harp duo; the Lessons and Carols service on the third Sunday of Advent features choir and brass; and Christmas Eve brings an extended prelude before the 5:30 and 11:00 PM services. Lent includes a Wednesday lunch Eucharist and dinner small groups discussing the parables of Jesus. The Women's Retreat at Valle Crucis in March draws about sixty-five women. The men's retreat at Lake Logan in September and the Sparked Imagination arts retreat at Lake Logan in October round out the year. Trinity members also regularly travel to Lake Logan for Thursday volunteer work at the diocesan retreat center and Camp Henry.
Stewardship at Trinity is built around an annual pledge campaign, with a pre-campaign in mid-September and the full campaign running from mid-October into late November. The 2025 campaign closed with 386 pledges totaling $1,163,231. Gifts can be made online, by direct deposit, by text to trinityavl at 73256, by stock transfer, or through qualified charitable distributions from IRAs. The Trinity Legacy Society honors those who include the parish in their estate plans, and the Trinity Church Endowment Fund supports extraordinary capital needs and special ministries. Online giving is available at the parish's giving page.
Trinity's weekly newsletter, This Week at Trinity, is delivered by email and lists the calendar, formation offerings, and opportunities to serve. The Rector's Blog and the Stories That Matter blog share reflections from the clergy and the parish community. A linktree gathers registration links for parish events, and visitors can subscribe to the parish's newsletters and Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram feeds to stay connected. The church office, at 60 Church Street, can be reached at office@trinityasheville.org or 828-253-9361.