A Church at 1200 Main Street Since 1768
Trinity Episcopal Church stands on a short rise at 1200 Main Street in the Village of Fishkill, a few hundred feet east of the intersection of US Route 9 and NY Route 52. From the outside, the church looks much as it did when it was raised in 1768: a plain, rectangular wooden building roughly 42 by 60 feet, with ten smoothed tree trunks set vertically on masonry foundations and joined at the top by timbers, the walls and roof carried on trusses built using techniques similar to those used to construct Dutch barns in the Hudson Valley. The steeple that once topped the building was taken down in 1803 because it was deemed unsafe, and the lower portion of the tower was removed in 1860. Inside, the box pews of the original construction were cut down in the 1870s to the lower-backed pews still in use, and in 1963 the Gothic arches and stylistic details added in the 1870s were removed. The current pulpit, lectern, sacristy furniture, altar rail, and the altar itself, lovingly crafted and donated by a parishioner, have been in place since that restoration. The building is air conditioned and accessible.
The history of the parish begins earlier than the building. In 1755, the Rev. Samuel Seabury rode from Hempstead on Long Island into Dutchess County on a missionary visit sponsored by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. He found a small cluster of homes, a church, a tavern, and a schoolhouse along the main road, and reported that the residents were ready to support an English church if clergy could be provided. In 1756, more than a hundred local families subscribed to erect such a church in Fishkill. With the help of the Rev. John Beardsley, Trinity reached an agreement with the Society in 1766. Matthew Brett donated land for the Fishkill church to James Duncan and Richard Southard as trustees in 1767, and the building was constructed by October of 1768 and probably occupied in early 1769. After the new church was completed, the Society sent Trinity a Bible and Book of Common Prayer published in England in 1767. The Bible is still held by the parish and is used on special occasions.
Revolutionary War Hospital and Burial Ground
The church sits inside a burial ground full of Revolutionary War patriots. Thomas Southard, Isaac Ter Boss, Sylvanus Pine and his sons John, Robert and Thomas, Ezekiel Green, and Lt. William Alger are buried in the churchyard, alongside Trinity patriots Philip Pine, Lt. James Cooper, and Jacobus Swartout. The last burial in the churchyard was in 1960, fittingly a member of the Verplanck family, longtime benefactors of the parish. Trinity served as a hospital for Washington's army until at least 1781, and many of the soldiers treated there likely died of wounds or of the smallpox epidemic that swept the encampments at Fishkill. In 1776, the church briefly served as a meeting place for the New York State Convention before the delegates moved to the nearby Dutch Reformed Church, which had glass windows and permanent seating. In 1788, the damages sustained and rental value for seven years of government use were estimated at £349 4s 11d, a substantial sum, and Trinity Church at Wall Street in New York City gave Trinity Fishkill £500 in 1798 to complete the building.
Worship from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer
Every Sunday morning at 10 AM, the congregation gathers in the 1768 church for the Holy Eucharist using Rite II of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, with hymns sung from the 1982 Hymnal and from other liturgical materials authorized by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. The parish describes its liturgy as formal and flexible, traditional and modern. Sunday services during July and August also begin at 10 AM. The church also lists an 8 AM Rite I service in its description of the liturgy, using more traditional language, to resume when there is sufficient demand. The music program supports the principal 10 AM liturgy, and the choir leads the congregation in hymns and service music and offers an anthem for the glory of God. The choir has been expanding its repertoire by including sophisticated hymns and songs written by modern composers, and music is chosen according to the seasons of the Church Year and the Scriptures appointed for the day. The stated role of music at Trinity is straightforward: it is an accompaniment whose purpose is to bring the emotional religious experience to its highest level.
Worship at Trinity is shaped by the church's understanding of itself as the gathered body of Christ. Baptism unites a person with Jesus Christ through water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, washing away sin and rebirth into new life as a child of God. The Holy Eucharist is the principal celebration of Sunday, the day of resurrection. Daily, the Book of Common Prayer provides Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline, with Psalms appointed by a daily lectionary and canticles drawn from scripture. Pastoral liturgies accompany the changing movements of a life: Confirmation, in which an individual makes a mature public affirmation of baptismal faith with prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop; the blessing of couples in Christian marriage; the thanksgiving for the birth or adoption of a child; Reconciliation of a Penitent for those seeking personal counsel and forgiveness; Anointing with oil and prayer with the laying on of hands for those who are sick; and, at the end of life, the Burial of the Dead, which leads into new life in the hope of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Parish House, Coffee Hour, and a Shared Priest
Behind the church, across the parking lot, sits the Parish House at 5 Elm Street. Built and updated in stages over Trinity's long life, the Parish House contains the classrooms, restrooms, fellowship hall, kitchen, and the parish office. Parishioners and visitors enter the church from the parking lot and Parish House, which sits next to Taco Bell off Route 9. After the 10 AM Sunday worship, the parish hosts a fellowship coffee hour in the Parish Hall. Coffee or juice and a light snack are provided by pairs of volunteers, and the church encourages people to dress comfortably, as they would for school or work. Parishioners minister to each other in this social setting as naturally as they do at the altar.
Trinity shares its clergy leadership with two other congregations. The Rev. Chuck Kramer serves as Priest in Charge of Trinity Church in Fishkill, St. Andrew and St. Luke Church in Beacon, and Church of the Resurrection in Hopewell Junction. Fr. Chuck is available for pastoral care.
Children and Youth at Trinity
Christian formation at Trinity is built on a four-fold framework of scripture, prayer, worship, and ministry and mission. The parish uses the lectionary-based curriculum published by the Episcopal Church as Lesson Plans That Work, tailored for different age groups, with plans that follow the liturgical calendar and the three-year lectionary cycle. A volunteer church school coordinator and several caring teachers run the program, which at present serves a small group of elementary school age children. The children learn the stories from the Bible, play games, and work on crafts related to the weekly stories. During the pandemic, the coordinator kept in touch with students weekly by sending them the lesson plans, reviewing the lessons, and suggesting crafts and activities that families could do at home, even holding virtual meetings at different times. The older students completed a hallway mural on climate injustice drawn from one of the new curriculum modules, and the younger children helped paint the mural. Another project that grew out of lessons on climate change was the Children's Garden, which the children expand a little each spring. The children have also enjoyed participating in the annual CROP WALK and helping with the new Mini Food Pantry on the church property.
Younger children meet on alternating Sundays beginning at 9:50 AM in the second-floor classrooms of the Parish House, from September through June, and rejoin their families before the end of the service. Older children meet once a month in the Parish Hall at 5 PM. Sunday School is not in session during July and August. The teen program, Journey to Adulthood, gathers youth aged 12 and up to further their Christian education in preparation for confirmation and adult Christian life, drawing on lesson plans from the Episcopal Church's formation resources.
Bible Study, Book Club, and Adult Formation
Adults gather on the second and fourth Saturday of every month at 5 PM in the Parish Hall for a scripture study, conversation, and fellowship meeting hosted by the parish's sister congregation, Family Community Church, and led by Bp. Furman. From time to time, other Bible study series are scheduled on specific topics. Books and study materials can be borrowed from the Parish Library, with details in the weekly Trinity News email and on the parish calendar. The parish also runs a Book Club that meets at area restaurants to discuss a chosen title over lunch.
Christian formation for adults is framed by Trinity as a lifelong journey. As adults, parishioners are continually invited to deepen their understanding of who God is and who they are as disciples of Jesus Christ. Bible study deepens an awareness of God's relationship throughout history and the call to live into the reign of God in the world today. Other adult offerings have included the Rector's Forum, where interested groups meet to discuss issues facing Christians today with guest speakers, outside reading, audio-visual material, field trips, and community events. The spirituality of the parish draws on the rhythms of the liturgical year: Lent and Easter, Advent and Christmas, Saints days, and the daily prayer of the Church, through Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline.
Music, Lectors, Acolytes, and Ushers
Music is woven throughout the 10 AM liturgy, with abundant opportunity for the congregation to sing hymns and service music and for the choir to offer an anthem. Daniel Stephen Fannon serves as Organist and Choirmaster. Lectors rise from the congregation to read the Old and New Testament lessons; acolytes assist on the altar, carrying the cross in the procession and recession, lighting and extinguishing candles, ringing the bell before the service, and assisting with the Eucharist, including at weddings and funerals. Acolyte training is done throughout the year and gradually tapers to serving about once every five or six weeks. Ushers greet worshipers at the front door, distribute bulletins, count those attending for the priest's record of Eucharistic wafers to be prepared, ask for volunteers to carry the communion elements to the altar during the Offertory, take up the collection, direct the communion line, and tidy the sanctuary after the service. The Eucharistic Ministers at Trinity are lay people licensed by the Bishop who assist the priest, lead the congregation in praying the Psalm and the Prayers of the People, and administer the chalice during communion. The Altar Guild prepares the church for services and maintains the silverware, candles, brass, vestments, and altar linens, including the Greening of the Church before Christmas and the flower arrangements for worship services.
Outreach in Southern Dutchess County
The Outreach Committee at Trinity coordinates opportunities for parishioners of all ages to participate in charitable giving through projects that engage the community, balancing local, national, and international needs. Two ongoing partnerships anchor the parish's outreach. Through the Rural and Migrant Ministry, Trinity supports day camps during designated weeks in July and an overnight camp for one week in August at Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill, where area churches provide ingredients for a full lunch for the children of area migrant workers. The parish also supports Grace Smith House, an organization dedicated to serving individuals and families so they can live free from domestic violence, providing shelter and apartments, advocacy, counseling, and education. The mission raises the consciousness of the community about domestic violence and takes positions on public policies to empower survivors. Grace Smith House is located at 1 Brookside Avenue in Poughkeepsie and operates a 24-hour hotline.
Closer to home, Trinity worked with local Scout William Gwinn and architect Ray Vanvoorhis, as William's Eagle Scout project, to establish the Southern Dutchess Homeless Coalition Mini Food Pantry on the church property. The small pantry stores food items donated by local families, groups, and churches to help neighbors in need, and anyone in need can take whatever they need without questions asked. Local churches in Fishkill take turns each month making sure the pantry stays supplied. The parish also directs those seeking help to the Fishkill Food Pantry, located next to the First Reformed Church of Fishkill at 1153 Main Street, which provides a five-day supply of food to local residents of Southern Dutchess County during food emergencies, and Trinity parishioners share in the abundance of the season by collecting and purchasing all the ingredients for Thanksgiving turkey dinners and delivering assembled bags to needy families in the immediate area.
The Stained Glass Window and the Building
In addition to the routine care of the building, Trinity completed a major restoration of its stained glass window in 2023 and 2024. The work returned the window to its circa 1962 interior view, with the top two center panes now properly oriented to match the original photograph. The project addressed water intrusion issues that had been documented as starting in November 1991 and included new exterior double-pane thermal glazing to protect the stained glass, plus a new frame built and installed by Maple Leaf Restoration, LLC, with architectural support from Stephen Tilly, Architect, and the stained glass conservation work by Bovard Studios. The project was funded with generous grants from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the Property Services of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, and the New York Altar Guild, Inc. The Parish House was updated in 1984, the exterior of the church was restored in 1989, and the interior was painted in 1998.
Stewardship and the Parish Hall
Stewardship at Trinity is framed as faith and discipleship rather than fundraising. The parish holds that each person is responsible for wisely using the gifts that God has bestowed, and that possessions, hopes, fears, dreams, accomplishments, and the environment all belong to God. Stewardship supports the four areas of ministry at Trinity: worship, outreach, Christian formation, and pastoral care. Trinity also maintains a Planned Giving program, with resources for bequests through wills, life income gifts, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, life insurance, and retirement plan designations. The parish welcomes those who wish to discuss a gift of any size.
The Parish Hall is available for rental. A Rental Committee reviews requests using standard agreements: General Information for Rental of the Parish Hall, a Policy for Fundraising Events Held at Trinity Episcopal Church, an Insurance Request, and an Agreement for Use of Church Facilities. The parish's annual picnic is held at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, with a 10 AM worship service followed by games, food, and time to socialize. Vestry meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month at 7 PM in the Parish Hall and are open to all who attend Trinity Church.
Visiting Trinity
Trinity welcomes visitors to its Sunday worship at 10 AM in the church at 1200 Main Street, with coffee hour in the Parish Hall to follow. Parking is in the lot off Elm Street, behind the church and next to Taco Bell; from Route 9, the parking lot is reached by turning onto Elm Street at the Taco Bell entrance. The church is accessible from the Parish House and parking lot, and the building is air conditioned. People worship dressed comfortably, as they would for school or work. Sunday School gathers on alternating Sundays at 9:50 AM, and the older-children's group meets once a month on Saturday evenings. The parish office, on the second floor of the Parish House at 5 Elm Street, is open Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 2 PM, and the parish administrator, David Bishop, can be reached at 845-896-9884 or at info@trinityfishkill.org for information about worship services, activities, parish hall rentals, or to speak with the priest. The weekly Trinity News is emailed each week and posted on the bulletin board outside the Parish Office and on Facebook. Recorded sermons from previous services are available online, and the parish invites visitors to come as they are, at any point along their spiritual journey, and to join others who are seeking a deeper understanding of how God speaks through Scripture and how the congregation can respond as a community in love and service.