Three-Quarters of a Century on the Manatee Coast
Trinity Lutheran Church has stood at 2200 26th Street West in Bradenton since 1945, when it was founded as a congregation of what is now the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Several generations of Manatee County families have been baptized, married, and laid to rest in the sanctuary, and the building continues to anchor a neighborhood shaped by mid-century Florida growth.
The community describes itself in a phrase that doubles as a mission statement: "Connect with God and Each Other at Trinity." Reaching that goal means a packed weekly calendar of worship, study, fellowship, service, and wellness programming that runs from morning to evening and spans every age and stage.
Worship Across the Weekend
Trinity offers four regular weekend services, each with its own feel. On Saturday at 5:30 pm the church gathers for a contemporary service; on Sunday the schedule includes an 8 am traditional liturgy, a 9 am contemporary service, and a 10:45 am traditional service. The Saturday 5:30 pm service and the Sunday contemporary services livestream on the church's YouTube channel; Saturday worship also simulcasts to the church's Facebook page. Previous services are archived on YouTube for later viewing.
Holy Communion is celebrated at every in-person service, and everyone present - including children, at a parent's indication - is invited to participate. The two music co-directors split the year: Edgar Bower leads worship music November through April, working with organ and choir; Ann Hockin guides the Sunday Praise Team, Sunday Singers, and Sunday Ringers from May through October. Together they bridge Lutheran liturgical tradition with the praise-song vocabulary of the contemporary services.
Beyond the weekly schedule, Trinity observes the full arc of the Christian year with services for Ash Wednesday, Wednesdays in Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, Advent, Christmas Eve, and an annual Blessing of the Animals.
All Generations Forming Faith Together
Trinity describes its faith-formation program with the phrase "All generations are Forming Faith Together." Sunday Adult Faith Formation meets at 9 am and 10 am between services, with topics ranging from scripture and the liturgical seasons to books on spiritual life and current issues.
For younger members, JOY (Jesus, Others, You) meets Saturdays at 4:30 pm - just before the evening service - with activities tied to the day's Scripture or a Bible story. Middle schoolers take part in Camp Remix, a creative week of projects that have included an illuminated manuscript modeled on medieval monks' work, a musical mashup of African-American spirituals, and a short film about the women who saved the infant Moses. Vacation Bible School runs in two streams each summer, one for preschoolers and one for elementary-age children.
Families looking for something lighter will find Messy Church, a free monthly evening that begins with dinner and moves through crafts, games, interactive storytelling with puppets, and upbeat songs, capped by a short celebration. The format is designed so kids can be kids and parents can relax.
Hands-On Ministry from Quilts to Habitat Builds
More than twenty ministry teams keep Trinity's internal life humming. The Care Team, Eucharistic Ministers, and Homebound Visiting team extend the congregation's reach to those who cannot make it to church. Prayer Squares offers small handmade reminders of prayer, and the Teddy Bear Program provides comfort for children in crisis. A Green Team looks at creation care, while Growing Young and Venture focus on intergenerational connection and one-off service projects.
On Mondays at 1 pm, October through May, the TLC Q's gather to quilt, knit, and sew. They produce quilts and lap robes that are distributed to organizations serving people whose lives need warmth - both literal and figurative. Parish Administrator Barbara Robitaille, who often answers the church phone, joins them with her own sewing machine.
Outside the building, Trinity's Venture Team organizes Habitat for Humanity build days and partners with groups like Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Beds for Kids to provide beds for local children.
Feeding Neighbors Across Manatee County
Our Daily Bread, the Bradenton meal ministry, sits at the heart of Trinity's community work. Volunteers help serve hot meals from 9 to 11:30 am on rotating Thursday and Saturday dates, and the church collects non-perishable food year-round for ODB's Loaves and Fishes pantry. The last full weekend of each month brings a "Noisy Offering" - loose change that goes directly to keep the daily meal program going.
The church coordinates its wider community work through a Community Ministry team that serves as liaison with a long list of partners: Anchor House Ministries at Port Manatee, Centerstone Bradenton, Feeding Empty Little Tummies (F.E.L.T.), Parenting Matters, Habitat for Humanity, Healthy Start, Just For Girls Academy, Our Daily Bread, PACE Center for Girls, Palms Deaf Church, Selah Freedom, Manasota Operation Troop Support, Stillpoint Mission, and Turning Points.
Annual drives round out the year: back-to-school shoe collections with Church Women United and Prine Elementary, F.E.L.T. single-serving food for the backpack program, Thanksgiving meal bags for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Parenting Matters, and PACE, a diaper drive for Healthy Start, a Christmas Angel Tree for Parenting Matters families, and clothing and supply drives for migrant workers and other neighbors served by Stillpoint Mission. Trinity members also tutor early elementary students at Prine Elementary who are struggling with reading, in a program developed by Trinity and Prine Principal Greg Sander.
A Voice for Justice
Trinity is part of S.T.R.E.A.M. - Manatee County's Justice Ministry, a nonpartisan, grassroots organizing group that brings faith communities together around critical local issues. The current priorities include youth mental health, affordable housing, and pre-arrest diversion for non-violent minor offenses. An Advocacy ministry within Trinity currently supports asylum seekers, and the church hosts meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous (Mondays at 8 pm and Wednesdays at 8:30 pm) and Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families (Thursdays at 5:30 pm).
Reaching Beyond Bradenton
The same impulse that drives Trinity's local partnerships carries outward. The congregation supports the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Haiti, Global Refuge (formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service), Lutheran Disaster Response, Lutheran World Relief, ELCA World Hunger, and the ELCA's Good Gifts program. A Mission Endowed Fund, established and stewarded within the church, provides ongoing income to sustain these wider ministries and respond to special needs as they arise.
Caring for Body and Soul
A wellness thread runs through Trinity's weekly schedule alongside its spiritual offerings. Senior Pastor Bobbie Blackburn leads traditional (MAT) yoga, weaving breath, prayer, and poses with scripture and devotion; a chair yoga option is available for those who prefer to remain seated or standing. Sundays at 1:30 pm bring Nourish, a group that explores new ways to "feed and care for our bodies and our souls." Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 am feature a free weight-training class led by Christine Harte, with routines adjusted for individual physical needs.
Food and fellowship programs include a monthly Men's Breakfast on Saturday mornings, a Chef's Class and Dinner on one Tuesday evening each month, and Ladies' Chat and Chew, a Thursday-evening outing to a local restaurant where women of the church build new and old friendships over a meal.
Tree of Life Preschool and Daycare
Housed in the same building complex, Tree of Life Preschool and Daycare has been a licensed Christian early-learning program since 1990, serving children from age 1 through Pre-Kindergarten (VPK). The school is licensed by the Florida Department of Children and Families and is a School Readiness and Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten provider through the Manatee County Early Learning Coalition.
Daycare runs Monday through Friday, 7 am to 5:30 pm. On Thursdays at 8:45 am, students' families are invited into the Trinity sanctuary for a 15-minute Family Chapel of stories and songs. The preschool's director is Kim Monroe, and the curriculum is built around Christ-centered, affordable care that fosters spiritual, emotional, social, and behavioral development. Tuition runs $200 per week for 1-year-olds, $185 for ages 2 and up, with free VPK from 9 am to noon and wrap-around care available; a one-time $50 registration fee applies per child.
Leadership and Accessibility
Senior Pastor Bobbie Blackburn has served Trinity since June 1997. Associate Pastor Kerri True, a graduate of Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis and a former psychology professor, focuses on connecting people to God and to one another.
Edgar Bower (November through April) and Ann Hockin (May through October) share the music director role. The office itself is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9 am to noon, closed Mondays, Wednesdays, Holy Days, and federal holidays.
The church building is fully accessible to people with physical disabilities, and the congregation emphasizes a non-discrimination policy that extends the "hospitality of the Kingdom of God to EVERYONE." A Little Free Library sits at the southwest corner of the building, stocked with books for children and adults. Anyone wanting to learn more about Trinity's ministry and mission is invited to contact the office or to drop in for any worship time or activity. Online giving is available for those who wish to support the congregation's work.