Trinity United Methodist Church stands at 90 Church Street in Prince Frederick, the seat of Calvert County in Southern Maryland. Formed in 1947 from three earlier congregations and worshiping in its current sanctuary since 1955, Trinity is one of the older Methodist bodies in the region. Today the congregation runs a dual-style Sunday worship schedule, a Sunday school hour for children and adults, Wednesday Bible studies, an unusually full music ministry, and a wide network of local mission partnerships that reach into almost every corner of the county.
Three Churches Becoming One
Methodism came to Calvert County around 1777, making it one of the older Methodist presences in the country. The local circuit work that became the West River circuit began in Southern Maryland in 1836 and split again in 1882, eventually producing the Smithville, Solomons Island and St. John's churches. Out of that long lineage, three Calvert County congregations - Asbury, Central and Wesley - discerned a shared sense that they could serve the community better together. In March 1947 the three merged into a single body and chose the name Trinity Methodist Church, a double reference to the Holy Trinity and to the three churches coming together.
For the next eight years the merged congregation continued to worship in its former buildings while trustees and a Building Committee worked toward a shared home. The two-acre site at the junction of Routes 765 and 231 was the gift of Arthur W. and Lucretia H. Dowell and Dr. Anita S. Dowell. Ground was broken on February 13, 1951, and the cornerstone was laid on January 8, 1955, with Arthur W. Dowell presiding as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Masons of Maryland. Custom-built colonial-white pews and chancel furniture came from Southern Desk Company of Hickory, North Carolina. The formal opening and consecration of Trinity Methodist Church took place on Tuesday evening, November 22, 1955, with Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam presiding, followed by a week of services dedicating memorial gifts.
The decades since have been marked by steady expansion. A $140,000 Educational Building with parlor, library, offices, choir room, kitchen and twelve classrooms was finished in November 1965. A pipe organ from Lewis and Hitchcock Company replaced the original Hammond organ and was dedicated on February 22, 1976. The mortgage was burned on Trinity's 25th anniversary service in November 1980. An elevette was installed in 1986 to make the sanctuary accessible to those unable to climb the stairs, the parking lot was expanded in 1993, and in November 1999 the congregation consecrated Phase 1 of a new addition that brought a new library, classrooms, pastor and administrative offices, a large youth area adjoining the fellowship hall, an expanded kitchen, a new choir room and an elevator serving each floor.
Worship on Sunday Mornings
Trinity gathers twice on Sunday mornings in the sanctuary at 90 Church Street. The first service, at 8:00 a.m., is the contemporary service. Led by the pastor and the praise team, it features many of today's most popular worship songs arranged around the sermon. The atmosphere is intentionally casual, and members dress anywhere from business casual to blue jeans - though anyone who wants to dress up is welcome to do so.
At 10:30 a.m. the traditional service offers a more liturgical shape, with a liturgist, classic hymns, a children's message, anthems from the chancel choir, and handbells. Attire here can range from suits and dresses to blue jeans; again, all are welcome. The sermon at both services is generally the same, so worshipers can choose the musical and liturgical style that fits them. Communion is served at both services on the first Sunday of each month, with a gluten-free option available, and all are welcome at the table. After each service, refreshments are served in the gathering room for a time of fellowship.
The morning is anchored by an education hour from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m., which sits between the two services.
Sunday School and Adult Education
During the 9:15 a.m. Sunday school hour, Trinity runs a children's Sunday school for children from Pre-K through 5th grade, with age-appropriate curriculum and instructor-led classes running about one hour. Children are always welcome to stay for the 10:30 traditional service afterward, and the church considers it important that kids be present in worship with the rest of the body.
Adults meet in the New Covenant Class, held every Sunday morning in the library on the left side of the hallway behind the church office. Designed for adults who want a deeper grasp of Scripture, the class combines fellowship, prayer and Bible study, and all adults are welcome to drop in.
Wednesdays in the Word
Wednesday is Bible study day at Trinity, with two sessions of the same study offered to fit different schedules: "Wednesdays in the Word" meets at 10:00 a.m. in the morning and again at 6:30 p.m. in the evening. The studies are dynamic and engaging.
A Full Music Ministry
Music is woven through both Sunday services, and the music ministry at Trinity is unusually broad for a church of its size. Participation is open to all, with no auditions and no requirement of church membership.
The Praise Team leads worship at the 8:00 a.m. contemporary service and rehearses in the sanctuary on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Trinity Choir, the chancel choir, sings at the 10:30 traditional service and rehearses on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the choir room; the choir takes a break during parts of the summer. The Bell Choir performs monthly at the 10:30 service and rehearses on Sunday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the choir room. Twice a year the music ministry performs a full cantata, drawing singers from the choirs and instrumentalists from an accompanying orchestra.
The Director of Music Ministry is Jack Perdue, a graduate of the University of Georgia and the University of Maryland who also teaches music at Northern High School. Sandy Daelemans serves as organist and accompanist; she recently retired after a 35-year choral music career in Calvert County and brings more than 40 years of church music experience.
Reaching Out in Calvert County
Trinity's mission work is rooted in Calvert County and stretches in a few directions beyond it. Locally, the church supports an unusually long list of partner ministries.
Heart F.E.L.T. - Filling Empty Little Tummies - is a backpack program that feeds children over weekends when school meals are not available. Trinity delivered the first backpacks to one local school in January 2013, and Heart F.E.L.T. has since grown across the county with multiple churches participating. The church hosts an American Red Cross blood drive every other month on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. Trinity prepares and serves a meal on the second Tuesday of every month for Project ECHO, Calvert County's homeless shelter. During the colder months the congregation participates in Safe Nights, a temporary cold-weather overflow shelter coordinated through the Calvert Interfaith Council. Each Christmas the church partners with the Calvert County Department of Social Services through the Angel Tree to provide gifts for children in need.
Trinity @ Work is a volunteer program that helps neighbors - both inside and outside the church - with small home repairs such as yard cleanup, changing light bulbs and smoke detector batteries. Each summer the church sponsors one or more children to attend a week at West River Camp. The congregation supports Farming 4 Hunger, an organization that pairs feeding the hungry with mind, body and spirit healing, and partners with the Community Ministry of Calvert County, a nonprofit that provides emergency grants to local people in need. Trinity is also one of the association of churches behind the Calvert Churches Community Food Pantry, located at 100 Jibsail Drive, Suite 101, in Prince Frederick, which provides food to families in the community.
Beyond Southern Maryland, Trinity maintains a relationship with Light in the Mountain Church in the Navajo Nation. Giving to the church is available online through Vanco, and the church's ties to broader United Methodist mission work are visible through links to the United Methodist Committee on Relief and Global Ministries.
Inside the Building at 90 Church Street
The sanctuary where Trinity meets still carries the marks of its 1955 construction, including the colonial-white pews and chancel furniture built by Southern Desk Company, the pipe organ dedicated in 1976, and the steeple completed that same year. Around the sanctuary the building has grown to keep pace with a growing county: an Educational Building with classrooms and offices, a fellowship hall that can be partitioned into additional Sunday school rooms, an elevator added with the 1999 Phase 1 expansion, and a gathering room where coffee and conversation follow each service.
A balcony added to the sanctuary in 1985 provides overflow seating, and a portion of it was designated for videotaping services for public-access cable in 1986. The church is also wired for livestreaming, and both the current Sunday service and an archive of past streams are available on Trinity's YouTube channel.
The Pastoral Team and Staff
The Rev. Dr. Walter Beaudwin was appointed Senior Pastor of Trinity UMC effective July 1, 2024. A native of St. Mary's County, he was ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church in 2011 and most recently served at St. Andrew's United Methodist Church in Annapolis. His ministry has included directing youth and disciple ministries, directing gospel choirs, and leading praise bands, and he is a frequent Bible study and worship leader.
Pastor Rob Carter has been named Pastor Emeritus after joining Trinity in October 2021 following more than 40 years of ordained ministry in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference. A graduate of Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) and Emory's Candler School of Theology, he continues to preach occasionally, assist with visitation and teach.
Behind the scenes, Sandy Draham serves as Administrative Assistant, the day-to-day coordinator of the church office and a regular presence in the choir loft during traditional services. William Jenifer serves as Sexton, caring for the building.
Joining In
The church office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and the staff can be reached at (410) 535-1782 or churchoffice@trinityumchurch.org. Visitors who want to be remembered in prayer may submit requests through the contact form on the church's site, addressed to ChurchOffice@TrinityUMChurch.org, and prayer requests are circulated through the church's electronic prayer chain. Those who want to be part of the music ministry can email Jack Perdue for information about the choirs, praise team or orchestra. Sunday school registration is available through the church office, and giving to the church can be made online.
Sunday morning parking is available in the lot that was expanded in 1993. When Calvert County government closes due to weather, Trinity cancels its activities; winter decisions about Sunday worship are posted by 6 a.m. on the church's recorded message and through local news outlets.