Our History - 1999 to Present Day
1999 to 2006 - The Rev. W. Nicholas Knisely succeeds Father Coble as Trinity’s rector. Similar to Rectors Zabriskie and Coble, Father Nick also encourages lay ministries and lets the lay leaders of those ministries run their own show with little interference. He attracts younger couples with young children to the parish and is gifted in his preaching skills, using common events to develop fine insights to the Proper readings and, occasionally, to other issues of general concern. Liturgically, Knisely is “higher church” than had been Trinity’s custom. He returns the tabernacle for the Reserved Sacrament from the Sacristy back to the high altar from which it had been removed during the Moore tenure. He also establishes the Gospel Procession; he chants the Sursum Corda and Preface. The overwhelming majority of the congregation responds well, almost naturally, to these changes. The Rev. Laura Howell is hired as Assistant Priest in 1999, and in 2003, the Rev. Elizabeth Miller, the coordinator of the Trinity Soup Kitchen, is ordained a Deacon by Bishop Paul Marshall. Certainly, one of Knisely’s lasting contributions to Trinity is his introduction and use of technologically advanced communication methods. In September 2006, Knisely accepts a call to become Dean of Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix, Arizona, and in 2012 becomes Bishop of Rhode Island.
2007 to 2017 – The Rev. Canon Laura Howell succeeds Knisely and becomes the first female rector in Trinity’s history, and the first female rector of a cardinal parish in the Diocese of Bethlehem. Deeply involved in spiritual formation, under Howell’s mentorship, Trinity has a succession of female curates and staff members. The Rev. Hillary Raining serves as Curate from 2008 to 2011, followed by the Rev. Amy Spagna, Curate from 2012 through 2015. In 2015, Jenny Scott joins Trinity as pastoral care assistant. She serves until 2017 and is subsequently ordained a priest. Sara Klingner becomes Trinity’s first verger in 2015, after a year of training and with mentorship from Howell and the Rev. Canon Cliff Carr, Trinity’s long-time Associate Priest.
The Rev. Canon Howell is involved in spiritual formation through the Center for Spiritual Growth, and during her tenure, she holds retreats, classes, spiritual direction, a prayer bead ministry, Taize services and the daily office, as well as an annual Yuletide Revels event in conjunction with Moravian University. She helps form the ABC Quilters, a knitting group for cancer patients, and participates in the annual CROP walk. She is active in Trinity’s Soup Kitchen, writing grants and seeking funding to keep this ministry functioning. Twice during her time, Trinity suffers from sinkhole damage due to aging and deteriorating city water mains. This necessitates extensive repairs to the building.
The Rev. Canon Howell retires from Trinity in 2017.
2018 to 2025 – The Rev. Dr. Pamela Payne becomes rector. Her tenure is marked by significant challenges by global and local events that require rapid response. In March 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic prohibited in-person Sunday services for three months. Trinity utilizes the “Zoom” app to conduct services online. The Soup Kitchen transitions from serving food in the Parish Hall to providing take-out food via a service window at the front of the church. The major donor to the Trinity Soup Kitchen ends their monetary support, and unable to find substitute funding, in 2022 Trinity Soup Kitchen turns over management to New Bethany Ministries. In 2023, New Bethany moves the Soup Kitchen operation across Market Street to Christ Church and renames it the Trinity Northside Drop-In Center. Thus ends this amazing 40-year outreach effort of Trinity Church. At its peak, the Soup Kitchen fed over 150 people a day, 5 days a week, 51 weeks a year.
Trinity embarks on a series of re-visioning workshops to discern what the Spirit is calling the parish to become. As this work is being done, on December 26, 2023, a water main break in front of the church sends hundreds of thousands of gallons of water into the church, filling the lowest level with four feet of water. The church is considered unsafe until assessments and repairs to the building are made. Payne quickly makes arrangements to meet at other churches, and not a Sunday service was missed. This is the third major water main break in a decade to cause damage to the church.
The parish sees this disaster as an opportunity to not only repair the facility but renovate it as well. The parish is polled for their wants and wishes, and a successful capital campaign and a significant gift by a private donor raise $750,000. The “TrinTeam” is launched, led by volunteers from the parish who work with the architects and contractors and make suggestions for a revitalized infrastructure. The building is made more accessible by adding an elevator. The building is completely renovated, at a cost of over $2 million. Trinity maintains its outreach by having “Second Sunday Collections” of items needed by various community outreach organizations.
The Rev. Dr. Payne retires from Trinity in 2025.
2007 to 2017 – The Rev. Canon Laura Howell succeeds Knisely and becomes the first female rector in Trinity’s history, and the first female rector of a cardinal parish in the Diocese of Bethlehem. Deeply involved in spiritual formation, under Howell’s mentorship, Trinity has a succession of female curates and staff members. The Rev. Hillary Raining serves as Curate from 2008 to 2011, followed by the Rev. Amy Spagna, Curate from 2012 through 2015. In 2015, Jenny Scott joins Trinity as pastoral care assistant. She serves until 2017 and is subsequently ordained a priest. Sara Klingner becomes Trinity’s first verger in 2015, after a year of training and with mentorship from Howell and the Rev. Canon Cliff Carr, Trinity’s long-time Associate Priest.
The Rev. Canon Howell is involved in spiritual formation through the Center for Spiritual Growth, and during her tenure, she holds retreats, classes, spiritual direction, a prayer bead ministry, Taize services and the daily office, as well as an annual Yuletide Revels event in conjunction with Moravian University. She helps form the ABC Quilters, a knitting group for cancer patients, and participates in the annual CROP walk. She is active in Trinity’s Soup Kitchen, writing grants and seeking funding to keep this ministry functioning. Twice during her time, Trinity suffers from sinkhole damage due to aging and deteriorating city water mains. This necessitates extensive repairs to the building.
The Rev. Canon Howell retires from Trinity in 2017.
2018 to 2025 – The Rev. Dr. Pamela Payne becomes rector. Her tenure is marked by significant challenges by global and local events that require rapid response. In March 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic prohibited in-person Sunday services for three months. Trinity utilizes the “Zoom” app to conduct services online. The Soup Kitchen transitions from serving food in the Parish Hall to providing take-out food via a service window at the front of the church. The major donor to the Trinity Soup Kitchen ends their monetary support, and unable to find substitute funding, in 2022 Trinity Soup Kitchen turns over management to New Bethany Ministries. In 2023, New Bethany moves the Soup Kitchen operation across Market Street to Christ Church and renames it the Trinity Northside Drop-In Center. Thus ends this amazing 40-year outreach effort of Trinity Church. At its peak, the Soup Kitchen fed over 150 people a day, 5 days a week, 51 weeks a year.
Trinity embarks on a series of re-visioning workshops to discern what the Spirit is calling the parish to become. As this work is being done, on December 26, 2023, a water main break in front of the church sends hundreds of thousands of gallons of water into the church, filling the lowest level with four feet of water. The church is considered unsafe until assessments and repairs to the building are made. Payne quickly makes arrangements to meet at other churches, and not a Sunday service was missed. This is the third major water main break in a decade to cause damage to the church.
The parish sees this disaster as an opportunity to not only repair the facility but renovate it as well. The parish is polled for their wants and wishes, and a successful capital campaign and a significant gift by a private donor raise $750,000. The “TrinTeam” is launched, led by volunteers from the parish who work with the architects and contractors and make suggestions for a revitalized infrastructure. The building is made more accessible by adding an elevator. The building is completely renovated, at a cost of over $2 million. Trinity maintains its outreach by having “Second Sunday Collections” of items needed by various community outreach organizations.
The Rev. Dr. Payne retires from Trinity in 2025.
