At different points in its history, Trinity had been at the forefront of artistic innovation, social justice and liturgical experimentation. Below is a timeline of significant events:

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1836

• Trinity Church was founded on the corner of Washington and Mohawk Streets when the membership of St. Paul’s Cathedral outgrew its building. Trinity’s first rector was the Rev. Cicero Hawks, who later became the Bishop of Missouri.

 

1844

• The Rev. Dr. Edward Ingersoll was installed as the second rector.

 

1869-1871

• Christ Church (now the Trinity Church Chapel), a gothic revival-style church, was designed and built by Arthur Gilman.

 

1874

• The Rev Dr. Ingersoll resigned as a result of a division within the parish on whether to move the congregation from its building at Washington and Mohawk Streets, to a new, yet to be constructed building. Some of Trinity’s members tried to engineer a move by purchasing land that was part of the estate owned by Dr. Ebenezer Johnson, Buffalo’s first mayor. This action resulted in dividing the congregation over questions of when and where to move.

 

• The Rev. Libertus Van Bokkelen was installed as the third rector of Trinity, following Ingersoll. He faced the dilemma of how to find adequate space for the needs of the church without further splintering the congregation. His solution was to expand the church by merging it with another congregation. Christ Episcopal Church was relatively new in Buffalo and was in serious financial trouble after their chapel was built. Christ Church planned to build a church on the adjacent lot but only got the foundation set before the financial situation halted construction. 

 

1884-1886

• Van Bokkelen got the vestries of Christ Church and Trinity to agree to a merger of the two congregations on July 14, 1884. 

• Trinity’s main sanctuary was built by local architect, Cyrus Porter. It was a Victorian gothic style design and included John La Farge’s opalescent glass and interior decoration. La Farge’s work at Trinity came at a crucial time in his career and reintroduced him as a national leader in the expressive use of layered and intricately leaded art glass. While a tall steeple on a square base for the northwest corner of the church was envisioned, only the tower was completed by the time of the first service. The steeple was never finished per the decision of the congregation. The anecdotal story is that, at the urging of Trinity member Maria Love, the money raised for the tower was instead given to support the building of Trinity House, one of Buffalo’s first settlement houses (see 1896 entry below).

 

1886

• Trinity’s first worship service was held on Easter Day. Music was provided by a Johnson & Son Op. 448 organ which had been built in 1870 and moved from Trinity’s previous location.

 

1887

• The Rev. Francis Lobdell was installed as 4th Rector.

 

1887-1897

• Four additional windows were produced and installed by La Farge along with five by Tiffany Studios and others by William Gibson, Hardman and Company, as well as Mayer Studios of Munich. For a full description and audio tours of all of Trinity’s windows, visit the Center of Glass and Light. 

 

1889

• “The Sealing of the Twelve Tribes”, one of La Farge’s windows, was displayed at the Paris Exposition and was awarded the “Cross of the Legion of Honor.” The French government asked to purchase it, but it was already destined for Trinity.

 

1896

• The members of Trinity focused their energies into outreach ministries of the Charity Organization Society (COS) established in the late 1870s by St. Paul’s Cathedral. Trinity members suggested that the COS divide the city of Buffalo into church/charity districts to better coordinate charity work amongst the many churches. Trinity assumed responsibility for one of these districts and opened a settlement house known as Trinity House (mentioned above) on Elk Street.

• Trinity’s Johnson organ was deemed inadequate, and a new fifty-one register Hook & Hastings, Op. 1715 organ was installed (this organ was subsequently reworked in 1907 and again in 1927-28).

 

1901 

• The Rev. Cameron J. Davis was installed as 5th rector.

 

1903

• Another settlement house, Watson House, was opened on Babcock Street by Trinity members.

 

1905

• With the need for more space for meetings, classrooms and offices, the firm of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson was commissioned to replace the rectory (then south of the Chapel) with a parish house, a large L-shaped building facing Delaware Avenue. Shortly after its completion in 1907, the close area between the buildings was paved and the large Celtic cross erected. 

 

1913

• Bertram Goodhue returned to Buffalo to redecorate the chapel which after construction of the main sanctuary, was mostly used for small services and the Sunday school. Read more about the chapel interior here.
   

1930

• The Rev. Elmore M. McKee was installed as 6th rector.

 

1936

• The Rev. William Thomas Heath was installed as 7th rector.

 

1950’s

• Tiffany lights in the main sanctuary lights were replaced. 

 

1954 

• The main sanctuary organ was built by the Buffalo-based Schlicker Organ Company with both a gallery console as well as a chancel console where the majority of the chancel pipework was retained from Hook & Hastings. Schlicker also installed another smaller organ in Christ Chapel.

 

1955

• The Rev. Peter Mann Sturtevant was installed as 8th rector.

 

1969

• The Rev. Calvin Cabell Tennis was installed as 9th rector. In 1972 he was called to be dean of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle and later elected Bishop of Delaware.

 

1970s

• Committee system established for lay participation and responsibility for worship, education, and mission:

  • A Worship Committee involved in the trial use for the revision of the Book of Common Prayer.

  • An Education Committee introduced a program with materials from St. Louis Educational Center.

  • A Mission Committee which began Trinity Child Care Center (housed in the church’s basement) as well as founded Compass House (in 1973), a haven for youth in crisis.

• Trinity biannual White Elephant Sale ran providing income for the church. After the early 2000s, it was replaced with other fundraisers.

 

1973

• The Rev. Robert Gunn Hetherington was installed as 10th rector. In 1984, he was called to be rector of St. Paul’s Church in Richmond, VA.

• Remodeling of the Parish House.

 

1975 

• Parishioners founded Trinity Center, an adult education program for the community offering a variety of artistic, literary, and enrichment courses Mondays through Thursdays. It ran until 1990.

 

1988 

• Disciples of Christ in Community (DOCC) began as experiential faith-sharing for adults.

 

1990s 

• Trinity undertook a comprehensive renovation project as part of the Diocese Forward in Faith campaign. Included in the project were improvement of the chapel, church, and parish house; the purchase and demolition of a next-door building (now a lawn), and the purchase and renovation of 393 Delaware Avenue, the storefront of which then became the Chapter and Verse Bookstore. 

 

1994

• Homespace, formed by Trinity members in partnership with members of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, opened.  

 

1985

• The Rev. Ward Burleson Ewing was installed as 11th rector. In 1998 he was called to be Dean and President of the General Theological Seminary in New York.

 

1999

• The Rev. R. Cameron Miller was installed as 12th rector and served until 2013.

 

2004

• The Sunday morning worship service music was expanded to include jazz and pop, and the Sunday evening service, Trinity at 7 was introduced.

 

2007

• Trinity was listed on the NY State Register of Historic Places.

 

2008

• Trinity was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

2009

• Thursday night 12 Steps Service launched.

 

2015

• The Rev. Matthew R. Lincoln was installed as the 13th rector.

 

2016

• Members of Trinity and others founded Justice for Migrant Families to provide assistance to immigrants with legal needs. 

 

2021

• The Stained Glass Association of America moved onto Trinity’s campus.

 

2022

• Main sanctuary lighting was converted from Tungsten to LED.

 

(Updated March, 2026)

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