Our History

As Trinity grew, our work became an integral part of the community. We distributed food baskets to our neighbors and organized a city basketball team for boys. In 1940, urban development forced us to vacate our High Street building. We moved into a beautiful church on the corner of 10th Street NW and Grady Avenue, where we stayed for the next 34 years.

Around 1950, Trinity formally became a mission church. Father Henry Mitchell served as our vicar from 1958 to 1977, a tumultuous period as communities throughout Virginia, including Charlottesville, put up massive resistance to federally mandated civil rights initiatives, particularly public school integration. Still, Trinity continued to grow in size and diversity, actively welcoming worshippers regardless of skin color.

In 1964 Father Mitchell launched an ambitious outreach to provide summer activities for Black children in our neighborhood. Two local Episcopal churches, St. Paul’s Memorial and Christ Episcopal, contributed generous financial and volunteer support. The program eventually grew into Camp Faith in Earlysville. The second outreach effort was a year-round child care center, which served local families for almost 40 years.

Trinity’s growing congregation and outreach programs soon called for a larger building. On June 30, 1972, the congregation moved into our current building on Preston Avenue. We continued to be involved in the spiritual, educational and political affairs of the community. For example, the church purchased an adjacent property that is now used for transitional housing in partnership with local agencies.

Pastor Cass Bailey became vicar of Trinity in July 2010. Under his leadership, Trinity has developed several bold and successful initiatives. The Bread & Roses ministry was created to help address food security for local residents through the cultivation of healthy, organic fruits and vegetables. The church also installed a full commercial kitchen that we lease to budding entrepreneurs who share our vision of . The church building itself has undergone a major renovation to meet the needs of our vibrant congregation.

Most significantly, in the 100th year of our founding, Pastor Cass led Trinity’s transformation from a mission church into full parish status. This which means we are a self-supporting congregation with a full-time rector.

For more than a century, our priests and parishioners have been leaders in the community, bridge-builders across social and political divides, and evangelists who challenge us to follow Christ in our daily lives. This is the work we continue to pursue.