Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Oxford, Ohio

A brief history of Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church was first organized as a mission in 1894 and became a full-fledged parish in 1969. Its earliest services were held at Old Main hall at Miami University.  In 1899, the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio helped the fledgling Oxford congregation purchase a charming Queen Anne-style structure that had previously housed Oxford’s Universalist church.

Holy Trinity’s current home was built with a generous financial gift from the Very Reverend Henry Wise Hobson, Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio, in 1950. Designed by Oxford architect David Maxfield and consecrated in 1952, the building has subsequently been remodeled and expanded to include its present-day bell tower and Community Wing as well as a new pipe organ.

In the 1950s, racial segregation remained a reality in both town and university. Holy Trinity emerged as a prophetic presence in the Oxford community when our rector, the Rev. Alvin Kershaw, attained national fame on the television quiz show, “The $64,000 Question.” Kershaw was an outspoken advocate of racial equality, and when he announced his intention to donate part of his TV winnings to the NAACP, an invitation to speak at the University of Mississippi was cancelled. Holy Trinity played a major role in supporting the Oxford chapter of the NAACP in its drive to end the segregation of public facilities; and, in 1963, it backed the Freedom Summer training program staged on the campus of what was then the Western College for Women.

Holy Trinity became an advocate for social justice on a variety of fronts. Parishioner Mary Stark spearheaded the parish’s drive to provide health care for low-income women. This resulted in the founding of the Maternal Health Clinic of Butler County, the forerunner of Planned Parenthood in the region. Several Holy Trinity members provided leadership for Planned Parenthood in later years. In 1954 the parish also developed a pamphlet entitled “Death, Funerals and the Christian Faith,” which advocated burial with dignity and simplicity, earning it a citation in Time magazine. The parish would later support opposition to the Vietnam War and play a major role in the establishment of a Habitat for Humanity chapter in Oxford.

Holy Trinity has always drawn much of its membership from the faculty, staff, student body, and local alumni of Miami University. For some time its staff included a full-time campus minister; more recently, diocesan support has made possible an outreach to Miami students led by lay members of the parish.

In recent decades, Holy Trinity’s identity has been shaped by the interweaving of a variety of emphases. Our worship has followed a middle road between “high” and “low” church practices. We also do not insist on any exclusive interpretation of the doctrines of Christianity. Three of our rectors and many of our lay leaders have been women, and we continue to welcome as clergy and laity those sympathetic with our mission regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation.

Our musical heritage has been rich through the contributions of talented professional pianists, outstanding organists, and choral directors. Our current Organist and Choir Director is Dr. Phillip Roberts, a member of the faculty in Miami’s Department of Music.

Our Outreach Committee raises funds for the alleviation of human need, both locally and nationally, and many members are active in the Oxford Peace and Justice Commission, raising awareness of injustices in our social system.

We work to nurture a sense of community within the parish through festive meals such as our Champagne Easter Brunch and the feast following our well known Advent Service of Lessons and Carols, as well as sharing with other Oxford mainline churches in hosting once monthly a community dinner aimed at transcending lines of social class.

The core of our collective life has always been sacramental worship enriched by our liturgical and musical heritage, but we have also taken as our mission the inclusion and transformation of the entire community through our pursuit of Christian social values.