Vision:

To be relevant to the Lake Region Community; serving and drawing others to the gospel of Jesus Christ as a growing Episcopal Church. 

History:

On the 5th Sunday in July, 1881, the Rev. Mr. Franklin, priest in charge of St. John’s Chapel at Earlton, gave the service that initiated the first 100 years in the life of Trinity Church, Melrose, Florida. First called Trinity Mission, the church grew to a membership of 5 families before Mr. Franklin became ill, returned to Canada and died. The Rev. Mr. Knowles of Georgia and then the Rev. Mr. Clayton from Orange Heights succeeded him in 1882 and in 1883 respectively. When the group had grown to 9 families, a Ladies Aid Society was formed and a Sunday school was organized. A parcel of land was purchased and plans were formed to build a church. All this came to a standstill when Mr. Clayton was called home on the death of his father and was unable to return. No services were held from before Christmas 1884 until April 1885. At that time, Bishop John Freeman Young organized the mission, calling it Trinity Mission and making Mr. H. A. Hawkins the Senior Warden, Mr. Phillip Pricoleen the Secretary and Treasurer, and Mr. Cameron a Lay Reader. Fortnightly meetings were held at the home of Mr. John Hilton, a leader in the church for many years.

From its earliest days, Trinity Church has been community oriented. In the “Study of the Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Florida” in 1957, the church was commended for the development of a community program and the use of the Parish House as a meeting place for local organizations and entertainments. This exceptional service continued until the evening of January 23,1985 when Trinity’s Parish House was destroyed by fire. With insurance proceeds and money raised through the efforts of the congregation, members of the community, outside friends and much thought and prayer, a new Parish Hall with a classroom and office wing was completed in 1986 and was dedicated as Yerkes Hall.

The Yerkes Hall has about 6400 square feet of floor space and includes classrooms, a conference room, bath rooms, a kitchen, storage rooms and a large assembly hall. It is considered a prime asset for future growth of Trinity Melrose and is being used on a daily basis for church activities and community functions.

The Gano-Norton building, completed in 1996, houses the church offices, a conference room and the ECW run Thrift Shop.

In 2008 Trinity called it’s first full time priest due to the needs of the congregation and the desire to grow.  Then in January 2010 Trinity became a “Parish” instead of “Mission” church.