Come unto me all that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.
-- Matthew 11:28
About Trinity
The life of our Parish had its beginnings ministering in the slums of downtown Halifax, below Citadel Hill, when divine services were held first in Salem Chapel on Argyle Street in 1855, and then in a brick church on the historic Jacob Street in 1866, where it was first called Trinity. The chief purpose of Trinity Church, at the time still within and supported by the Parish of St Paul’s on the Grand Parade, was to be a Christian mission to and among the poor.
Established as its own Parish in 1888, Trinity moved in 1907 to the old Garrison Church, on the corner of Brunswick and Cogswell Street, and for the next one hundred years continued there by the grace and mercy of God. The congregation persevered through many setbacks and difficulties, including rebuilding after the destruction of the church at the Great Explosion in 1917, and again after a fire burned down both the church and hall in 1928. During this period, through the faithful work of its parishioners and the pastoral dedication of its ordained ministers, Trinity came to be regarded as a flagship evangelical Anglican Church in the city of Halifax and beyond.
In 2008, Trinity moved once again, this time to its current location on Main Avenue, in the Fairview-Clayton Park neighbourhood. We now find ourselves in one of the fastest-growing and most ethnically diverse areas of the city. After more than 15 years in this location, Trinity remains committed to its mission, and in many ways has not moved beyond its humble origins among the working class, the marginalized, the poor and needy. We know ourselves as called to be the Body of Christ in this place. We are to be Christ, and to serve Christ in our neighbour. In the Christian community, the wonderful miracle of our transformation by grace is that we are Christ to our neighbour, and our neighbour is Christ to us. The greatest joy of Trinity is to offer itself as a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God for the life of the Parish, the wider community, and the world.
Trinity strives to witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed to his Church in the Holy Scriptures, as received by the Apostles and passed on down the ages by the consensus of God's faithful people, and as classically embodied in the Book of Common Prayer. The Prayerbook articulates the pattern of teaching, worship, and way of life which defines our common vision as a Parish. In continuity with historic Christianity, we affirm that the summaries of faith called the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds are warranted by God's written Word, and ought thoroughly to be received and believed. These ancient Creeds, together with the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (c. 1571), the Solemn Declaration (1893), and the Canadian Book of Common Prayer (1962), express the Church's basic standard of doctrine and practice as our Parish has received it, and which by God's help we are determined to hold, maintain, and pass on to future generations.
Trinity is rooted in the evangelical tradition. We continue to have confidence and hope that God will indeed restore, renew, and revive his Church and the world he so loves. Today we seek to be true to our evangelical and catholic (universal) inheritance. We seek to hear and be transformed by the Word of God, and to preach the Gospel through our words and actions. We seek to be faithful in serving Christ through our prayer and worship, ministry and mission, hospitality and friendship, and in the ordinary exchanges with one another and the stranger among us.
Trinity Church is a Parish in the Diocese of NS and PEI, and a member of the Anglican Church of Canada.
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
-- Galatians 6:14
Meet the Clergy and People
Clergy
Father Benjamin Lee, Rector
A native of Burnaby, British Columbia, he holds an Honours B.A. in Biblical Studies and Theology from Providence University College, and a B.A. and M.A. in Classics from the University of Dalhousie. His areas of graduate study focused on St Augustine and the nineth-century Irish theologian, John Scottus Eriugena; as a pastor, teacher, and preacher he continues to draw his studies ever more deeply into God's Word, especially as received by the early Church Fathers, classical Anglicanism, and the whole catholic tradition of cosmology, anthropology, theology, and prayer. He brings to the Parish of Trinity years of experience ministering in rural, suburban, inner-city, and academic contexts, through which--much to his surprise--he discerned the priestly vocation of representing the sacrifice of Christ that mediates what is divine and human, heavenly and earthly, theoretical and practical. Father Benjamin can readily be recognized as “The Man in Black,” because of the cassock that is his daily habit: a visible reminder of the priest's rootedness in centuries of the Church's tradition, and identification with the poverty of Christ. He finds refreshment in manual labour, is passionate about cooking and sharing food, enjoys the outdoors, music making and wondering at the ordinary and everyday with his family. He and his wife, Andrea, have three young children, Ellianna, Brendan, and Seraphina.
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Father Gary Thorne, Honourary Assistant
LCol (Rtd) Canon Dr. Gary Thorne grew up in Saint John, NB, in the abyss of brutal urban poverty. Baptized as an infant at Saint John Stone Church in 1953, the Holy Spirit inexorably led him to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour at the Manning Memorial Chapel, Acadia University, in February 1972. He received the ancient rite of Confirmation in Saint John’s Anglican Church, Wolfville. His academic accomplishments were solely in the interests of his lifelong pastoral focus, and active resistance to the demonic injustices whenever apparent in political, economic, academic and religious institutions. The preacher at his ordination to the priesthood at Christ Church, Windsor was the leading Anglican Evangelical preacher in Canada at the time, the Reverend Ronald Ward. Concurrently with twenty-three years as chaplain in the Canadian Military, Thorne served as Rector of rural and urban parishes for twenty-five years, and university chaplain for two universities for sixteen years. He is the recipient of three honorary degrees from Canadian Universities, the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, the United Nations Disengagement Observation Force Medal, the Canadian Forces Peacekeeping Medal. He is a Member of the Military Order of Merit. He is married with two adult children.
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People
Karis Tees, Music Director
Originally from Hamilton, Ontario, she has more than ten years of experience leading Anglican worship music in diverse contexts including at St Paul’s on the Grand Parade, the University of King’s College Chapel, parishes in rural Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Indigenous parishes in Northern Saskatchewan, and in choral scholarships with parish & college choirs in Toronto, Hamilton, and Elora. With a B.A. Combined Honours in Contemporary Studies and Religious Studies (University of King's College), and an M.Mus. in Historical Performance, Voice (University of Toronto), she is passionate about encouraging and enabling people of all ages to sing, from young children to elder adults, especially using the hymns and music embraced by the Anglican tradition.
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David Manoharan, Warden
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Mike Shea, Warden
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Chuck Brown, Warden
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Sharon Burrows, Parish Secretary
I have been a member of Trinity Church all my life. I was baptized, confirmed and married at Trinity Church.
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Will Barton, Divinity Student
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