Trinity Episcopal Church is a parish church of the

Episcopal Church of the United States The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

located at 213 1st Ave., NW in

Winchester, Tennessee Winchester is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Winchester micropolitan area. The population of Winchester as of the 2020 census was 9,375. History Winchester was created as the seat o ...

, USA, and affiliated with the

Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee The Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America that covers roughly Middle Tennessee. A single diocese spanned the entire state until 1982, when the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee ...

. The church began in 1859 as a mission. Reverend Thomas A. Morris conducted the first Episcopal service in the

county courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

, with just one

communicant The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. By June of that year, there 12 communicants, all of them women, as well as 52

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

attendees. Male members were needed in order to form a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. Several men joined later in 1859, and the parish was organized in 1860, with 26 members. Some time after the parish was organized, the congregation acquired its first permanent building, buying the former First Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 1863, the Union Army occupied Winchester and used the church building as a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned or operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a m ...

. Either during the Union occupation or later in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the building was destroyed in a fire, and the congregation resumed its practice of conducting worship in the courthouse, as well as in the Carrick Academy building. In 1872, after several years of fundraising efforts, the foundation was laid for the current church building. The building was completed in 1874. Through its history, Trinity has experienced fluctuations in membership, and has at times fallen below the size threshold necessary to be a recognized parish. In 2008, Trinity's

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and a number of members of the congregation left the Episcopal Church to form Christ the King Anglican Church, affiliated with the

Convocation of Anglicans in North America The Church of Nigeria North American Mission (CONNAM) is a missionary body of the Church of Nigeria (CON). It has been in a ministry partnership with the Anglican Church in North America but no longer affiliated with it beyond mutual membership i ...

under the ecclesiastical authority of the

Church of Nigeria The Church of Nigeria is the Anglicanism, Anglican Church body, church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest Province (Anglican), province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptised membership (not by attendance), after the Church of Englan ...

. The group was one of several that left the Episcopal Church after the Diocese of Tennessee's convention in 2006 because of objections to the actions of Episcopal leadership, particularly including the denomination's consecration of

Gene Robinson Vicky Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) is a retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected Coadjutor bishop, bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he se ...

, a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

man, as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. Trinity church retained its traditional affiliation. It is now joined with four other Episcopal churches in a regional ministry, the Southeast Tennessee Episcopal Ministry (STEM), along with Holy Comforter, Monteagle; Christ Church, Alto; Christ Church, Tracy City; and Epiphany Mission Church,

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland * Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district fr ...

. The

church building A church, church building, church house, or chapel is a building used for Christian worship services and Christian activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 AD and 256 AD. ''Church'' is also ...

was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1980.

References

External links

Trinity Episcopal Church website

''Tennessee Organs'' (Photography by Stein) {{National Register of Historic Places Episcopal churches in Tennessee Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Gothic Revival church buildings in Tennessee Churches completed in 1874 19th-century Episcopal church buildings Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Franklin County, Tennessee Winchester, Tennessee