Our congregation consists of both German speaking and English-speaking members. Even today our congregation has two worship celebrations on Sundays. The German language service is traditional in style and the English language service is blended in style with traditional and contemporary elements and music. We are the only Reformed Church in Queens County with a German worship celebration.

Here is how it all started. In 1843 an English-speaking congregation was formed in New York City at Avenue B and Fifth Street. They were part of the Reformed Church in America. In 1853 a small group of German speaking people came together in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and started a congregation there. They became part of the Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische St. Petri Kirche. Eventually the two congregations decided to merge in 1919, with Pastor George Wacker as the first minister of the united church. They moved to our present location in 1926. The Sanctuary in which we still worship today was dedicated to the glory of God on Feb. 27, 1927.
 

Trinity is part of the Reformed Church in America, or RCA for short. The name "Reformed" is short for the church of Jesus Christ reformed according to the Word of God. It comes from the Protestant Reformation that swept across Europe in the 1500's under the leadership of such men as Martin Luther and John Calvin. Luther and Calvin's reformation at Geneva spread to many countries. Luther's branch became known as the Lutheran Church, mainly in Germany and the Scandinavian countries. Calvin's branch spread to Scotland, where it became known as the Presbyterian Church, and to Holland and Germany, where it was called the Reformed Church.
 

The RCA is the oldest Protestant denomination in America. The Dutch Reformed Church established it's first congregation in New Amsterdam, or Manhattan as it is now known, in 1628. Although Dutch in origin, the RCA celebrates great diversity today, as is also the case in our own congregation. Our congregations have for decades included peoples of many races and nationalities, and our styles of worship vary from formal and the liturgical to informal and contemporary. We also have full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church USA.
 

[ Home ]

Last modified: 11/19/07