On Sunday, Oct. 8, people will gather at Holy Trinity Church to celebrate the congregation’s 50 years in Brandenburg and embrace, for the second time, the beginning of a new era of ministry and mission.

The anniversary celebration will begin at 10 a.m. (EDT) with Eucharist, celebrated by Bishop Ted Gulick. The reception afterwards will feature a collection of still photos and a video presentation chronicling the life of the congregation, which actually began its ministry in Grahamton early in the 20th century when it was led by Fr. Gorter. In 1941, the U.S. government bought Holy Trinity Memorial Chapel in Grahamton as part of the Fort Knox expansion, but the congregation remained together, worshiping in the home of Joe and Maggie Allen until 1954 when the Rev. Courtney Carpenter broke ground for the new church on land donated by the Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation.

On Oct. 14, 1956, the small but faithful congregation in Meade County, led by the Rev. Robert H. Steilberg, witnessed the dedication of their new building by Bishop Gresham Marmion. At the dedication, Bishop Marmion told the congregation they were ending one era and beginning another. He advised that the new era’s success depended on the members, just as the prior era did, and that three things were required for the work of the church to prosper: They must worship God in this church each Sunday; they must be witnesses for Jesus Christ everyday in their community; and they must share with others the good things God gives them through the church. In other words, he said, they must be evangelists.

For the past 50 years, the congregation has worked faithfully to meet these requirements, even in very lean times. When the small mission church was served by a series of priests who also had responsibility for other churches and did not live in Brandenburg and during the years when no priest was available to the church, members continued to meet every Sunday to worship and carry on the work of the church.

Now, with the continued support of the diocese and an endowment from Evelyn Morgan, a prominent Brandenburg citizen, the church is starting to prosper. The original 23 families have grown to 37, and the congregation welcomes all. The church basement has been renovated to include a kitchen, an area for dinners and meetings, storage areas and a small area for church school. Facilities for the handicapped were added in 1987.

Although Holy Trinity is a small congregation, they are an active community presence through various ongoing ministries: the Clothes Closet of the Meade County Ministerial Association, the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, Christmas Baskets for Community Action, Christmas on the River for Inland Mariners and relief aid for Hurricane Katrina victims. Members of Holy Trinity have also worked on Habitat for Humanity houses.

After the devastating tornado of April, I974, the church opened its facilities to the American Red Cross and representatives of HUD, who used it for their headquarters while finding temporary housing for tornado victims. The congregation of Phillips Memorial Baptist Church held services at Holy Trinity, since their sanctuary had been completely destroyed by the tornado. At one time the church was the home of a kindergarten and hosted an AA group.

Midge Thomas, member of Holy Trinity and former director of the Clothes Closet, says that much of Holy Trinity’s outreach, such as their support of Project Graduation, a lock-in for high school seniors, is done “behind the scenes…. We are steady workers and the people know they can count on us, but we don’t do much to draw attention.”

Holy Trinity, whose vicar of eight years, the Rev. James Wilson, recently retired, is now in the search process for a new vicar. Lana Goodwin-Black, current senior warden, says that with the encouragement of the interim priest, the Rev. Whit Soards, they are planning to host free community chili suppers in the fall and winter to call people’s attention to the church and the nourishment, physical and spiritual, it has to offer. Goodwin-Black also noted the congregation has “many artistically talented people,” so they are planning an arts and crafts fair for the spring. Funds raised by sales will be divided, 10 percent will go to the Meade County Food Pantry and the rest to pay registration fees for the church’s children who want to attend All Saints’ summer camp.

Their event planning reflects the congregation’s recognition that a new era requires fresh approaches. Many people are being brought to Ft. Knox by the new military operations headquartered there. According to Goodwin-Black, the church hopes that publicity for the events will keep them visible and will reach new residents. “Some people call it ‘advertising,’ and it may be,” she said, “but it’s also a way to let people know about the Episcopal Church. Maybe Bishop Marmion would say it’s evangelism.”