Trinity Lutheran Church of Grand Rapids has welcomed individuals and families from throughout West Michigan to its east-side campus near Reeds Lake for more than 125 years. The congregation of about 1,500 members gathers around a shared commitment to worship, learning, and service, offering three Sunday services that range from a quiet traditional liturgy to a band-led contemporary gathering.
Three Sunday Services, One Congregation
Worship on Sunday morning at Trinity takes three forms. The 8:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. services are held in the sanctuary and follow the traditional liturgical style of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with leadership from the pipe organ, vocal choir, bell choir, cantors, and a variety of instruments. At 9:15 a.m., the Rejoice service gathers in Centennial Hall with music led by a worship band. The Rejoice service is more casual in style while still following ELCA worship identity.
The 9:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. services are livestreamed on Trinity's YouTube channel, and broadcasts of the 10:45 a.m. service also air on community access television. Recorded sermons are kept in an audio archive, and a volunteer Recording Team makes the livestream possible week to week.
From the YMCA to Fulton Street
The story of Trinity begins in 1896, when the Board of Home Missions for the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Churches sent two pastors to Grand Rapids to gauge interest in an English-speaking Lutheran congregation. Earlier Lutheran congregations in the city had worshiped in German, Swedish, and Norwegian. The 62 charter members organized Trinity on December 9, 1896. They had already held their first worship services on May 17, 1896, at the old Grand Rapids YMCA, and they met for their first two years in the lecture hall of the Reformed Jewish Temple Emanuel.
On November 22, 1898, Trinity dedicated a Gothic Revival brick church at the corner of Crescent and Bostwick Streets downtown, a building members came to call the church on the hill. Trinity made that downtown address home for 63 years, and the sanctuary was remodeled and an education building added in 1917.
Under the guidance of Rev. Richard W. Alber, the congregation moved to its present suburban campus on the east side of Grand Rapids. Members cleared brush on the site ahead of the 1959 groundbreaking, and the modern sanctuary, designed by Philadelphia architect Harold E. Wagoner, was dedicated in 1961. In preparation for the congregation's centennial, members completed the Centennial Vision for Mission campaign, dedicating new Sunday School classrooms, Centennial Hall, and the Létourneau Opus 26 pipe organ in 1992. Between 2013 and 2018, Trinity replaced its parking lot, completed asbestos abatement and renovation of the building and Centennial Hall, upgraded the roofing and HVAC, and built a new Courtyard Fellowship space and West entry.
Trinity has been a haven for waves of newcomers over the decades. In 1950, members helped resettle refugees displaced by the communist takeover of Latvia, and in 1953 United Latvian Lutheran was organized as a daughter congregation. Later Trinity helped resettle families from Vietnam and Eritrea in the 1980s, Bosnia in the 1990s, and Chinese Christians beginning in 1993. In recent years the church has welcomed refugees from Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo through the New Americans program of Samaritas.
An Organ Built for the Sanctuary
Lutherans have long been called the singing church, and Trinity has built a strong musical life around that tradition. The Létourneau Opus 26, dedicated in 1992, is a 36-rank mechanical-action organ on three manuals and pedal built by Orgues Létourneau of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Dr. James Kibbie of the University of Michigan served as consultant, and the unusual angles of the sanctuary inspired a distinctive tracker design by organ architect Denis Campbell. The previous Pels organ had been dismantled and sold in 1991.
The sanctuary also holds a 5'10" Steinway Model "O" grand piano, purchased in 2014 after a fundraising campaign, and a Zuckermann harpsichord, built by Dr. Hough of Williamson, Michigan, and given to Trinity in 1985 in memory of Donna Whittemore. The church's collection extends to a set of three Yamaha timpani, five octaves of Malmark handbells, four octaves of Schulmerich handbells refitted with Malmark clappers, and five octaves of Malmark Choir Chimes, along with several upright pianos on the lower level.
The Trinity Choir, directed by Dr. Mark Stover and accompanied by Director of Music Ministries and Organist Dr. Darlene Kuperus, presents choral anthems weekly for the 10:45 a.m. service and is open to singers high school age and up. Cantors for the 8:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. services are drawn from the choir and the wider congregation. The Resound Handbell Choir, directed by Dr. Kuperus, rehearses from 6:00 to 7:15 p.m. on Thursdays from September through May and plays for worship about once a month. The Celebration of Music Concert Series, held September through April, brings free concerts into the sanctuary featuring the Létourneau organ, the Steinway, and the harpsichord. A Summer Music Camp for children who have completed grades three through eight runs daily from 9:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. during the summer.
Children, Youth, and Family Life
Trinity's Children's Ministry lays the foundation for a lifelong journey with Jesus Christ. Sunday School takes place within the 9:15 a.m. service using the Amazing+ curriculum, with children preschool through fifth grade hearing Bible stories that connect them to God's Big Story of redemption. The Nursery is open Sundays from 9 a.m. to noon, with care during the 8 a.m. hour available by advance request. Twice a year, families with infants through pre-schoolers gather on a Saturday morning for a pancake breakfast with Bible stories, songs, and activities. Each December the children present the story of Jesus' birth through song and scripture, with a Christmas Cookie Reception to follow.
Vacation Bible School, held each summer, welcomes children ages 3 through grade 5 with song, skits, stories, crafts, and more, free and open to the community. Children's Ministry partners with Kid's Food Basket, In The Image, Family Promise, and Kids Coalition Against Hunger.
Youth Ministry equips students in grades 6 through 12 to be disciples of Jesus Christ, centering on worship, service, evangelism, fellowship, and discipleship. Confirmation classes meet weekly September through May on Sundays from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m., a three-year program led by the pastors. Middle schoolers gather at 2:00 p.m. on Sundays before Confirmation, take part in outings to Craig's Cruisers, movies, sledding, and the Great Wolf Lodge, serve in the community monthly, and are encouraged to attend a week of Stony Lake Bible Camp in July. High schoolers meet weekly at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday nights and gather with the associate pastor for Bible study during the 9:15 a.m. service on the first Sunday of each month, with donuts and conversation about how the scriptures connect and guide daily life. Every summer they spend a week rebuilding homes and lives, and every three years they join more than 30,000 other youth at the ELCA National Youth Gathering.
Adults Around the Bible
Trinity's Adult Ministry offers a steady rhythm of Bible studies, book clubs, and short-term classes. A women's Bible study meets on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m., and a five-week study, "Half Truths: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves and Other Things the Bible Doesn't Say" by Adam Hamilton, runs September through October. A Tuesday-night book club meets at 7:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month, and a second book club meets monthly in members' homes September through May. Short-term Bible studies led by pastors and lay leaders are scheduled during Lent and Advent. The quarterly Men's Breakfast features a full breakfast, a brief Bible study, and a guest speaker.
Women's Ministry includes a young women's group, retreats, and a Friday-morning group that meets at Trinity at 9:30 a.m. on the second Friday of the month September through May. Pastor Kari Fast leads a widow's lunch several times a year, where widows share conversation, support, joy, and laughter with family members and friends who have lost their spouses.
Care for Body, Mind, and Spirit
Health Ministries at Trinity seek to share God's gifts of love and grace in service of spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. The Faith Community Nurse organizes visitation for the hospitalized, sick, and homebound, and arranges flu shot clinics in the fall with Spectrum Health Visiting Nurses. CPR classes are held in spring and fall, led by a Red Cross Certified Instructor. Trinity partners with Versiti Blood to host quarterly blood drives, and a Care and Share group supports primary caregivers of an adult child, spouse, parent, or other loved one. A "Surviving the Holidays" seminar meets on a Saturday morning in November for those grieving a loved one, and GriefShare, a 13-week Christ-centered support program, typically begins in Lent. Various fitness classes are offered at Trinity as well.
Stephen Ministry provides distinctly Christian one-to-one care, support, and friendship for people facing all kinds of life needs, from the death of a family member or close friend to personal or family illness, depression, financial hardship, the loss of a job, or the birth of a child. Stephen Ministers are trained to offer a confidential, listening presence, and Trinity provides opportunities for those interested in becoming Stephen Ministers to receive training.
Helping Hands in the Congregation
The Helping Hands Ministry connects members with ministry opportunities and coordinates meals for those experiencing illness, surgery, the birth of a child, or the death of a family member. Trinity In Touch is a team of members who provide homebound communion, visitation, and communication with anyone unable to join the congregation in worship.
Trinity offers a columbarium on the balcony outside the narthex, under the cross tower, for members who wish to inter the cremated remains of loved ones. Baptisms are available to people of all ages who wish to affirm their faith and commitment in Christ, from infants to adults.
Reaching Out to Grand Rapids and Beyond
The Outreach Committee focuses on addressing unmet basic needs both locally and globally. Trinity has been a lead host for homeless families through the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Family Promise for more than 20 years and provides volunteer teams to serve meals at Dégagé in downtown Grand Rapids. Members regularly volunteer with the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, and a partnership with In The Image brings volunteers to their free store on the first Monday and third Thursday of every month to sort, fold, and display clothes. The quilters' group makes simple multi-purpose quilts that are shipped around the world; during the pandemic the same group produced more than 400 masks for local distribution.
Trinity has completed a certification process focused on domestic violence, ensuring its leadership has the tools to support victims. Quarterly donations from the Mission Endowment Fund and the operating budget support 17 local non-profits. Monthly collection drives focus on items like cleaning supplies in January and February, personal hygiene products in March and April, diapers in May and June, bus tickets in June and July, school supplies for Congress Elementary in July and August, and coats and blankets in September and October. Grocery carts at the Sanctuary and Kitchen entrances collect non-perishable food for the SECOM Food Pantry, and members can shop online through Green Apple Pantry's virtual store.
The Green Team meets to discuss environmental issues, including education, advocacy, and participation in projects like the annual Mayor's Grand River Cleanup, as well as a management plan for the Trinity Woods and wetlands. Trinity's budget also supports the Pastor Karen Niemeyer Second Career Seminarian Scholarship Fund, which awards a total of $6,000 each year to candidates pursuing a Master of Divinity and seeking ordination in the ELCA.
Joining Trinity
Those interested in becoming part of Trinity are invited to contact the church office or complete a Let's Connect card, available in the sanctuary pews or the courtyard info center. Prospective members attend two Curiosity Classes and a New Member VIP Night, and are welcomed during a New Members Sunday in May or November. People may be received as full members through baptism, transfer from another congregation, or affirmation of faith.
The church office at 2700 Fulton Street East is open throughout the week. Worship services and most activities follow the Forest Hills Public Schools closure schedule during the day. Evening and weekend weather-related cancellations are posted on WZZM 13, WOOD TV8, and FOX 17.