A Confessional Lutheran Congregation in the Heart of Palo Alto
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church sits on Middlefield Road in Palo Alto, between University Avenue and Embarcadero, in a setting that has been the congregation's home since 1953. Its members describe it with three words: biblical, evangelical, and faithful. Trinity is in confessional fellowship with The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, the historic body that traces itself back to Martin Luther and the Reformation of the sixteenth century. The congregation depends on God's Word for its reception of the Holy Spirit, relies on God's grace in everyday life, and lets its worship be shaped by the enacted Word in the Divine Service. Visitors come for the same reason members do: to hear Christ proclaimed, to receive His forgiveness, and to live out the Christian faith together.
A Century of Trinity, From a Women's Club House to Middlefield Road
Trinity's story begins in 1922, when the Rev. A. E. Kurtz began missionary work among Lutherans in the Palo Alto and San Mateo areas. Worship services were held at the Women's Club House at Homer and Cowper Streets in Palo Alto. The first meeting of the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Palo Alto, Unorganized, took place on October 1, 1922. The congregation considered the purchase of three lots at Byron and Hamilton Streets in 1923 and completed that purchase in 1924.
In March 1925, the Mission Board of Northern California and Nevada recommended that the congregation call the Rev. Breihan, then serving in San Jose. He was installed on May 10, 1925, and the congregation was formally incorporated that July. Before the year was out, Breihan accepted a call to San Luis Obispo, and the Northern California-Nevada District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod assigned the Rev. Paul H. D. Lang to serve both the Stanford University campus and the Palo Alto mission. Lang had just graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1925, with an original assignment to mission work in China that closed because of civil war there. He was installed at the Women's Club House on December 6, 1925.
The cornerstone of Trinity's first church building was laid on October 21, 1928, and the building was dedicated on the second Sunday in Advent, December 2, 1928. The wood panels on the altar were carved by Pastor Lang and dedicated on October 27, 1940. A new pipe organ was dedicated on April 26, 1941, and the south side stained-glass windows on June 10, 1945, at the twentieth anniversary of the congregation's founding. The Rev. Martin Taddey was called as Assistant Pastor in 1964; when Pastor Lang retired in 1965, Taddey became the next pastor and was installed on Transfiguration Sunday, 1966.
The Building That Moved from Hamilton Avenue
Trinity's move to Middlefield Road remains one of the most remarkable chapters in the congregation's life. The rite of blessing a new church site was held on May 17, 1953, and worship began at the new site on August 2, 1953, even before the building itself had arrived. On Thursday, August 27, 1953, the Hamilton Avenue church building was physically moved to its present location on the McKenzie Estate, purchased along with the surrounding property for forty-seven thousand five hundred dollars. Many long-time Palo Alto residents still remember the building sitting on Middlefield Road when the moving platform broke down. The building was rededicated on December 6, 1953. The three-story mansion on the estate served as the fellowship, meeting, administration, and education facility until 1967, when the City of Palo Alto condemned it as unsafe; it was demolished on July 1, 1967. The present office, education, and fellowship buildings, designed by Carroll Rankin and built by Ira Ota, were dedicated on May 27, 1968.
An arson fire in the church sacristy on October 21, 1993, was discovered almost immediately by vicar Wiley Smith and extinguished by the Palo Alto Fire Department. The congregation counts the fire as a hidden blessing: many repairs and improvements were completed in its wake, among them an expanded sacristy with a new roof line, wheelchair access to the chancel, new heating and electrical systems, fire and burglar alarms, and substantial painting and repairs throughout.
The Divine Service at the Center
The Sunday gathering at Trinity is called the Divine Service, a term that captures the rhythm of Lutheran worship: first God serves His people with His gifts, and then they respond in thanksgiving and praise. The service typically includes the Confession of Sins, the Absolution, a Song of Praise, the Prayer of the Day, three Scripture readings (usually one from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament letters, and one from the Gospels), a sermon, the response to the Word with offerings and prayers, Holy Communion, and the Benediction. Trinity uses Lutheran Service Book, together with a printed program that walks worshipers through every step of the service.
The pastor is vested, and the congregation sings or speaks the liturgy back and forth or together. Congregational singing has always been a hallmark of Lutheran worship, and the order of readings and prayers follows the church year, focusing the congregation on the major events in the life of Christ. Lutherans may stand, bow, or kneel at various points in the service, and both pastor and people may make the sign of the cross. The church's interior includes an altar, candles, stained-glass windows, and other artwork that lend beauty and dignity to worship without any fixed rules about decoration.
Holy Communion is celebrated every Sunday. Trinity practices closed communion: members of Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregations are welcome at the Lord's Table after speaking with the pastor, and members of other Lutheran or Christian bodies who wish to commune are asked to arrange a meeting with the pastor to ensure full agreement in what God says about the Lord's Supper. Visitors who do not wish to commune are invited simply to come, sit, and observe.
Music That Serves the Word
Music at Trinity is never decoration or performance. Following the Lutheran confession, the pastor reforms worship rather than reinvents it: every musical element of the Divine Service exists to proclaim God's saving work in Christ, support the congregation's singing, and help God's people remember and confess the faith. Whether a melody is centuries old or newly composed, the goal is the same, namely that music faithfully serve the Gospel and encourage the voices of the entire congregation.
The primary choir at Trinity is the congregation. Hymns are chosen for their biblical depth: they proclaim Christ's death and resurrection, confess the Christian faith, comfort the troubled conscience, and teach God's saving promises. The adult choir serves as a musical servant of the congregation rather than a performer, supporting the liturgy through anthems and choral settings of Scripture. Instrumentalists, whether organ, piano, strings, brass, woodwinds, or handbells, enrich worship by supporting congregational song.
Trinity is blessed with a tracker-action pipe organ, in which the keys are mechanically connected to the pipes. This design gives the organist exceptional control over articulation and expression while preserving a centuries-old heritage of Lutheran church music. Marilyn Taddey joined Trinity in the fall of 1966, married the Rev. Martin Taddey that year, and has served the congregation as organist for more than four decades. She cares for the historical Hook and Hastings pipe organ, a Boston instrument from 1902. Sally Treadway, the music director, came to Trinity in 1976 to work with the children's choir and has led the adult choir and the Trinity children in choir ever since. Steve Winterstein, who began playing piano at age six and became the youngest organist to play services regularly within the Missouri Synod at age eight, serves as organist and choir accompanist and has reprised that role at Trinity since 2007.
Bible Study, Catechesis, and Hearing the Word
Alongside the Divine Service, the study of God's Word is one of the great blessings of congregational life at Trinity. After the Sunday service, the congregation gathers for Bible Study at 11:00 a.m., currently working through a series titled Table of Contents: The Bible From God's Mind to Our Hearts, offered online via Zoom. On Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., a study on the Augsburg Confession meets, and on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 a.m., a study of I and II Corinthians. The congregation's program of study follows the Luther described: God is not the audience for our action. God is not the audience for our action; He initiates our action and calls and sustains us through His Word.
Matins, or Morning Prayer, is prayed Tuesday through Friday at 9:00 a.m., and Pastor Crown preaches through the Bible chapter by chapter in those services. The Sunday sermons follow a modified one-year series. Sermon preparation is careful work with the appointed readings, the original Hebrew and Greek texts, faithful commentaries, prayer, outlining, writing, and revision. A faithful sermon at Trinity always preaches Christ: God's Law exposes sin and calls to repentance, and God's Gospel announces the forgiveness won by Christ and strengthens the faith created by the Holy Spirit. Both Sunday and Matins sermons are available on Trinity's YouTube channel.
For college students scattered across the country, a Bible study called The Scroll-Eaters meets online. Pastor Crown provides the Zoom link upon request.
Means of Grace: Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper
For Lutherans, the church's life is sustained by the means of grace: the Word, Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion. In Holy Baptism, water is combined with God's Word and command, and God Himself forgives sins, rescues from death and the devil, and grants eternal salvation to all who believe these promises. The faith created and sustained by the Holy Spirit joins the baptized to the resurrection of Jesus. Baptism is administered to individuals of all ages at Trinity, ordinarily during the regular assembly of the congregation. Sponsors are chosen with prayer and discernment, expected to confess the faith of the Apostles' Creed and Luther's Small Catechism, and to model faithful Christian life for those they sponsor.
Holy Communion at Trinity confesses that the communion is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for Christians to eat and drink. The meal gives forgiveness of sins, strengthens union with Christ, and nurtures the unity of His Church. Before communing, the congregation asks each person to examine themselves: Do I believe I am a sinner? Do I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior by the power of the Holy Spirit? Do I believe Christ's words that I receive His true body and true blood in this meal? Do I repent of my sins and intend to amend my life according to God's Word? Those who cannot say yes to each question are invited to speak with the pastor privately before receiving the Lord's Supper.
Life Together: Pastoral Care, Funerals, and Weddings
Trinity's pastoral ministry centers on the milestones of ordinary life. Pastor Crown is available for walk-ins, though he may be on visits to the homebound or hospitalized, and an appointment is wise. He offers Individual Confession and Absolution as desired. Inquirers considering baptism, confirmation, membership, or marriage are encouraged to speak with him.
Trinity provides Christian funerals for congregation members in good standing and for Christians who regularly worship with the congregation. The funeral is a public act of the Church and a proclamation of Christ crucified and risen; the congregation teaches that, for the Christian, death is not the last word, and Christ's death and resurrection proclaim victory. Pre-planning a funeral is encouraged to help mourners honor the deceased's wishes. A funeral is conducted when the mortal remains are present in a casket; a memorial is conducted when no remains are present.
Marriage, in Trinity's confession, is one of God's good gifts to humanity: a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, instituted before the fall into sin, reflecting the mystery of Christ's love for His Bride, the Church. Weddings at Trinity are acts of Christian worship ordinarily celebrated for members and those actively participating in the life of the congregation. Couples are encouraged to contact the church office soon after becoming engaged. At least one member of the couple must be in good standing during the engagement, when the wedding is being planned, and at the time of the wedding, and Trinity's facilities are used only for ceremonies and activities consistent with the congregation's biblical convictions.
Missions and Mercy Near and Far
Trinity supports a wide network of mission societies and mercy efforts. The Sierra Leone Mission Society, which has supported advanced pastoral education in Sierra Leone and Liberia since 2007, is an ongoing volunteer labor of love. The congregation also supports the Siberian Lutheran Mission Society, the Tian Shan Mission Society among Muslims in Central Asia, Project Timothy in Kenya, and LCMS career missionaries including the Steele family in the Philippines, the Wolf family in Kenya, the Conrad family in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and the Andreasen family in Romania.
Among Lutheran agencies, Trinity supports the Lutheran Women's Missionary League, Lutheran Bible Translators, Lutheran Braille Workers, Lutheran Deaf Ministry, the Lutheran Heritage Foundation, Lutheran Hour Ministries, and the Hispanic Lutheran Hour. The congregation also supports LifeMoves, which provides housing and case management across twenty-three sites from Daly City to San Jose; the Palo Alto Food Closet at All Saints' Episcopal Church, which serves more than two hundred people every week and welcomes donations of food and time; LCMS World Relief and Human Care; and AbleLight, formerly Bethesda Lutheran Communities, which serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Becoming a Member
Membership at Trinity is received by Holy Baptism, by transfer from congregations in fellowship with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, by profession of faith for Christians from other church backgrounds, or by reaffirmation of faith for those returning to active participation after a time away. Children baptized in another Christian congregation may be received with the consent of their parents. Those interested in membership are encouraged to speak with Pastor Crown, and a period of instruction may be recommended depending on previous church background.
Trinity offers a New Member and Refresher Class called Christian Faith: A Lutheran Exposition, covering the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, Holy Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Lord's Supper, along with vocation, stewardship, worship, and the distinctive teachings and practices of the Lutheran Church. Classes begin whenever someone is interested, and the church provides a Bible, Luther's Small Catechism, class materials, and a hymnal.
A First Visit to Trinity
For a first-time visitor, the driveway entrance is accessible from Fulton Street, with plenty of parking, including handicapped spaces. The chief entrance is wheelchair-accessible, and the chancel was made wheelchair-accessible in the wake of the 1993 fire. An usher will hand each visitor a bulletin and gladly answer any questions. No one will be put on the spot or embarrassed. The Bible presents no dress code beyond modesty, and members dress for the special nature of worship without rigid expectations. The order of service and hymns are found in Lutheran Service Book, and the bulletin walks every visitor through each step of worship with explanatory notes.
Children are very much part of the congregation's life. Parents are encouraged to sit near the front with small children so that they can better see and hear what is happening in worship. A quiet room with an audio and video stream is available during services for parents who need to step out. After the service, the congregation gathers in the Parish Hall for coffee, tea, juice, snacks, and conversation.
The Book of Concord and the Lutheran Confession
Trinity subscribes to the Book of Concord, the historic collection of documents that Christians from the fourth to the sixteenth century and beyond have used to explain what they believed and taught on the basis of the Holy Scriptures. The Book begins with the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, indicating that Lutherans embrace the ancient and orthodox faith rather than constituting a sect, and contains the Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, Luther's Small and Large Catechisms, and the Formula of Concord with its Epitome. Pastors and congregations subscribe to the Confessions quia (because) they are a correct exposition of Scripture, rather than quatenus (insofar as) they agree with Scripture, giving members confidence that what is preached is the same apostolic Gospel confessed throughout the Church's history.
Trinity's Pastor and the Congregation Today
The Rev. Stewart Crown began serving Trinity in the spring of 1995 and was called as pastor in 1996. He had previously served his vicarage, or internship, at Trinity from 1987 to 1988. Born in Hustisford, Wisconsin, and raised in Union Grove, he attended Valparaiso University, Concordia University-Wisconsin (BA, 1985), and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis (MDiv, 1989; STM, 1995). His wife Sue, a retired teacher with twenty-five years of service in local public schools, is from Arnold, Missouri. Their three children, Tim, Hannah, and Luke, were raised in Palo Alto.
Trinity's musical life is led by Marilyn Taddey, organist; Sally Treadway, music director; and Steve Winterstein, organist and choir accompanist. Together they support a worship tradition in which the congregation's voice is the primary choir, the pipe organ leads the song, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed in every note.
More than a century after the first meeting at the Women's Club House, Trinity continues to gather around Word and Sacrament on Middlefield Road, under the watch of the Lord Jesus Christ.