On the north shore of Staten Island, just up the hill from the St. George Ferry, a 1913 Gothic sanctuary anchors the corner of Beach and St. Paul's Avenues. Inside, a Casavant Frères pipe organ with more than 2,000 pipes fills the nave with sound, and light passes through stained glass onto pews that have welcomed worshipers for more than a century. This is Trinity Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation that describes itself as an inclusive community of Christians known for artful worship, a creative music program, and a long-running ministry to hungry neighbors on Staten Island.
Trinity gathers on Sundays around two worship services, with Christian education and fellowship in between, and it pours into the neighborhood the rest of the week through a Saturday food pantry and soup kitchen, a new low-cost immigration legal clinic, a campus ministry at nearby Wagner College, and a steady rhythm of Bible studies, concerts, and community conversations. The congregation is led by Rev. Dr. Stephanie Jaeger, who became pastor in July 2023.
The Sunday Rhythm at Trinity
Sunday at Trinity follows a layered schedule that lets families move between worship, learning, and fellowship without rushing.
- 9:00 a.m. - Simple Service in the sanctuary, a shorter and more intimate gathering that includes communion during the summer months.
- 9:45 a.m. - Coffee with Friends in the church kitchen, alongside Preschool Sunday School.
- 10:30 a.m. - Classical Worship, the larger Sunday service that draws on the choir, organ, and a range of musical styles, with Youth Sunday School at the same hour.
- 11:40 a.m. - Fellowship hour.
- 12:00 p.m. - Adult Bible Studies on the first and third Sundays, and Confirmation on the second and fourth Sundays.
During summer (mid-June through early September), the schedule compresses slightly: Coffee with Friends runs from 9:45 to 10:30 a.m., and Bible study and varied workshops are held from about 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Worship is livestreamed and recorded on the congregation's YouTube channel, and an archive of recent Sunday bulletins is kept online so anyone can follow along with the readings and prayers of the day.
A Sanctuary Built for Music
Music sits at the center of life at Trinity. The congregation describes its worship as a rich blend of classical, modern, gospel, and global music, played on the pipe organ and piano and sung by choirs, soloists, and the assembly itself. The Trinity Choir, a trained adult ensemble of volunteers and paid section leaders, rehearses Sunday mornings at 9:45 a.m. from September through June and prepares major works for Christmas and Easter along with substantial music for ordinary Sundays. New members are welcome to join at any time.
The instrument behind the choir is a Casavant Frères pipe organ installed in 1953, with more than 2,000 pipes. It is maintained with care so it can continue to anchor worship and concerts for decades to come. The cathedral-like architecture of the 1913 building lifts eyes and voices upward; stained glass and rotating visual art create prayer stations and quiet spaces for reflection.
Several times a year Trinity opens its doors for concerts that bring in local and national artists. Recent and upcoming programs have included organist Janet Yieh (former Associate Organist at Trinity Church Wall Street), a Lament to Light All Saints Day concert, a C3 chamber music program, and the annual Wonder & Light Christmas concert. The Dorian Lake Trio, the American Brass Quintet, and the New Amsterdam String Band are among the guest musicians who have performed in the sanctuary.
Compline, the brief monastic bedtime prayer service, is also offered at Trinity throughout the year. The 45-minute service of silence, meditative music, and candlelight invites worshipers to participate as much or as little as they wish.
From a German Congregation to a Multilingual Neighborhood
Trinity was founded in 1856 as Der Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische Gemeinde zu Stapleton, an expression of the faith of German immigrants on Staten Island. The first service was held on October 26, 1856, with the Rev. J. C. F. Hennicke likely presiding. After a dormant stretch, the congregation reorganized in 1859 under the Rev. Goehling, who also started a German-American school.
Worship took place in rented space until a building on Richmond Turnpike was purchased and used, and then in 1913 the congregation moved into the Gothic structure that is still home today. By the early twentieth century, under Pastor Frederic Sutter, English-language services began to appear alongside German ones, slowly transforming the congregation into a multilingual body that today reflects the diversity of Staten Island's North Shore.
Pastor Sutter also played a quiet but pivotal role in bringing Wagner College from Rochester, New York, to Staten Island in 1918. He served on the Wagner board for his entire life, and the college and congregation have remained closely linked ever since.
Trinity Lutheran School, founded in 1960 under Pastor Carl Sutter, served as a top-notch elementary school for fifty years before closing in 2010. In 2023, Trinity officially merged with Our Saviour Lutheran Church in a shared ministry that shaped the present shape of the parish. Today, the congregation lives out the motto that hung over its ministry in the early 2000s under Pastor Richard Michael: a place "Where God's Grace is Shared."
Feeding with TLC: Saturday Mornings for Hungry Neighbors
For more than twenty-five years, Feeding with TLC, Inc. has run a Saturday food pantry and sit-down soup kitchen at Trinity. Between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. every Saturday, a stream of volunteers cooks, serves, and offers comfort to neighbors who come from across Staten Island.
The food pantry, open from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., distributes groceries designed to provide three meals per person in each household, along with fresh produce, bread, and, when available, pet food. The soup kitchen, serving from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., welcomes men, women, children, and families for a hot meal with no eligibility requirements. On average, about 100 meals are served each Saturday.
Volunteers come from local churches, schools, and the broader neighborhood, and partnerships have included joint days of service with neighboring congregations such as the Coptic Church of Annadale. Feeding with TLC has been recognized for its work, including a grant from the Nicotra Foundation, and has been honored at a Staten Island FerryHawks game. Financial gifts and volunteers are welcomed, and donations can be made directly to the program.
Trinity Immigration and Citizenship Team (TICT)
Since May 1, 2025, Trinity has operated an immigration legal clinic out of the church. The Trinity Immigration and Citizenship Team (TICT) provides low-cost and no-cost services to new Staten Island residents and to people referred by faith and nonprofit partners. The clinic is overseen by a qualified lawyer, and case managers are volunteers trained in immigration law through Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). Pastor Stephanie Jaeger, also trained by CLINIC, directs the program.
TICT offers free consultations and a wide range of services, including family-based petitions, DACA renewal, asylum applications, TPS applications, citizenship applications, U-visa and T-visa petitions, VAWA self-petitions, adjustment of status, advance parole, and limited court representation at the clinic's discretion. Consultations are scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays, with other days available by appointment. Walk-ins are not accepted; appointments are arranged by phone or text at 917-601-7323 or by email.
Children, Youth, and Family Milestones
Trinity describes itself as a "Kid Friendly" congregation, and it shows up in the way the building and the schedule are set up to welcome families.
In the sanctuary there is a children's area with tables, chairs, and quiet toys in the front right section, and another space with books and activities in the narthex for children who need a little break. During each Sunday service, Pastor Stephanie offers an interactive Children's Message, and children and youth are invited forward to join her. Older children and youth can also serve as greeters, ushers, readers, or assistants to the pastor.
Sunday School meets from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. between September and May in the Sunday school room one level below the sanctuary; children age three and under attend with a designated grownup. Confirmation runs as a multi-year program for youth in roughly grades six through nine, combining learning activities with service opportunities and a confirmation retreat. The church also walks alongside families through milestones such as birth and adoption (marked with a red rose on the altar), Baptism, First Bible (presented by elders on Reformation Sunday), First Communion, and high school graduation.
TLC Campus Ministry at Wagner College
Trinity's connection to Wagner College is one of the oldest parts of its identity. Today that connection takes concrete shape as the TLC Campus Ministry, an ecumenical Christian ministry based at Kairos House, the center for spiritual life on the Wagner campus.
The campus ministry is led by Vicar Dr. Jordan Baker, who also serves as Pastoral Intern at Trinity. Two weekly offerings anchor its life. Kairos Dinners, usually on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m., are open to students of any religious background and feature homecooked food provided by volunteers from Trinity Lutheran or the campus minister. Kairos Conversations is a weekly discussion around a scriptural text that explores a different theme each week and includes a time to share joys and burdens in prayer. Students of all backgrounds are welcome.
Reconciling in Christ: A Welcome Made Explicit
Trinity is part of a regional church body, the Metropolitan New York Synod, that is a Reconciling in Christ Synod. This means the synod has made an explicit and intentional commitment to being a welcoming and safe sacred space for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, with particular attention to those who identify as LGBTQIA+. The congregation identifies itself as an inclusive community that values the richness of God's creation, welcomes all people, and appreciates both common humanity and differences.
Healing, Pastoral Care, and Adult Spiritual Growth
Healing is treated at Trinity as a broad ministry that includes physical, emotional, and societal dimensions. After each Sunday service, anyone who wishes can request healing prayer, currently offered in the church's Our Saviour's Chapel on the second floor during the coffee and fellowship hour, led by trained lay leaders. Pastor Stephanie is also available for pastoral visitation at home or in care settings, and for confidential pastoral counseling that draws on her training as a pastoral counselor and life coach.
For adults who want to dig deeper, Bible Study with Pastor Stephanie meets most Sundays from mid-September through June, and a steady calendar of retreats, workshops, and multi-hour forums runs through the year. Recent adult offerings have included climate workshops, a Cultivating Mental Health series, watercolor classes, a Mardi Gras Jazz Vespers, and a Bible and BBQ potluck. Senior members gather regularly for luncheons and a summer social.
Membership, Weddings, and Funerals
New members are received twice a year, on the "All Together Again Sunday" in September and on Holy Trinity Sunday in late May. The process begins with a conversation with Pastor Stephanie and continues through group discussions about membership, the life of Trinity, and core ideas in Lutheran Christianity.
Trinity hosts weddings and funeral or memorial services in the sanctuary, working with families on vows, readings, music, and the shape of the liturgy. Baptisms are usually scheduled during a regular Sunday service after a preparatory meeting with the pastor, and can be arranged for children or adults.
How to Get Involved
Visitors who want to attend a service can find the sanctuary at 309 Saint Pauls Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10304, about ten minutes by car from the St. George Ferry, with parking available in the lot or on the street. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and can be reached at (718) 447-0526 or trinitylutheransi@tlcsi.org.
Those who want to stay connected can subscribe to the weekly newsletter, follow the church on Facebook and Instagram, watch worship on the Trinity Lutheran Staten Island YouTube channel, and support the ministries of the parish by giving online or by check. A new patron program, Friends of Music at Trinity, is administered by the Trinity Center for Music, Art, and Enrichment, a 501(c)(3) created in 2025 to sustain the church's concert and arts programming.
From its Gothic sanctuary on a Staten Island hill, Trinity Lutheran continues a ministry that began with German immigrants in 1856, grew through a music school and a college on the hill above, fed its neighbors through a Saturday soup kitchen, and now, in its 170th year, extends that work with a new immigration clinic, a campus ministry at Wagner, and an arts program that fills the sanctuary with music almost every week.