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Trinity Episcopal Church was founded in 1868 by returning Union
soldiers, and is in its 136th year. Trinity is a landmark in the heart of
downtown Ossining and is among 200 parishes of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The Episcopal Church is a part of
the worldwide Anglican Church,
a fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, of which
the Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader.
The Parish of Trinity originally met in a Barlow Block basement
and was founded by returning Union Veterans from the Village of Sing Sing.
The new parish became a tenant in the original wooden structure of First
Presbyterian Church, then located on the present site at 7 South Highland
Avenue.
Trinity Church is noted for the richness of its traditional
liturgy, the friendliness of its people and the beauty of its architecture
designed by R. W. Gibson. Construction of the gray St. Lawrence County limestone
building began in 1891.
Parishioners enhanced the beauty of the church with memorials that include
Tiffany and Gorham stained glass windows, which are some of the finest
in the area.
The Westminster chimes in the bell tower struck the familiar
Cambridge Quarters for many years, and were a gift in 1895. The bells
currently await an overhaul of the 1965 striking mechanisms. Originally the
bell tower housed the fire bell for the village of Sing Sing. The Parish
Hall and the Cloister were a gift in 1905. The Reredos and High Altar, given
in 1937 and 1968 respectively, were gifts from Holy Cross, an Episcopal Monastery
at West Park, New York.
Today, Trinity is enjoying renewal and re-growth under the
pastoral guidance of our eighth rector, The Rev. Canon Charles P. Pridemore.
He is leading the parishioners to build on Trinity's liturgical roots in
Anglo-Catholic worship, while proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to Ossining
and the wider community. Our parish is home to people from different ethnic
and cultural backgrounds, including families from Africa, the Caribbean, South
America, and the fourth generation of a family from Ossining. We are single,
engaged, married, widowed, gay and lesbian. Together we are a loving family
known as Trinity Church, living our lives as Christ would have us live them.
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