Trinity United Methodist Church retraces two centuries of history

TRACEY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- In 1803, Thomas Jefferson was president, the Louisiana Purchase was completed, Ohio joined the Union -- and Trinity United Methodist Church was founded.
The church, which celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, remains a stalwart presence in the Valley's religious community.
Its beautiful stone edifice at 30 W. Front St. -- one of downtown's most prominent buildings -- is now more visible than ever since an empty parking garage next to it was razed this spring.
According to a history of the church's first 150 years written by Howard C. Aley, the original congregation consisted of about a dozen people, among them Isaac Powers, an early landowner and co-builder of the first gristmill on Mill Creek.
The group met in Deerfield for a short time before moving to a log schoolhouse in downtown Youngstown. In 1830, Trinity built a church on the site of what is now the recently demolished Downtown Parking Garage.
This remained the site of the church until 1883, when a stone church was constructed on the present site.
About the name
According to Aley's account, Trinity had been called First Methodist Episcopal Church up to this point. The church was dubbed Trinity because it was the third church to use the design it chose for its new building. The building plans were borrowed from Union Avenue Methodist Church in St. Louis, which had been patterned after City Temple in London.
Trinity continued to grow, from 540 members in 1886 to 2,083 in 1915. In 1936, the church decided to make a "larger and more symbolic church," writes R. Thornton Beeghly in his historical account of the church.
Economic restraints of World War II delayed the project until 1943, when the church building was enlarged and renovated. This building, a combination of the stone structure built in 1830 and the renovation completed in 1943, still stands on Front Street today.
The Rev. Dr. D. Larry Kline, pastor at Trinity for the past 11 years, said Trinity is the second-oldest church in Youngstown. First Presbyterian is the oldest.
"One of the fascinating things about Trinity, of course, is the building itself," said the Rev. Dr. Kline. "The Chapel of the Friendly Bells was designed as a place for people of all races and religious persuasions. If you have belief in hope, you'll find something in that chapel that will be meaningful to you."
Always open
The chapel, one of the church's 1943 additions, features stained-glass windows with various religious symbols and symbols of hope, such as Confucius, Mohammed, Buddha, the Statue of Liberty, Abraham Lincoln, Booker T. Washington and Florence Nightingale.
The chapel is open from about 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. "You can just open the door and walk in. If somebody has a problem, they get in, they don't get shut out," Dr. Kline explained. "There's no question we're a Christian church, but because we're Christian, we open ourselves to everyone."
Many times over the years the church has come close to closing its downtown doors. In 1830, several wealthy, influential members split from the church and formed the Methodist Protestant Church. The remaining congregation worked to revive the depleted church and succeeded.
In 1915 the church began construction on two "neighborhood" churches, on the North and South sides of town, that would replace the old Trinity. A new pastor appointed that fall abandoned the idea and instead focused on expanding and renewing the church.
The congregation voted several years ago on whether to move the church to the suburbs or keep it downtown. It voted unanimously to stay downtown and began a capital fund drive, raising nearly a million dollars to refurbish the church.
"The congregation is very supportive of the downtown area, in terms of the community. The determination is to stay here and to make a difference," Dr. Kline said.
Dr. Kline said being available to the community has always been a goal of the church, and the theme of the bicentennial celebration, "to serve the present age," demonstrates this goal.
Events planned
Dr. Kline said events commemorating the church's bicentennial will officially begin in September and will continue through Christmas Eve.
The first event will be an open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 16 with a free lunch and tours of the church.
The Rev. Dr. Carlton Young, a former associate pastor at the church and editor of the Methodist hymnal, will kick off the celebration, delivering the sermon for the homecoming Sept. 21.
Bishop Jonathan Keaton of eastern Ohio will deliver the sermon Oct. 12, and the church will try to get as many former pastors as possible to speak at various times during the celebration.
Dr. Kline said the congregation had decreased over the years because of the exodus to the suburbs and the economic decline caused by the closing of the steel mills, but it is beginning to grow again.
"The good news for the downtown churches is that they're seeing more people coming from the suburbs back to downtown. I think the downtown churches are really working hard at meeting the needs of the community and being involved. If a church meets your needs, then you'll drive anywhere," he said.
Dr. Kline said plans include increasing the congregation and continuing to serve the community.
"The focus is almost totally on growing the congregation and moving from mediocrity to simply doing your best. That's probably the worst thing that happened to Youngstown -- complacency and mediocrity. A person can't do more than their best, and I don't think God expects you to do any less," said Dr. Kline.