Come See Why We re So Excited - Church of the Holy Trinity€¦ · Come See Why We're So Excited. 4 PICOPA CHURCH OF TH HOY TRINITY The Mississippi Delta is said to begin in the lobby

Come See Why We 'r e So Exc i t ed

Episcopal Church of the Holy TrinityVicksburg, MS

EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY2


For almost 150 years Holy Trinity has been an integral part of the fabric of Vicks-burg. We share an interesting and important history, old buildings, and interesting stories. We also share a focus on the future. During the past few years we have experienced a resurgence of energy and optimism as we come together each Sun-day for the giving of thanks, the celebration of the Eucharist, and the offering of ourselves for the service of Our Lord. Given the size of our congregation, however, one might ask about that energy and that optimism, especially considering the size of our nave and how spread out we appear during some services. The answer is, simply, look at what we do in our corporate witness with the use of our facilities, the diversity of our congregation, the music we make, and the ministries in which we participate.

ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY 4

ABOUT OUR PEOPLE 5

ABOUT OUR WORSHIP 6

ABOUT OUR OUTREACH 8

ABOUT OUR FACILITIES 9

ABOUT GIFTS FOR MINISTRY 11

ABOUT OUR DIOCESE 12

Come See Why We're So Excited


The Mississippi Delta is said to begin in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and end at “Catfish Row in Vicksburg.” Vicksburg has one foot in the Delta and the other on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. This geography led to Vicksburg’s prominence during the Civil War. Even today, over 500,000 people a year visit the Civil War Battlefield at the National Military Park. Antebellum homes, brick streets, and other re-minders of the past are found throughout the city; but the focus of Vicksburg is now on the future – as is Holy Trinity’s.

With a population of approximately 24,000 in a coun-ty of 43,000, Vicksburg is the center of business and commerce for the area. Our Downtown Main Street has recently been recognized as the most attractive downtown among all the small cities in Mississippi. Museums, shops, a book store, excellent restaurants, and apartments above shops add to its charm. Vicks-burg’s commercial life is diverse. National retail out-lets, a shopping mall, the Port of Vicksburg (which is in the process of expansion), agriculture, small industries, the U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Cen-ter (ERDC) and the Headquarters for the Corps of Engi-neers’ Civil Works efforts on the River provide a wide variety of employment opportunities. With a view to the future, there is a public-private partnership devel-oping a technology transfer incubator as part of efforts to create a tech center or tech corridor.

Vicksburg has modern healthcare fa-cilities that continue to expand and improve. Residents have recently voted overwhelmingly (68.6%) in favor of an $83 million-dollar bond issue to enhance the Vicksburg War-ren School District’s educational environment. The District has just been designated Mississippi’s first Ford Next Generation Learning Com-munity. This will enable the creation of career academies within the high schools. Other educational oppor-tunities include a Roman Catholic School that offers grades K-12, and a private school. Hinds Community College has a campus in Vicksburg, and Alcorn State University has offices in Vicksburg and offers classes at the Hinds Community College campus.

Affordable housing is available both within the city limits and in Warren County. The Y, two communi-ty theater groups, the Vicksburg Art Association with its juried shows, fireworks over the River, hunting and fishing, and many other recreational and educational opportunities make Vicksburg a wonderful place to live and raise a family.

About Our Community


We are blessed with a healthy, diverse membership of wonderful saints ranging from infants to active 80-year-olds. While we don’t all make it to Sunday worship on the same Sunday, we all worship on “most” Sundays; but when the call goes out for participation in Holy Trin-ity’s ministries, we all show up and work together.

Our Eucharistic Visitors’ Guild takes the Eucharist to our shut-ins. They go to homes, hospitals, nursing homes in Vicksburg and even in Jackson. Following Requiem Eucharists, the Gourmet Girls provide meals either in the McInnis Parish Hall or at a home of a family mem-ber. They also help supply meals to celebrate the birth of a baby, to communicants who are ill, and on other occasions.

Each of us takes a different path for our Christian For-mation, so we support a variety of paths. EFM is a wonderful program, and with two facilitators in the congregation, it is a ready option for many. Many are active in the Cursillo movement. The Daughters of the King provide opportunities and leadership, and during Lent lead us in the Stations of the Cross. Our very ac-tive Episcopal Church Women (ECW) provides oppor-tunities for individual leadership, nurtures many proj-ects, and seems always able to supply exactly what we need as we move from ministry to ministry along the path of Christian Formation. Our Parish work days are surprisingly festive and keep our buildings and grounds looking their best and our relationships with each other enriched. The men’s Bi-ble and Biscuits group meets monthly for breakfast, Bible study, and conversation at “The Mad Baker” downtown. The men also carve hundreds of pounds of turkey for the ECW Turkey Dinner, and cook and serve gumbo for the Lenten Arts Series and red beans and rice for the Holy Week ecumenical lunches.

About Our People

“Each of us takes a different path for our Christian Formation, so we support a variety of paths.”


Some of our youth programs occur in the McInnis Par-ish Hall or at a parishioner’s home, but last year Holy Trinity became part of a combined youth group with our neighbors, First Presbyterian Church, and Crawford Street United Methodist Church. Known as Fusion, this group meets at the Y on Sunday evenings. Oth-er ecumenical activities include a quarterly Crossroads Youth Event in partnership with our First Presbyterian Church and Crawford Street Methodist Church friends

and with young people from Hawkins United Methodist Church. As fun and rewarding as these opportunities are, they do not supplant the Di-vision Of Youth offerings and Camp Bratton-Green.

About Our WorshipWe “do” liturgy well. It is at the heart of all that we do, and it involves all of us to “do” it correctly and joyfully. Of course, our priest is essential; but other important participants include: the Altar guild, the Flower guild, the verger, ushers, thurifer, crucifer, taper bearers, Gospel Book Bearer, choir, Lay Eucharistic Ministers, oblation bearers, lectors, and intercessors. We are ex-perimenting with “children’s church” for children 3 – 6 years old conducted by a cadre of adults who lead them from the nave following opening prayers to re-ceive their education in the McInnis Parish Hall and re-turn following the Passing of the Peace.

Our Altar Guild has 17 members divided into five teams. The Flower Guild has four teams, and we have 12 acolytes. We start acolytes young as Gospel Book Bearers and, as they grow older, they can, with train-ing, also serve as Lectors and Lay Eucharistic Ministers when not serving as an acolyte.

The “bell ringers” are from 3 to early teens (and fre-quently assisted by “children” in their 50s or 60s). At the end of the service they race to the heavy rope at-tached to the bell in our 211-foot-high steeple to ring it loudly to proclaim our exit into the world to Love and Serve the Lord.

“...they race to the heavy rope at-tached to the bell in our 211-foot-high steeple to ring it loudly to proclaim our exit into the world to Love and Serve the Lord. ”


Our regular services are Rite I at 8:00 a.m. and Rite II at 10:30 a.m., but we also are nurtured by special Eu-charists, such as our traditional “Low Sunday” service conducted outside with music provided by one of our members and his combo. While both 8 o’clock and the 10:30 service each has its “regulars”, there are those who alternate between the two services. This is some-times assisted by the Breakfast Guild that prepares great food for those enjoying fellowship between the two services. The time between the two services is ideal for Christian Formation activities, our recently re-started adult bible study program, acolyte training, and other programs.

Our music program is an important part of our liturgi-cal life. We have a dedicated group of singers led by our long-time organist and musical director. They are frequently accompanied by other musicians who play the church’s piano, timpani or hand bells and by others who play string and brass instruments.


About Our OutreachEnjoying a visible presence in the heart of Vicksburg, coupled with one of the largest naves in the Diocese, a wonderful parish hall, and separate choir facilities, we have many unique opportunities for ministry that reach beyond our walls.

Our “Christmas on the River” team knits scarves, hats and cowls, and collects small, but important, items to fill Christmas boxes for the 350 crewmembers on the 65 towboats operating out of Vicksburg. The boxes are blessed during a 10:30 Eucharist before they are dis-tributed, some via supply boats serving the towboats as they move upstream or downstream even on Christ-mas Day.

Our annual Golf Tour-nament has raised, on average, $10,000.00 each of the past three years for the Salvation Army, Habitat for Hu-

manity, and Vicksburg Family Development Services. We provide support for Grace Christian Counseling Center and serve on its board of directors. Then, there is THE TURKEY DINNER!!!! A Holy Trinity – ECW tra-dition for 70+ years, finds us busily carving hundreds of pounds of turkey, cooking dressing, making salads, selling tickets, decorating the McInnis Parish Hall, bak-ing sweets, and serving 900+ people in 2 ½ hours (seat-ed servings plus carryout’s)!

Holy Week ecumenical lunches are hosted by First Presbyterian Church, Crawford Street Methodist Church, First Baptist Church, and Holy Trinity on Mon-day through Thursday during Holy Week. Beginning at Holy Trinity on Monday our friends from the oth-er churches join with us for lunch, music (anthem and hymn), and a reflection. The reflection is presented at each church by a priest or pastor other than the one for the host congregation. Holy Trinity’s “famous red beans and rice” is always a hit and requires about 20 workers to put on the event.

The Texas 4000 is a group of bicyclists who ride from Austin, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska every summer to raise funds for cancer research. We have always won-dered about the compass used by these Texans, as some of them come through Vicksburg enroute to An-chorage! We provide supper and breakfast for about 30 young people, and help with their laundry, showers, and shopping.


With its soaring space, large seating capacity, stained-glass windows, and Stations of the Cross, our nave is an inspiring space in which to worship. It also accommo-dates the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra for its annu-al candlelight concert, a performance by the Vicksburg Orchestral Society, and various musical ensembles that perform on five of the Fridays in Lent as part of the Lenten Fine Arts Series.

It is also the destination for people during the Vicks-burg Pilgrimage, people who stop while driving through town, and people who come to Vicksburg on passenger riverboats. They come to our nave to see the 34 glo-rious stained-glass windows, six of which are famous Tiffany Windows. They also find our inspiring Reconcil-iation Windows which are dedicated to the memory of both the Union and the Confederate soldiers who lost their lives in the Battle of Vicksburg. It is one of the first memorials to both sides placed in any public build-ing in the South following the Civil War. Our Docent Team welcomes approximately 7,000 people from all over the world who visit by passenger riverboat. Visi-tors from the other functions bring the total to about 8,500 people annually.

Our “Cashman Building” is a separate two-story build-ing behind the Church. The second floor houses the offices of the United Way of West Central Mississippi, a kitchen, and conference rooms. The first floor hous-es The Holy Trinity Conservatory of the Fine Arts, plus the choir’s rehearsal space, music storage, and offic-es. The Conservatory offers training in music, voice, and visual arts to children and adults in Vicksburg and Warren County. It provides instruction in piano, flute, voice, violin, other strings, woodwinds, and brass. The facility also hosts The Mississippi Boychoir for their weekly rehearsals and the Vicksburg Orchestral Society for its rehearsals.

The Chapel of Mary and Martha of Bethany is a small, separate building that offers an intimate setting for quieter worship, saints’ day Eucharists, small wed-dings, and space for individual reflection. It also sup-ports Christian Education groups and even serves as the center of the “take-out” orders for Turkey Dinner.

About Our Facilities

“Our Docent Team welcomes approximately 7,000 people from all over the world who visit by passenger riverboat. ”


The McInnis Parish Hall has been re-modeled and ex-panded into lovely space for Christian Education, our Parish Library, offices for our Rector and staff, including secretary, bookkeeper, and sexton, a “bride’s room”, a large kitchen, space for funeral visitations, and other gatherings of every kind. It accommodates the Vicks-burg Family Development Services’ annual Christmas party, Blood Drives, a weekly Pilates class, and annu-al Lifeline Screening that serves over 100 individuals a day. Even our parking lots are part of our outreach as we offer their use to the nearby Vicksburg Police Department and Municipal Court, the First Presbyte-rian Church, and the adjacent Narrow Way Missionary Baptist Church.

Holy Trinity is on solid financial footing. We are able to support our many activities, our Rector and staff, and maintain our fa-cilities, but last year we took significant action to ensure that the Church of the Holy Trinity facilities will survive another 150 years. We collected hun-dreds of recipes, tested them

and used the best. We collected stories of our histo-ry, anecdotes, and other material, and produced our beautiful new book, The Trinity Cookbook. It was pub-lished amid a great celebration led by The Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan, Bishop of Alabama, who grew up in Holy Trinity. Sales have been steady, and the proceeds are placed in our renovation fund. We have also donated $2500.00 from the program to United Way.

Rector Compensation PackageWe are able to offer a package for our new Rector that, while negotiable and can vary based on experience, may be as high as $75,000 for stipend, housing and SECA plus pension and full health insurance as required by the Diocese.


We have been blessed with a unique group of saints who are committed to the continuation of those ministries that we have been told exceed our capabilities. While the Holy Spirit will ultimately decide the gifts for ministry our Rector should bring to Holy Trinity, we believe that those gifts should include:

In attempting to identify the gifts we hope to find in our new Rector, we realized that our own gifts must be taken into account. We are creating a team with our new Rector, and he/she cannot do it alone. In describing the objects of our excitement, we have tried to identify our gifts as we recognize them. We also must admit that there are areas requiring our special attention in the days ahead. We commit to make special efforts in the areas of attendance, stewardship and growth.

Pastoral Care – Ability to care for people so that they feel nurtured, including hospital, nursing home, hospice and home visitation.

Church Growth and Development – Ability to reshape existing programs and introduce new ones.

Preaching – Ability to make scripture relevant to people’s lives through clarity in preaching.

Spiritual Growth – Ability to lead others in the formation and development of a deeper spiritual life.

Administration – Ability to manage the affairs of the parish.

About Gifts For Ministry

“We are creating a team with our new Rector, and he/she cannot do it alone.”


The Diocese of Mississippi covers the entire state. All Episcopalians find their spiritual home in the Episco-pal churches sprinkled throughout the diocese. The churches are large and small and in between. They are urban, suburban, and rural. They are “high church” and “low church” and in between. Together they make up a remarkable Diocese that is more like a family than an ecclesiastical organization. Annual Council is known as a Diocesan House Party, and Camp Bratton-Green is referred to as the heart of the diocese.

Camp Bratton-Green is part of the Duncan M. Gray Camp and Conference Center, located near Canton, MS, where generations of Episcopalians have been spiritually formed during a variety of camp sessions, special sessions for special needs adults, and Division of Youth Functions. Adults continue their spiritual formation through the work of the Conference Cen-ter, and clergy find enrichment from the A.C. Marble School of Theological Formation, an academic program to train clergy that is located there.

Diocesan clergy are known for their collegiality and willingness to work together. Rt. Rev. Brian R. Seage, Tenth Bishop of Mississippi, leads this marvelous and varied assembly of clergy and laity from the Diocesan offices in Jackson, Mississippi, the state’s capital. The entire Diocese works together as a part of this Episco-pal branch of the Jesus Movement.

Holy Trinity has enjoyed a long and close relationship with our Diocese. We elected the first woman Vestry member in the Diocese and, later, the Diocese’s first woman Deputy to General Convention. Since then, our members have served as members of the Standing Committee, the Executive Committee, and other com-mittees. We have provided Presidents of the ECW, UTO Chair, members of the Cursillo Secretariat, and even the Chair of the most recent Search Committee for our current Bishop. Since the 1970s we have enjoyed an almost unbroken line of Deputies or Alternates to Gen-eral Convention. In 2015 three of us served either as Deputy or Alternate. We are One Church in Mission, Inviting, Transforming, Reconciling.

About Our Diocese

“Holy Trinity has enjoyed a long and close relationship with our Diocese.”

The Church of the Holy Trinity900 South Street

Vicksburg, MS 39180(601) 636-0542

churchoftheholytrinity.org

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Come See Why We re So Excited - Church of the Holy Trinity€¦ · Come See Why We're So Excited. 4 PICOPA CHURCH OF TH HOY TRINITY The Mississippi Delta is said to begin in the lobby