In this edition: Children of Trinity Ask Big Questions on the Q & A Wall; 20s & 30s Volunteer Nights for Pine Street Inn Are Thriving; Youth Summer Service Camp Hosts Seven; and, the Manager of Archives Dissects an Old Pew Cushion
Signs & Wonders is a new feature telling stories about what’s been happening lately in Trinity’s Ministries. In a large, busy, and growing church like Trinity, there are always new-to-you corners of ministries and programs to explore — so catch up here and learn a bit about our recent work in the church and in the world beyond our walls.
Fan Favorite is now Found on Third Floor of Parish House; Children’s Homily Feature Grows Bigger
During the program year, on the balcony on the third floor of the Parish House, you will find a clothesline with dozens of notecards across it. Each one has children’s messy handwriting scrawled across in pencil, and most of them have a typed-out piece of paper next to them.
This past program year, Trinity Children’s Ministry has started a “Q&A Wall” for the youngest members of the church community. No question is off limits, and every single question is treated with love and respect. This began as a small project in Children’s Homily but quickly became a fan favorite. In the few months since it was put up, the blank cards have had to be replaced three times. The children simply write a question on a card and pin it to the clothesline. Kenna Easter, Trinity’s Minister for Early Childhood, takes each card and writes down the question. As much as possible, she tries to match the question with a staff member who might be best suited to answer, as well as answering many herself. With luck and a little effort, the question is answered in only a couple of weeks!
“How does the organ work?” asks one card, answered by Jerrick Cavagnaro, the Associate Director of Music, where he talks about the 7,000 pipes in the sanctuary and how organists control the air that blows through them.
“Is Jesus related to Santa?” asks another card. “No, they are not in the same family,” writes the Rev. Kit Lonergan, “but I do think that both Santa and Jesus believe in encouraging all of us to try again even if we aren’t our best selves some days.”
Many of the questions are about the history of Trinity Church, especially as we approach the 150th anniversary of the building. Questions about renovations, how Trinity chose its name, and “why are there so many businessmen [in Copley Square]” are often answered by the Manager of Archives and IT, Sandy Marxen, who finds the answers from Trinity’s records.
Some of the questions are even more complicated. Why is life hard? Read the answer on the PDF here. Why did God pick Jesus instead of anyone else? Why is church important?
Not all of them have perfect answers. The most important part of the Q&A Wall is showing that these questions matter, and that each and every child that walks through Trinity’s doors is loved and cared about by God and by their community.
— Kenna Easter, Minister for Early Childhood
Learn more about lifelong learning at Trinity at trinitychurchboston.org/lifelong-formation.
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Our Neighbors at Pine Street Inn Sent a Kind Note Thanking the 20s & 30s Ministry
Once a month Trinity’s 20s & 30s Ministry prepares, cleans up, transports, and serves a meal for one of the Pine Street Inn’s permanent housing residences located in the South End. The group gathers in Trinity’s kitchen and cooks a tasty meal for 16 residents. We typically have 5-7 volunteer chefs to help chop, sauté, bake, and mix that night’s meal. Our greatest hits have included Taco Night and BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches. We always bring cookies and bottles of Coca-Cola, a favorite of the residents.
After an hour and a half of cooking, as the chefs finish up the meal, a few volunteers arrive to contribute to the cleanup process. Finally, 5 additional volunteers walk and carry the food from Trinity to the South End. Volunteers help to serve the meal and socialize with the residents. We bring a game or activity to engage the residents. We have tried activities such as Boston sports trivia, icebreaker questions, UNO, and Bingo.
Unbeknownst to the 20s & 30s ministry, the month of June was Volunteer Appreciation Month. The Pine Street Inn Volunteer Team sent a kind thank you note to Trinity’s 20s & 30s volunteers to acknowledge their service to the Pine Street Inn. Trinity’s 20s & 30s ministry is grateful for the opportunity to gather every month with each other and the Pine Street Inn residents.
— Rebecca Hughes, Youth and Young Adult Minister
Learn more about Trinity’s 20s & 30s Ministry at trinitychurchboston.org/20s30s. And, see all upcoming volunteer opportunities at trinitychurchboston.org/volunteer.
Youth Collaborated with Community Partners Over Three Days in July
During the week of July 14, seven rising 7th-12th graders gathered at Trinity for our Second Annual Youth Summer Service Week. Over three days the youth partnered with Capuchin Mobile Ministries, the International Institute of New England (IINE), and The Charles River Episcopal Co-Housing Endeavor (Creche) at their Emmanuel House residence to complete service projects around Boston.
On Tuesday, the youth made 125 sandwiches for Capuchin Mobile Ministries, visited the friary in Jamaica Plain to learn about their mission, helped to prepare their outreach van, and packed outreach supply bags. On Wednesday, the youth learned about IINE and the services that they provide for Immigrants and Refugees across Boston. The youth bought 10 backpacks, loaded them up with school supplies, and wrote notes to refugee and immigrant students who will receive the backpacks. The youth also made 150 backpack tags for Trinity’s Blessing of the Backpacks, coming up on Sept. 13, 2026.
On their final day of camp, the youth traveled to Emmanuel House in Allston to help pull up weeds, pick up trash, trim back overgrown plants, and plant and water new seeds in the community garden. They learned about living in community and toured Emmanuel House and the adjacent Allston Abbey. On Wednesday and Thursday, the Trinity youth were joined by three youth from St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Each day of camp evolved around a new motto: being joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. They read and discussed related bible passages and learned how the mottos connected to service. It was a busy and joyful week of service, learning, and community building. We are already looking forward to next summer and future Youth Summer Service Weeks!
— Rebecca Hughes, Youth and Young Adult Minister
Learn more about Youth Formation at Trinity at trinitychurchboston.org/youth.
See What’s Inside an Old Pew Cushion
The maroon outer fabric was wrapped around an even older pew cushion, in a silky-feeling Pompeii Red. Inside of that layer was cotton batting and then finally a striped blue ticking-type fabric. The stuffing inside the innermost part of the cushion was horsehair, which was in common use as a stuffing from the 1600s to the early 1900s.
Sandra estimates that the older, inner cushions were in use at least as early as 1910, and then re-covered in 1950 or later using the cotton batting and maroon-ish fabric.
You can see pew cushions in use in a closeup of this photo of the Sanctuary from 1910. And, check out the difference in the weave of the fabrics from the pew cushion dissection, shown below.
Learn more about the history of Trinity Church at trinitychurchboston.org/history, or check out our written From the Historian series to dig into the lives of the people who sat in our pews. And, come to church to sit on the new pew cushions. They’re pretty cushy.
