In this edition: Outreach & Justice Cohort Launches ‘Table to Table’ Ministry; Bread & Blessings Welcomes New Community Partner; A Few Anonymous Comments From the Giving Form; Reflections from Choir Camp; Leadership Gathers Mix of Trinitarians; Climate Justice Ministry Plays ‘Climate Fresk’ Game; and Nearly 100 Attend Blessing of the Animals
Signs & Wonders is a 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.
Welcomes New Community Partner: Victory Programs’ Boston Living Center
Every Sunday, after being nourished by the holy food of the Eucharist, the people of Trinity Church are sent forth, in the words of the Postcommunion Prayer, “to do the work [God] has given us to do.”
For many Trinitarians, this work includes preparing and serving meals to our neighbors confronting food and housing insecurity in collaboration with our community partners. In a move to strengthen these partnerships and invite more Trinitarians into this vital work, the Outreach & Justice Cohort has launched Table to Table.
This new collaboration brings three established partnerships—with Pine Street Inn, Rosie’s Place, and Women’s Lunch Place—into one ministry collective while adding a new partner: Victory Programs’ Boston Living Center.
“The name ‘Table to Table’ reflects the deeply eucharistic shape and content of this ministry,” said the Rev. Brandon Ashcraft, Priest for Outreach. “We gather around God’s table to receive the Body of Christ and are sent into the world to be the Body of Christ—to serve at tables wherever our siblings are hungry.”
Table to Table serves at Victory Programs’ Boston Living Center. L-to-R: Brian Fizer, Lane Schofield, Craig Conrad, and Julia Moskowitz
Trinity has decades-long partnerships with Pine Street Inn, the largest homeless-services provider in New England, and Rosie’s Place, the first shelter for women in the United States, both located in the South End. Back Bay neighbor Women’s Lunch Place, a day shelter for women and their families, was added last year, while Victory Programs’ Boston Living Center, also located in the Back Bay, becomes the newest partner. As with Pine Street Inn, Rosie’s Place, and Women’s Lunch Place, Trinity’s primary ministry at Boston Living Center will be preparing and serving a meal for members of the community.
“The launch of ‘Table to Table’ reflects the founding principles of the Ministry Council: collaboration over siloing and the flourishing of the whole congregation over isolated ministry lanes,” said David McFerrin, Co-Convenor of the Outreach & Justice Cohort.
“Because these four partnerships share similar volunteer structures and rhythms, we hope this closer coordination will support collaboration, help more parishioners put their faith into action, and, most importantly, enable us to have a greater impact in the community and with those we seek to serve,” added Sonja Komar-Lay, fellow O&J Co-Convenor.
The following parishioners serve as ministry liaisons and members of the Outreach & Justice Cohort. Their role is to nurture Trinity’s ongoing relationships with these community partners and serve as resources for volunteers:
“Many whose lives have been touched by Trinity Church — whether our art and architecture, fellowship, liturgy, music, outreach, or preaching — respond generously with a donation toward the work of the church. Pledging members of Trinity also often make special one-time gifts in addition to their pledges.”
Every year Trinity receives thousands of these one-time donations, large and small, from near and far. Often, donors include comments about what has moved them to make their gift. At a recent staff meeting, Trinity’s Stewardship Director, Lonsdale Koester, shared some highlights of meaningful comments made alongside donations over the last several months, a selection of which are copied below. As we are in the midst of our annual stewardship season, may these comments from generous friends and visitors encourage our own generosity.
A special thank you to the staff who answered our family's needs at a difficult time.
Anniversary - a Trinity wedding!
Happy Easter! Sending greetings to the church where I attended Sunday School years ago.
Thank you for the online service bulletins that help me follow along.
My LGBTQ+ son is visiting from Hawaii and saw the pride flags adorning your church and sent a picture to us. Just wanted to say thanks.
Thank you for all the warm welcoming and the love for God.
Thank you for livestreaming these beautiful services — the music is always so wonderful.
Thank you for your ministry in the City of Boston.
Thanks for the extraordinary audio tour and for preserving this great treasure.
Thank you for all the work you do on behalf of others.
This is my tithe from the income from the income I earned from my summer internship. I wanted to give it to my church home here at Trinity — I am thankful for you all.
Bread & Blessings, a ministry that gathers weekly to prepare bag lunches for neighbors confronting food insecurity, has added a new community partner to its roster. Starting on October 30, “B&B” delivers 50 bag lunches each week to Visions of Victory, a transitional housing community at 81 S. Huntington Avenue.
Visions of Victory is operated by Victory Programs, a nonprofit providing housing, health, and recovery services to individuals and families facing homelessness, addiction, and chronic health conditions. Victory acquired the former EnVision Hotel at the end of 2024, having operated a transitional housing program there since 2021. Visions of Victory now provides a safe place to stay and supportive services for people experiencing homelessness, helping residents address health and recovery needs and move toward stable housing.
This new partnership marks another step in Bread & Blessings’ recent growth. In early 2025, the ministry changed its name from “Boston Warm” to “Bread & Blessings” as it expanded beyond its beginnings as a partner of common cathedral’sBoston Warm Day Center, adding a second partner: On The Rise, a day program in Cambridge for people experiencing or recovering from homelessness.
Reflecting on the partnership, a program manager at Visions of Victory emphasizes the importance of support from partners like Trinity:
“As the federal government continues to scale back programs supporting those we serve, we rely on partners like Trinity to fill the ever-widening gap. Fifty peanut butter sandwiches may not seem like much, but in a moment like this, it makes a world of difference.”
The partnership also expands Trinity’s relationship with Victory Programs. Earlier this year, Trinity’s Table to Table ministry added Victory Programs’ Boston Living Center to its roster of partners, committing to visit regularly to prepare and serve a meal for members of the community.
Bread & Blessings gathers every Friday at 9 amfor an hour in the Trinity Kitchen, and no RSVP is required, making it an ideal ministry for newcomers and those with busy or unpredictable schedules.
For more information, contact the Rev. Brandon Ashcraft, Priest for Outreach: [email protected].
Associate Director of Music Calls Choir Camp Sacred, Transformative
Almost every August, our choristers pack their bags and head to Connecticut for their favorite time of year: choir camp! Lasting about five days, choir camp is the time when new choristers get acclimated, music is learned, skills are honed, friendships are made, and everyone becomes family. It’s hard to describe just how foundational camp is for our choristers. What exactly makes it such a transformational few days is also not easy to pinpoint. But, having served at Trinity for more than three years, I have directly witnessed the effect this time spent together has on our group and the word I’d use to describe it is sacred.
Choir camp takes places at the Incarnation Center, an Episcopal camp located in scenic Ivoryton, CT, (named for its importance in piano key manufacturing in the 19th century). When choristers arrive, they are assigned roommates with whom they must share (and keep clean!) a room. Each day is spent rehearsing music, learning how to sing, reviewing music theory, playing team games, and perhaps the kids’ favorite part: swimming at the lake. We share all meals together, always singing grace beforehand; sometimes even with another choir who is holding their camp the same week. There is always a campfire night with s’mores; and no choir camp would be complete without the talent show when the choristers amaze us with abilities we never knew they had. A highlight from my first year was the recitation of an original sonnet about who sits at the left hand of God the Father!
My favorite part of camp, however, is our nightly Evensong. No matter how tired we all might be, we file into a small, musty woodland chapel and offer our thanks to God in the best way we know how: through music. In fact, the very last thing we do at camp is an Evensong in an open-air chapel which overlooks the lake. This is a beloved tradition that the kids and parents look forward to, and afterwards we end the day with a celebratory BBQ. By the end of the week, we are transformed. The most unlikely children have become friends. The youngest choristers are now buddies with the older teen choristers. Everyone holds each other accountable; yet with room for grace. One chorister this past year even told me by the end of the week they felt like they had become part of a larger family. I can’t imagine starting the choir year without this formational time together and I look forward to doing it all over again next summer.
About 50 people, including members of the Trinity Staff, Vestry, 150th Committee, Stewardship Committee, and Ministry Council, attended a leadership retreat on Sat., Sept. 26, 2026. The Rev. Dr. Steven Tomlinson, Associate Professor of Leadership and Administration at Seminary of the Southwest, led the retreat and asked the participants to consider a few prompts:
How have you experienced God’s grace at Trinity?
What experience of the Holy Spirit fuels your ministry and work for peace and justice?
Suppose someone asks you: How does faith in Christ matter for the work Trinity does? How would you answer?
The day was full of worship, reflection, brainstorming, and community. One participant noted:
“The composition of this leadership group was so energizing, and so was the group’s eagerness to get right into important conversations about what really matters for our own personal faith as well as for the vitality of Trinity Church. The fruit of years of work to de-silo ministries and invite continually refreshed leadership was on full display.”
Collaborative and Interactive Learning Makes Topic Less Daunting
The Sunday before Indigenous People’s Day, a dozen Trinitarians spent the afternoon confronting global climate change. Harvard instructor Mauro Morabito guided our Creation Justice ministry in Climate Fresk: an interactive event, part puzzle, part conversation, part invitation to action. Developed ten years ago in France, this table-top “game” draws on the findings of the UN’s taskforce. Members of the ministry worked together to trace the causes and consequences of what our own Episcopal bishops have called “the greatest moral challenge of our time.”
Learning collaboratively, we sought to grasp a topic which overwhelms both experts and laity alike. Morabito was a gifted facilitator, empowering us toward fresh questions and insight with compassion and skill. Informed alike by deep learning and faith, his experience and boyish enthusiasm were infectious, bringing us along on a world-wide journey that led gradually both to understanding the science and also to reflecting together on “a bold and faith-based response” (the Bishops’ words) as individuals, a society, and a parish. At the end, we left the Ferris Library tired, the challenges ever-daunting, but with new hope and a prayer.
New Sign Strategy Drew People, Pets to Copley Square
Nearly 100 people and their furry companions attended the Blessing of the Animals on Sun., Oct. 4. The annual service, held on the Sunday nearest the Feast of St. Francis each year, included blessings and prayers for the welfare of all creatures great and small. Four members of the clergy offered individual blessings to the gathered people and their furry friends. There were several dozen dogs in attendance and at least three cats. One person had a photo on their phone of a friend’s sick turtle, which was also prayed for. Trinity was able to hold the Blessing on the West Porch after several years of holding the Blessing on the Clarendon Lawn due to construction.
Another change for 2026 is new, evergreen signage. The Communications team created new images promoting the Blessing and worked with Facilities to place the signs into the Clarendon Lawn and other grassy areas around the church in the days leading up to Oct. 4. The initial idea for ‘campaign-style’ signs came from the Rev. Kit Lonergan, and Communications included a secret message to dogs (and their humans) on the backside of the signs, which caught the attention and smiles of passers-by.
The signs, in conjunction with other promotion online of the Blessing, did their work. Attendance nearly doubled from 2025’s Blessing.
The Blessing received several media mentions, including in:
Parish News
TAGS: anonymous, Blessing of the animals, bread & blessings, choir camp, comments, community, creation justice, giving, growth, leadership, love, Music, serve, signs & wonders, stewardship, table to table
Signs and Wonders, November 2026
In this edition: Outreach & Justice Cohort Launches ‘Table to Table’ Ministry; Bread & Blessings Welcomes New Community Partner; A Few Anonymous Comments From the Giving Form; Reflections from Choir Camp; Leadership Gathers Mix of Trinitarians; Climate Justice Ministry Plays ‘Climate Fresk’ Game; and Nearly 100 Attend Blessing of the Animals
Signs & Wonders is a 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.
Every Sunday, after being nourished by the holy food of the Eucharist, the people of Trinity Church are sent forth, in the words of the Postcommunion Prayer, “to do the work [God] has given us to do.”
For many Trinitarians, this work includes preparing and serving meals to our neighbors confronting food and housing insecurity in collaboration with our community partners. In a move to strengthen these partnerships and invite more Trinitarians into this vital work, the Outreach & Justice Cohort has launched Table to Table.
This new collaboration brings three established partnerships—with Pine Street Inn, Rosie’s Place, and Women’s Lunch Place—into one ministry collective while adding a new partner: Victory Programs’ Boston Living Center.
“The name ‘Table to Table’ reflects the deeply eucharistic shape and content of this ministry,” said the Rev. Brandon Ashcraft, Priest for Outreach. “We gather around God’s table to receive the Body of Christ and are sent into the world to be the Body of Christ—to serve at tables wherever our siblings are hungry.”
Trinity has decades-long partnerships with Pine Street Inn, the largest homeless-services provider in New England, and Rosie’s Place, the first shelter for women in the United States, both located in the South End. Back Bay neighbor Women’s Lunch Place, a day shelter for women and their families, was added last year, while Victory Programs’ Boston Living Center, also located in the Back Bay, becomes the newest partner. As with Pine Street Inn, Rosie’s Place, and Women’s Lunch Place, Trinity’s primary ministry at Boston Living Center will be preparing and serving a meal for members of the community.
“The launch of ‘Table to Table’ reflects the founding principles of the Ministry Council: collaboration over siloing and the flourishing of the whole congregation over isolated ministry lanes,” said David McFerrin, Co-Convenor of the Outreach & Justice Cohort.
“Because these four partnerships share similar volunteer structures and rhythms, we hope this closer coordination will support collaboration, help more parishioners put their faith into action, and, most importantly, enable us to have a greater impact in the community and with those we seek to serve,” added Sonja Komar-Lay, fellow O&J Co-Convenor.
Trinity parishioners can view all available opportunities and sign up to serve through Table to Table’s SignUpGenius page.
The following parishioners serve as ministry liaisons and members of the Outreach & Justice Cohort. Their role is to nurture Trinity’s ongoing relationships with these community partners and serve as resources for volunteers:
Explore Trinity’s Outreach & Justice Cohort at trinitychurchboston.org/outreach-justice
“Many whose lives have been touched by Trinity Church — whether our art and architecture, fellowship, liturgy, music, outreach, or preaching — respond generously with a donation toward the work of the church. Pledging members of Trinity also often make special one-time gifts in addition to their pledges.”
Every year Trinity receives thousands of these one-time donations, large and small, from near and far. Often, donors include comments about what has moved them to make their gift. At a recent staff meeting, Trinity’s Stewardship Director, Lonsdale Koester, shared some highlights of meaningful comments made alongside donations over the last several months, a selection of which are copied below. As we are in the midst of our annual stewardship season, may these comments from generous friends and visitors encourage our own generosity.
Visions of Victory is another Back Bay Neighbor
Bread & Blessings, a ministry that gathers weekly to prepare bag lunches for neighbors confronting food insecurity, has added a new community partner to its roster. Starting on October 30, “B&B” delivers 50 bag lunches each week to Visions of Victory, a transitional housing community at 81 S. Huntington Avenue.
Visions of Victory is operated by Victory Programs, a nonprofit providing housing, health, and recovery services to individuals and families facing homelessness, addiction, and chronic health conditions. Victory acquired the former EnVision Hotel at the end of 2024, having operated a transitional housing program there since 2021. Visions of Victory now provides a safe place to stay and supportive services for people experiencing homelessness, helping residents address health and recovery needs and move toward stable housing.
This new partnership marks another step in Bread & Blessings’ recent growth. In early 2025, the ministry changed its name from “Boston Warm” to “Bread & Blessings” as it expanded beyond its beginnings as a partner of common cathedral’s Boston Warm Day Center, adding a second partner: On The Rise, a day program in Cambridge for people experiencing or recovering from homelessness.
Reflecting on the partnership, a program manager at Visions of Victory emphasizes the importance of support from partners like Trinity:
The partnership also expands Trinity’s relationship with Victory Programs. Earlier this year, Trinity’s Table to Table ministry added Victory Programs’ Boston Living Center to its roster of partners, committing to visit regularly to prepare and serve a meal for members of the community.
Bread & Blessings gathers every Friday at 9 am for an hour in the Trinity Kitchen, and no RSVP is required, making it an ideal ministry for newcomers and those with busy or unpredictable schedules.
For more information, contact the Rev. Brandon Ashcraft, Priest for Outreach: [email protected].
Learn more about Trinity’s Outreach & Justice Ministries at trinitychurchboston.org/outreach-justice
Associate Director of Music Calls Choir Camp Sacred, Transformative
Almost every August, our choristers pack their bags and head to Connecticut for their favorite time of year: choir camp! Lasting about five days, choir camp is the time when new choristers get acclimated, music is learned, skills are honed, friendships are made, and everyone becomes family. It’s hard to describe just how foundational camp is for our choristers. What exactly makes it such a transformational few days is also not easy to pinpoint. But, having served at Trinity for more than three years, I have directly witnessed the effect this time spent together has on our group and the word I’d use to describe it is sacred.
– Jerrick Cavagnaro, Associate Director of Music
Learn more about Music at Trinity, including our Chorister program, at trinitychurchboston.org/music
Guest Facilitator Focused on Grace
The day was full of worship, reflection, brainstorming, and community. One participant noted:
Collaborative and Interactive Learning Makes Topic Less Daunting
Learning collaboratively, we sought to grasp a topic which overwhelms both experts and laity alike. Morabito was a gifted facilitator, empowering us toward fresh questions and insight with compassion and skill. Informed alike by deep learning and faith, his experience and boyish enthusiasm were infectious, bringing us along on a world-wide journey that led gradually both to understanding the science and also to reflecting together on “a bold and faith-based response” (the Bishops’ words) as individuals, a society, and a parish. At the end, we left the Ferris Library tired, the challenges ever-daunting, but with new hope and a prayer.
— John Lemly, Creation Justice member
Learn more about Trinity’s Creation Justice Ministry at trinitychurchboston.org/outreach-justice
New Sign Strategy Drew People, Pets to Copley Square
Nearly 100 people and their furry companions attended the Blessing of the Animals on Sun., Oct. 4. The annual service, held on the Sunday nearest the Feast of St. Francis each year, included blessings and prayers for the welfare of all creatures great and small. Four members of the clergy offered individual blessings to the gathered people and their furry friends. There were several dozen dogs in attendance and at least three cats. One person had a photo on their phone of a friend’s sick turtle, which was also prayed for. Trinity was able to hold the Blessing on the West Porch after several years of holding the Blessing on the Clarendon Lawn due to construction.
Another c
hange for 2026 is new, evergreen signage. The Communications team created new images promoting the Blessing and worked with Facilities to place the signs into the Clarendon Lawn and other grassy areas around the church in the days leading up to Oct. 4. The initial idea for ‘campaign-style’ signs came from the Rev. Kit Lonergan, and Communications included a secret message to dogs (and their humans) on the backside of the signs, which caught the attention and smiles of passers-by.
The signs, in conjunction with other promotion online of the Blessing, did their work. Attendance nearly doubled from 2025’s Blessing.
The Blessing received several media mentions, including in: