A Note from Father Phil about Reopening Trinity Church

I am thrilled — thrilled! — to be writing to you with good news. After more than 14 months apart, we will be reopening Trinity Church for 11:15am Sunday worship beginning on the Day of Pentecost, May 23. As we celebrate the feast that marks the beginning of the Christian Church, how fitting, and exciting, that we will be able to do so by gathering once again in person.

While the pandemic is not over, we believe that with positive trends in all key metrics for New York City, we can safely reopen the church on a limited basis and with the proper precautions. For now, we will be open for in-person worship just for the 11:15am service on Sundays; we will, of course, follow the current guidelines, which include health screening, limiting the number of people who can be in the church, social distancing in the pews, and wearing masks at all times.

Our staff has spent many hours planning for the reopening and working out all the details, just a few of which I’m including in this note. You can find all the information you need, as well as a video that walks you through what you can expect when you arrive at the church, on our website. I encourage you to watch the video and review all the information, including how you’ll line up outside the church, how you’ll be seated once in the church, and how the service will proceed. Many people will be present to greet and help you on May 23. And for those of you who are not quite ready or able to come back to in-person worship, that’s perfectly fine — we will continue to livestream the service on our website and Facebook Live.

Thank you for your prayers, your words of encouragement, and your care and love for one another during this incredibly long and difficult time apart. I have only begun to process what this past year has meant to me and to us, but I believe that reopening our church and being together once again are the first steps in a long process of healing. I ask for your continued patience — things may be bumpy for a little while as we get used to new practices, and we may need to make some adjustments from week to week. And I continue to encourage you to get the vaccine as soon as you can, to protect yourself and your loved ones.  

As we celebrate the last few weeks of the Easter season, we are surrounded by signs of resurrection. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am by the thought of seeing you in person once again. I give thanks to God for sustaining us with hope, extending us grace, and bringing us to this day.

Please note: Other than the 11:15am service on Sundays, in-person activities continue to be suspended as we seek to help contain the spread of COVID-19. You can read Father Phil's previous statement about this closure here.