We welcome all to worship with us. Sunday services are at 11:00 am and are conducted from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, according to the following schedule:

1st Sundays: Holy Eucharist, Rite One (traditional language)

2nd & 4th Sundays: Holy Eucharist, Rite Two (contemporary language)

3rd & 5th Sundays: Order for Morning Prayer, Rite One (traditional language)

(Anointing for Healing typically occurs on 5th Sundays)

Unless otherwise announced, all Sundays in the seasons of Lent and Advent shall be Holy Eucharist, Rite One.

Looking Back on the Past

Early records show that the church was intended from the start as a place of “Protestant” worship, employing the Authorized Version or “King James Bible” (1611) and the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer (1662). Congregational singing was most likely led “call and response” style from the 1621 expanded edition of Sternhold and Hopkins’ book of metrical psalms, which included all 150 Psalms in common meter settings as well as versified versions of the Apostles’ Creed, the Magnificat, and other biblical passages. In the days before resident clergy, services would have been led by designated clerks or other authorized lay persons, who might also read from a book of sermons. Missionary clergy working in the area would stop by on occasion to administer Holy Communion and baptize any children born to settlers.

The Vestry Act of 1692 brought great changes to Maryland. The Protestant religion was now established by law. The colony was divided into thirty “Church of England” parishes, and efforts were made to secure resident clergy for them. “Dorchester Parish” shared its first rector (i.e. clergy in charge of a parish), the Rev. Thomas Howell, with the Great Choptank Parish based in nearby Cambridge. After the American Revolution, these congregations joined the Diocese of Maryland of the newly organized “Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America,” a.k.a. “The Episcopal Church.”

Today Old Trinity is an active congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of Easton (encompassing the nine counties of the Eastern Shore of Maryland). We strive to worship in a style and manner compatible with its most recent restoration in the 1950s that saw the return of its 17th century design and configuration. We welcome all to worship with us, and invite our guests to participate to whatever degree they are comfortable. Our Communion Table is open to all who profess the Christian faith, regardless of denominational affiliation or background.

The Episcopal Church in the United States is one of 38 self-governing bodies “in communion” with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England, respected as a “first among equals” within the worldwide “Anglican Communion.”  To the right is the compass rose symbol of the Anglican Communion. Near the center, in Greek, are the words of Jesus from John’s Gospel: “The Truth shall make you free.”