OK, I don't write reviews often. Check my past reviews. When I am compelled to write a review, it usually reaches the maximum character limit, and I have to parse the review down to fit.
OK, I have been attending Trinity regularly for a couple years now. Trinity is truly unique, in all areas.
The building is gorgeous. Truly breath-taking! You see it from the street and it looks grand, stately, and magnificent. Then, you enter the actual sanctuary, and it is something to behold. The dark, richly stained oak pews and hand-carved wood details hearken to an older time of American quality and craftsmanship, and the altar is just as gorgeous- I think it is carved limestone? It looks like poured concrete, but I don't think it is.
The organ is outstanding, and the Director of Music is a true musical genius. Actually, the organ is the absolute best organ in all of New Haven, excepting the world-class organ at Yale's Woolsley Hall. Indeed, the organist could be the most talented musician in all of the ELCA. Bach would certainly approve, as would Luther!
Martin Luther, Johann Sebastian Bach, and other giants of the Lutheran faith would approve of the traditional service and preaching of the Pastor, a young married Pastor in his mid/late 30s. The delivery and content of the sermons and homilies are impeccable, and while the content is often challenging and "calls out" the congregation to improve their lives and be more Christ-like....I wish the young Pastor Mills would be bold and shake his audience and rouse them to deeply, honestly self-reflect and grow in Christ.
Now, the negatives: There is (as in any church I have ever attended) a small, tightly dug-in faction of self-styled "Elders" who treat the church as their Country Club. It is annoying, and I wish it would stop. To counteract this, myself and other young members make it a point to welcome all newcomers and visitors.
This Church has the potential to be the absolute greatest Lutheran Church in Connecticut, and verily, the entire nation, in every facet: Liturgy, Music, Sermon, Congregation, Works, Outreach, etc.
The Church does suffer a too-low Sunday attendance, but that is the Christian faith in America today. There is a surprisingly large number of undergrad and grad students from Yale, Southern, Quinnipiac, etc. who attend Sunday services. The 10:15 a.m. start time is pleasant, and allows for the late-nighters to still make Sunday worship part of their lives.
Trinity is absolutely, positively worth visiting on a Sunday morning. The potential is there, and nearly every young adult under 35 who attends winds up returning and becoming a part of the Church.
Oh, and in case you have a bad taste of Christianity, due to the Catholic pedophile tragedies, or the sense of non-inclusion, or the general feeling of having a "Man of the Cloth" preach down to you and tell you what to believe.........So do we! That is why we are Lutherans. Lutheranism in a nutshell: Not only are you encouraged to question your faith, it is practically demanded of you. Christ died for the sins of the world? So what?! What does that mean to *me*? What does that mean to *you*? read more