1870: Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Pearson offer their home for new Swedish Lutherans immigrants. With their neighbors and Pastor CJ Schellen, they founded the “First Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church” (our first name as a congregation). In less than five months, they build a simple wood framed church on Tyler Street that was first used for Christmas service that year. The church joins other Swedish Lutherans in the “Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America.”
1875: The ladies of the church organize a sewing club and offer blankets in an auction to benefit the missions of the church. This remains a continued tradition of the church over many generations to our present day.
1883-85: The congregation grows with a need for a new church. This second home was built of brick on 4th and Tyler with a large part of the construction being done by Pastor Vestling and other men in the congregation.
1891: The Swedish Lutheran Orchestra is founded from our many members involved in music. Music continues to be a major part of our identity.
1907: Congregation raises funds and builds our first organ in under a year (an impressive organization feat of their day).
1922: Congregation decides to change their name to “Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church.”
1929: Our second church building is lost to a fire on January 19th. Just 3 days after the fire, over 80 members came together to chart the future of the church. A site was chosen on 8th and Buchanan and construction started on August 4th, 1929.
1930: Our Third and Current church building is competed for Sunday Worship on March 9th.
1944: Trinity host a Pan-Lutheran Conference for unity of all the various Lutheran denominations at the time and became a founding member of the Topeka Council of Churches.
1955-1982: Rev. J Edwards Nelson serves one of the longest terms of senior pastor for Trinity. His influence and ministry was a large blessing of the congregation as it continued to grow.
1962: Trinity is a founding member of the Lutheran Home Association that provides economical housing for elderly residents in Topeka. Trinity becomes a member church of the Lutheran Church in America (a union of German and Scandinavian Lutheran Churches).
1969: Over a three year period, the church buys property on the block and plans to build an education hall. Trinity Hall is dedicated on October 27th.
1972: Quilting Group is formally founded as a extension of our sewing ministries of the past. Each year, the group creates quilts and other projects to help benefit charities and for the care of those in our community.
1980: Trinity is a founding member of the Lutheran Fine Arts Council of Topeka that offers arts to the greater Topeka community in partnership with other Lutheran churches.
1983: A major restoration of the church building is completed to insure our church for the future.
1988: Trinity becomes a member church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA was a union of three Lutheran denominations that represent the largest body of Lutherans in the United States and the fourth largest Protestant church in this country.
1993: Rev. David Fulton comes to be Trinity’s senior pastor with a large focus on Children’s ministry. Starts the tradition of the children’s sermon that is still loved by the congregation. Also, the congregation became more active with the neighborhood by founding “Safe Streets” to help lower crime and solve issues in Downtown Topeka.
2005: Trinity is able to unite all their property on the block. The building of a connecting corridor from the church building to Trinity Hall is completed. The church building becomes one.
2019: We look forward to our 150th Year in the Heart of Topeka…
Ways to Follow Us…