|
Apalachicola, Florida
June 5, 2026
| | |
As we begin the oral history and archival project at Trinity, we are starting holy work. If you are reading this, then you have a story to tell. It doesn’t matter if you’re a lifelong member or a fan of Tour of Homes. It doesn’t matter if you have yet to visit Trinity or left long ago. It doesn’t matter if a move away from the Forgotten Coast is in your future or filed under “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to this.”
Everyone has played a part, whether parishioner or priest, visitor or verger. Some will have more memories than others, and memory is fragile. Ten years from now, the stories we preserve today will help future generations understand who we were, what we valued, and how God worked through this parish.
We often minimize the importance of our own experiences. We assume our few memories will not add much to the larger story. Yet every story matters. Collectively, they reveal a fuller picture of who we are together. We have completed only a few interviews so far, but each has unveiled another layer of the larger narrative. In each, there are nuggets of wisdom.
Case in point: Father Tom Weller, Trinity’s rector from 1984–1998, sent me a collection of written memories from his and Linda’s time here. In one story, three hurricanes struck the region in 1985. The third, Hurricane Kate, took down the old water tower that stood at the Gorrie Square roundabout. Thousands of gallons of water flooded the park. As Fr. Tom wrote, “A marker to this day is that the white concrete coping around the square was washed out and still sits crooked and warped.”
Most of us have driven around Gorrie Square countless times without wondering why the coping sits askew. Once you know the story, however, you cannot unsee it. What looked like damage becomes testimony. What looked like imperfection becomes a reminder of endurance.
We know every creak in our bones and the origins of our scars. Some things we can fix. Some things are beyond our capacity. And some things are simply left to be, with our lives adapting around them.
The same is true of a parish. The signs are everywhere—in old photographs, church records, fading memories, and in ourselves. We all carry the marks of storms weathered, losses endured, and joys remembered. We all know what it is like to feel a little washed out, a little crooked, a little warped.
It is the stories behind those scars and creaks that give our bicentennial testimony meaning. They tell how this parish endeavored through the decades to welcome and accept everyone and to make disciples of all (Matthew 28:19), including those of us who sometimes feel crooked and warped.
Yet the Gospel has never been about finding perfect people. It is about recognizing God’s grace at work in ordinary lives. The stories we gather today will help future generations see what has always been here: faithfulness, resilience, generosity, and grace. They will help them understand not only what Trinity looked like, but who Trinity is and who it can be.
The signs are everywhere.
Sometimes it takes a story to teach us how to see them.
Love Big and Be Well,
Stephen +
| | |
This past weekend, Father Stephen remembered a photo taken after his very first service and asked to repeat that on the steps of the church. A few faces have changed, and a few we’ve lost or bid them farewell as they moved away. Many more have joined, as is evidenced in the photograph from this week. There are about 15 more in the 2026 photo and another 15 not in the picture, busy ensuring our parish picnic went perfectly.
This brings us back to the opening reflection in this issue. We can say that a photograph preserves a moment. An oral history, however, preserves what the photograph cannot tell us. We can see who stood on the church steps in 2023 (below) and 2026 (above), but only your stories tell us who you were, what you love, what you’ve endured, and how God was at work throughout. At least it’s something to consider.
And a note of gratitude from Fr. Stephen:
“What a gift it is to walk this journey of faith together. Thank you for
welcoming, encouraging, and loving me and Travis these past three years.
Your faith, generosity, and kindness continue to inspire me every day.
I am so grateful for the growth, the beauty, and the many blessings
we share as the body of Christ.”
| | |
Tour of Homes Shares 2026 Proceeds
At the Trinity Sunday picnic, the Tour of Homes ministry presented checks
from the 2026 Historic Apalachicola Home and Garden Tour. Although
rainy weather affected day-of ticket sales, Tour of Homes leadership
is grateful to share this year’s $50,000 distribution.
$45,000 — TOH Maintenance Fund
$5,000 — Outreach Ministry of Trinity Church
In addition, a portion of artwork sales from the special Live Oak Gallery exhibition Trinity Church Through the Eyes of Artists & Photographers benefited Trinity Outreach in the amount of $1,030:
$750 from Andrea Comstock at Live Oak Gallery
and $280 from Anna-Maria Cannatella for the sale of a painting
featured in the show from her 49 Palmetto Gallery.
The Tour of Homes ministry is grateful to everyone who volunteered, participated, and supported this year’s tour.
Please mark your calendars now for May 1, 2027.
| | Members of the Tour of Homes and Outreach ministries with Father Stephen and Outreach Chair Warren Middlemas, who are holding the checks. | | |
What is a Verger?
A verger is a person, usually a layperson, a member of a church who works under the direction of their rector, vicar, or priest-in-charge, to assist with the organization and operation of worship services.
| | |
The office of verger has its roots in the early days of the Church of England's history. Historically, vergers were responsible for the order and upkeep of a house of worship.
The symbol of a guild of vergers is the crossed keys or crossed virges. Although there is no definitive historical survey of the office of verger, evidence from indicates the existence of vergers as far back as the 12th century.
| In medieval times, the verger (spelled "virger" in England and older texts) was the Protector of the Procession. The verger escorted the procession as it moved from the vestry around the church or cathedral and into the front doors. | | |
The procession often moved through crowds of people and animals, and the verger was there to clear a pathway with his virge (mace or "Staff of Office").
The verger had to be the first person in the procession as they cleared the way for the thurifer, crucifer, acolytes, choir, and sacred ministers by swinging the virge in front of them.
The typical robes of a verger are a black gown (chimere) worn over a black cassock or alb.
Vergers serve the church in a ministry of welcome. Some parishes have a verger or vergers at all liturgies and others only on festival and feast days like Easter, Pentecost, and All Saints'.
| The Vergers Guild of the Episcopal Church (VGEC) is a service organization that supports the ministry of vergers, sacristans, worship leaders, altar guild members, and more. The VGEC offers a comprehensive self-study training course that is designed to train the verger and broaden their experience in the ministry. | | |
“The ministry of the vergers is to help to lead the church in bearing witness
in the world to the hospitality of God, by helping the church to be a truly hospitable place, by helping us to worship the Lord our God in dignity,
in order, in beauty, and in truth in the church so that we can go forth
to witness to that God to the world.”
The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry,
27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Want to become a verger or know more?
Contact: Brooks Jones, VGEC Fellow
| | Notes from May Vestry Meeting | |
Season of Creation Coming Soon. This September we will celebrate the Season of Creation along with our brothers and sisters around the world. This is an ecumenical event with numerous events scheduled around Trinity and the diocese. Here, along with special liturgies we are planning several events. Along with specific liturgies and prayer services, we will host a plant swap, a Eucharist in Apalachicola Bay (CanoEucharist), Holy Strolls, horseback riding, ecotours, and more. For the plant swap, Travis has asked to pass on that starter pots and soil are available at the rectory. You may also drop off seedlings and cuttings, and she will get them ready for the swap. | | Diocesan Cycle of Prayer. For churches and ministries: on June 7, pray for Trinity Episcopal Church in Mobile, Alabama; and on June 14, we will pray for St. John’s, Pensacola and St. Augustine’s, Navarre, Florida. For prisons: on June 7, we pray for the prisoners, families, and staff of the Fountain/JO Davis Correctional Facility, Atmore, Alabama; and on June 14, we pray for the prisoners, families, and staff of the Holman Correction Facility, Atmore, Alabama. | | CELEBRATING FAMILY & FRIENDS | | We all circle the sun each year, but Martha & Rick Watson recently returned from a six-month adventure around the world. We appreciated the dispatches from their journey, and they will soon share more of their travels. But, for now, Rick is thrilled to be back in the land of pimento cheese & deviled eggs! | | Memorial Day weekend brought the family of Warren Middlemas to Apalachicola for a visit. Pictured above are his daughter Amelie Middlemas Tsao, her husband Peter Tsao, and their children Peter Tsao, Jr. (left) & Bruce Warren Tsao (right). | | Guest bell-ringers on Pentecost Sunday were Meredith McWhorter & Craton Rasberry. With parents Amy & Shannon Rasberry, the family was visiting from Eufala, AL where they are members of St. James Episcopal Church. | | Congratulations, Graduates! | | Bill and Patti McCartney recently attended the graduation of their granddaughter Madelyn from Murray State. Madelyn was named the most valuable scholar athlete in her class. | | Ginger & Barry Lawson with their grandson Wyatt Lawson who graduated from High School in Scottsdale, AZ. He leaves for the University of Oregon in the Fall. | | Butch Fell's granddaughter, Dalryn Schuster (center), graduated from Savannah College of Art & Design this past weekend. Celebrating with her (left to right) in Savannah, GA are Butch Fell & Kathy Rushmore, along with Chris, Alison, & Christian Schuster. | | |
The TRINITY TEN, a ten-point questinnaire that provides a light-hearted,
yet sincere, profile of Trinity parishioners, is designed for us to get
to know each other a little better. Your responses, along with a
photograph, will appear regularly in the Bay View.
| | |
Susan Roux Keith is a fifth generation Apalachicolan, born and raised.
Susan started her professional life as a librarian with a Masters in Library Science from FSU. When she was a reference librarian in Ocala, Florida, she met her husband of 46 years, Chuck Keith. After ten years, she returned to school at UF and became an attorney. In the last 20-plus years before retirement, she served as a Judicial Hearing Officer and General Magistrate in the Fifth Judicial Circuit.
During her legal career, Susan served on many local and statewide committees which sought to improve the judiciary and the delivery of legal services to the public, including teaching at the Florida Judicial College. On a personal level, she was active in Altrusa International, a service organization with a major emphasis on the improvement of literacy.
As a child, Susan was very active in Trinity’s activities through EYC, including tours, pancake suppers, youth services, junior altar guild, and the like. Although her professional life was in Ocala, she tried to remain as active as possible in Trinity, spending many years helping Miss Dot prepare the crab and oyster casseroles for the Seafood Festival.
Since retiring, she is finally happy to be able to devote more time to Trinity, especially in the realm of history and historical preservation.
At this time, Susan is actively working to set up the Trinity Archives which includes the collecting, cataloguing, and preserving of our historical records. She has also helped with the Tour of Homes and with the Holy Smoker Team.
Greatest influence on your life (person or experience): My mother, Audrey Roux. She was the wisest, strongest, kindest, funniest, and most loving individual I have ever known. Despite a number of adversities, including being widowed at an early age with two young girls, she met each day with joy, faith, and a generous spirit that is unmatched. I strive each day to be like her.
How would someone else describe you:
Personable, devoted to family and friends, constantly learning.
| | |
One thing people might be surprised to know about you:
I love to play pinball!
Favorite part of living here:
Apalachicola has always been my home. I love the water with all of its incredible beauty. I love the people, both longtime friends and new ones. I love the history and the sense of place. As my friends and family joke, it is “Truly the Center of Universe.”
Dogs or cats:
Cats
Bacon or broccoli:
Bacon
Coleslaw - vinegar or mayo:
Vinegar and Miracle Whip (a legacy from my mother)
One thing you are good at:
Cooking
One thing you’d rather not do:
Dust
What drew you to Trinity: I am a “cradle” Trinity Episcopalian. I love the beauty of the services, the people, and the building. I love the way it is accepting of all people, no matter their backgrounds or life choices. It is “Truly the Center of my Spiritual Universe.”
| | |
Watch our Sunday sermons online:
Generosity is a key component of our successful ministry: You can share your generosity easily and safely through our secure Electronic Giving platform.
| | | COMMUNITY EVENTS OF INTEREST | |
|
Your Bay View: Trinity's bi-weekly e-newsletter, the Bay View, reaches members and friends every other Friday, sharing news and inspiration for and about our parish. Please send information and announcements, as well as photographs, to info@trinityapalachicola.org or call the church office at 850-653-9550. The deadline for submission is noon on Wednesday of each publication week. The next deadline is June 17.
-- Kay Carson, Editor
| | |
Worship Service at 10:30 am Sunday
Morning Prayer at 8:15 am Wednesday
Compline at 8 pm Wednesday - Facebook Live
Church address: 79 6th Street, Apalachicola, Florida 32320
Office address: 76 5th Street, Apalachicola, Florida 32320
Mailing address: PO Box 667, Apalachicola, Florida 32329
Phone number: (850) 653-9550
Email: info@trinityapalachicola.org
| | | | |
