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Community Corner

Beyond the Walls of Trinity

Presbyterian Church renovates to become more accessible to the community.

 has been a part of the University City community for well over 50 years.  And over those years, their community of faith has evolved drastically and so has their building.   

Trinity has taken great pride in affirming that their place of worship is truly open to everyone; but when their elevator stopped working, that left a tremendous impact on their parishioners with disabilities. 

What started off as a simple gesture to repair an old elevator has turned into a much greater cause for Trinity. After considering the positive impact a new elevator would have on the church, they began to look at other ways to make the church more accessible, more safer and more welcoming to the community at large. 

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"As we were moving into the 21st century, we knew we needed to upgrade to create a safe, welcoming environment," said Liz Nelson, Trinity's administrator.

She said Trinity started a campaign called, "Restore and Renew" and the main goal of the campaign was to raise money to replace the old elevator, enhance its fellowship hall, improve lower level accessibility and repair the bell tower. 

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 After a three year pledge from the congregation and other outside donations, the labor for restoring Trinity has already begun. 

Nelson believes that revitalizing Trinity will help it to better serve its church family as well as the community. 

In addition to their Sunday morning worship service, over 14 groups use the church.  Nelson strongly believes that in order for Trinity to live up to its mission, it was imperative it become more accommodating. 

BJC Hospice is a support group for widows and widowers that meets once a month at Trinity.   

According to Dale Chavus, a professional service support supervisor with BJC, "Trinity has always opened its doors to other groups and agencies to come in and to hold support groups there." 

Fair Shares is an organization dedicated to getting fresh, local, seasonal food into the hands of St. Louisians.  They operate out of Trinity's fellowship hall once a week. 

Stephen Hale, an employee at Fair Shares, said, "The people at Trinity are nothing but nice, we always have a great experience working with them and they are great community partners." 

"We just want to make our building match our mission," Nelson said.   "We are a more diverse church in St. Louis. We network with tons of agencies and organizations and are quick to take a stand against social injustice issues." 

Trinity also houses a program called SHEDS (Safe Homes for the Elderly and Disabled) and through this program, volunteers from the church and community go to homes of the elderly and disabled and tend their household needs.  

For more information about Trinity Presbyterian Church or their Restore and Renew campaign, visit their website at www.trinityucity.org

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