HISTORY
Trinity Episcopal Church grew up with the city of Lander. Reverend John Roberts established Trinity in 1883, and Lander was not officially established until 1884. That year, Rev. J. F. Spaulding, Missionary Bishop of Colorado and Wyoming, made a visit to Lander, and found that services were being conducted under the direction of Rev. Roberts with the assistance of the women of the church. He called a public meeting and advocated to the community to build a permanent structure. For that purpose, he offered a contribution of $500, providing it would be an Episcopal Church. There was considerable discussion among those attending, as the church community consisted of several denominations.
Ultimately, the offer was accepted, and a new building was erected in 1885. The first Church services were held on Christmas day. The Church was named Trinity Episcopal Church. Due to the fact that other denominations were using the Church, the consecration service was not held until 1893 after other churches had been built to accommodate the non-Episcopalians. The Church stood at the corner of Third and Garfield Streets on land that was donated by the Lander Townsite Co., consisting of Eugene Amoretti, Sr., Frank Lowe and P. P. Dickinson. The Church stood there for eighty-six years.
The first Episcopal services in Lander were actually held in 1872, when a young Bishop named Rev. George Maxwell Randall visited the community. He was Bishop of Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and adjoining territories, and was affectionately known as the “Bishop of all outdoors”. The Reverend made two harrowing trips to Lander, one in 1872 and the other in 1873. Unfortunately, the second trip proved too much for him, and upon his arrival back in Denver, he became ill and died.
In 1907, women of the Church organized the St. Agnes’ Chapter of the Daughters of the King. One of their first service projects was to solicit funds to build a hospital in Lander. Five acres were donated on Capitol Hill, and in 1912, the cornerstone was laid for the new Bishop Randall Hospital, named in honor of the Bishop who had held the first services in the community.
With the construction and opening of the Atlantic City Iron Ore mine, the city of Lander saw rapid growth in the 1960’s. The Church had nowhere to grow at its location on Third and Garfield, and began looking to build a new structure on another site. The property was eventually sold, and, in 1970, a new Church building was dedicated at its present location on South Third Street.
In 1982 Rev. Warren Murphy came to serve as the Rector of Trinity. He worked to involve lay persons in the work of the parish. This was a very successful venture. At one time the Church was served by four Priests and six Ministers. Women were always very involved in the activities of the Church, but it was during this time that they became even more active in the leadership of the Church. Joel Hart served as the first lady Deacon. She was followed by Sally McGeath, and Linda Hudson. Linda continues to serve as Deacon at the present time.
Other women were ordained as Priests. Terry Robeson was the first woman Priest ordained from the congregation and served as Priest at Trinity from 2006-2011. Ann Fontaine served as an interim Priest in parishes in Wyoming and Oregon, and Diane Carlton currently serves as priest at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Torrington.
Ray Price was called as local Priest and Ordained at Trinity. Ray served along with Terry to meet the needs of a mutual ministry congregation. Chuck Clarke was ordained a Deacon at Trinity. He was then ordained a priest. He now serves as a priest at St. Andrews in Atlantic City.
Another program instituted under Reverend Murphy was an Education Commission that established speakers programs on subjects of interest to the community. The first program in 1982 brought in a speaker who had been a hostage during the Iranian revolution. The speakers program has continued throughout the years. In May of 2017 a program was presented in cooperation with the Wyoming Humanities Council on refugee settlement in Wyoming and the United States.
Later in 2017, Priest Ray Price announced his retirement. Ray had served Episcopal Churches in Lander and Ft. Washakie for eighteen years in varying capacities. With God’s grace and a generous donation from an anonymous donor, Trinity called Walt and Janet Seeley as Co-Rectors. They began their ministry with Trinity in January of 2018. Their deep and abiding message of God’s love for all of God’s children is causing a renewal of social and spiritual activism within the congregation. Walt and Janet retired at the end of March 2023.
Jordan Bishop was ordained as a Priest at Trinity on September 30th, 2023. Trinity eagerly looks forward to the future, following our God and offering ourselves in God's service.