{"id":532036,"date":"2026-03-19T03:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T03:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/532036\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T03:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T03:19:10","slug":"before-there-was-a-united-states-of-america-there-was-trinity-episcopal-church-in-newport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/532036\/","title":{"rendered":"Before there was a United States of America, there was Trinity Episcopal Church in Newport"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWPORT, R.I. (WJAR) \u2014 In the heart of Newport stands master builder Richard Munday’s Trinity Episcopal Church.<\/p>\n

Bells beckon the faithful to worship.<\/p>\n

For centuries, the church with its exquisite Tiffany windows, has been the soul of the community. The congregation formed in 1698, and this building was constructed in 1726.<\/p>\n

“I actually grew up coming to this church. I sat in one of these balcony pews when I was a kid,” said the Rev. Canon Meaghan Kelly Brower.<\/p>\n

She never saw it coming, but today, Brower is the rector.<\/p>\n

NBC 10’s Patrice Wood reports that Trinity Church is marking a milestone in 2026.<\/p>\n

She’s the one climbing the iconic stairs of the only surviving free-standing, three-tiered, wineglass pulpit to preach to the congregation.<\/p>\n

She carries on the mission here that began in colonial times and continued through wars and the Gilded Age to the present.<\/p>\n

“The fact that there has been a group of people here over all of these years that have prayed and listened and acted in faith and cared for this community is really spectacular,” she said.<\/p>\n

The rich and famous, the Astors, the Vanderbilts, have been parishioners over the years.<\/p>\n

George Washington sat in Box 81. Later, so did Queen Elizabeth II<\/a> and Bishop Desmond Tutu.<\/p>\n

But it’s the local families who have kept this church going.<\/p>\n

Dr. John Hattendorf is a church parishioner, historian and former naval officer who emphasizes the importance of the prominent Newport landmark for sailors.<\/p>\n

“The steeple is a beacon and for people coming by sea, and as a former naval officer, I used to use it navigating into the harbor,” Hattendorf said.<\/p>\n

A church building with a 300-year history, now looking ahead to the next three centuries.<\/p>\n

“Everyone is welcome to worship here,” Brower said. “We’re very lucky to have a vibrant and growing congregation.”<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former Rhode Island Gov. Philip Noel greets Queen Elizabeth II during her 1976 visit to Newport. (WJAR){ }<\/p>\n

Trinity Episcopal Church<\/a>, an anchor of the community, in the city by the sea.<\/p>\n

Trinity will be hosting concerts and lectures throughout the year to celebrate.<\/p>\n

Jeff Clark, one of the parishioners, nominated his church.<\/p>\n

You can nominate a nonprofit in your neighborhood for “Community Treasures” by filling out a short form<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWPORT, R.I. (WJAR) \u2014 In the heart of Newport stands master builder Richard Munday’s Trinity Episcopal Church. Bells…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-532036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}