Trinity Lutheran Church

OK, I don’t write reviews often. Check my past reviews. When I am compelled to write a review, it usually reaches the maximum character limit, and I have to parse the review down to fit.
OK, I have been attending Trinity regularly for a couple years now. Trinity is truly unique, in all areas.
The building is gorgeous. Truly breath-​taking! You see it from the street and it looks grand, stately, and magnificent. Then, you enter the actual sanctuary, and it is something to behold. The dark, richly stained oak pews and hand-​carved wood details hearken to an older time of American quality and craftsmanship, and the altar is just as gorgeous– I think it is carved limestone? It looks like poured concrete, but I don’t think it is.
The organ is outstanding, and the Director of Music is a true musical genius. Actually, the organ is the absolute best organ in all of New Haven, excepting the world-​class organ at Yale’s Woolsley Hall. Indeed, the organist could be the most talented musician in all of the ELCA. Bach would certainly approve, as would Luther!
Martin Luther, Johann Sebastian Bach, and other giants of the Lutheran faith would approve of the traditional service and preaching of the Pastor, a young married Pastor in his mid/​late 30s. The delivery and content of the sermons and homilies are impeccable, and while the content is often challenging and «calls out» the congregation to improve their lives and be more Christ-like…I wish the young Pastor Mills would be bold and shake his audience and rouse them to deeply, honestly self-​reflect and grow in Christ.
Now, the negatives: There is (as in any church I have ever attended) a small, tightly dug-​in faction of self-​styled «Elders» who treat the church as their Country Club. It is annoying, and I wish it would stop. To counteract this, myself and other young members make it a point to welcome all newcomers and visitors.
This Church has the potential to be the absolute greatest Lutheran Church in Connecticut, and verily, the entire nation, in every facet: Liturgy, Music, Sermon, Congregation, Works, Outreach, etc.
The Church does suffer a too-​low Sunday attendance, but that is the Christian faith in America today. There is a surprisingly large number of undergrad and grad students from Yale, Southern, Quinnipiac, etc. who attend Sunday services. The 10:15 a.m. start time is pleasant, and allows for the late-​nighters to still make Sunday worship part of their lives.
Trinity is absolutely, positively worth visiting on a Sunday morning. The potential is there, and nearly every young adult under 35 who attends winds up returning and becoming a part of the Church.
Oh, and in case you have a bad taste of Christianity, due to the Catholic pedophile tragedies, or the sense of non-​inclusion, or the general feeling of having a «Man of the Cloth» preach down to you and tell you what to believe… So do we! That is why we are Lutherans. Lutheranism in a nutshell: Not only are you encouraged to question your faith, it is practically demanded of you. Christ died for the sins of the world? So what?! What does that mean to *me*? What does that mean to *you*?

I have been attending Trinity for the past two and a half years. It is a small congregation in a beautiful downtown historic church.
If you appreciate strong liturgy and preaching, this church has it. The space enhances the traditional Lutheran liturgy and the hymnody. Where the congregation and choir lack for musicality they make up for it in spirit and in the talent of the music director who is a great organist.
The congregation is welcoming. There is a larger number of 35 and under in comparison to other churches I have attended. And they offer several small groups (Bible studies and courses) that folks can plug into to get involved.
Trinity also hosts a lot of outside organizations including Agape homeless ministry, a local school, and several support groups.
It’s a community I have come to love. I enjoy worship here and these folks have a heart for New Haven and the Gospel.

I have been attending services here at Trinity since 2004. An older pastor has come and gone and now have a pastor who is in his 30s and brings a lot of spunk to the church. Unfortunately the membership hasn’t increased significantly as was expected. There used to be a large group of young adults when we joined and most have moved or decided to go elsewhere.

An update — this church has changed for the better! The other review here was accurate for the time it was written (not by me), but that was a number of years ago under the old Pastor. He would be the first to tell you that he wasn’t a good singer.
The new Pastor (Ryan Mills) is fabulous. Not only is he young and energetic, his sermons are uplifting and enlightening. They are also solidly based in the Lutheran faith and applicable to real life. I have heard a lot of sermons, and I can honestly say that his are the best I have encountered.
He hosts bible study before service and it is excellent (I can’t believe how many other churches don’t even offer bible study).
His singing is spot-​on (if that’s what really matters to you) and he even sings the extended portions of the service that most pastors just read aloud.
On a personal level, he is really the kind of person that makes you feel special and at home. His wife is also an ELCA pastor and excellent in her own right.
The choir and cantoring are good. It is true that not many people in the congregation sing in harmony, but I don’t think that is fair to expect either — it all depends on who is there that day. Sometimes there will be Yale School of Music students in attendance and there is harmony galore.
As far as the young adults go, there is a great group. There are certainly singles though (especially when the local colleges are in session), but again it depends on the day. The congregation is growing, so there are new people all the time.
Lastly, the setting is absolutely gorgeous. The Word of course can be spread anywhere (wherever 2 or 3 are gathered), but Trinity Lutheran feels like a real church. It’s nice to have that feeling that something is greater than yourself, and this helps.
Absolutely worth a look!

This church is a run-​of-​the-​mill Lutheran church… not that large. The music is ok, but below the quality of what I normally expect out of Lutherans. There’s a decent choir, and they sometimes have talented instrumental performances, but what matters most is most lacking: the congregation itself can’t sing in harmony effectively, and the chanting is sometimes painfully out of tune. The building is pretty, but that doesn’t count for much.
The spiritual content of the service, the readings, the sermons, are run-​of-​the-​mill. I sense a leftist political bent, not-​so-​subtle, but not preachy. I like this. However… it’s not enough to compensate for the fact that I feel like I don’t learn much from the services… the sermons and readings don’t challenge me to think in new ways and don’t provide relevant insights to my life.
Perhaps the best thing about this church is that there are a very large number of young adult members, people in the 18 – 30 age range, the group most often missing from churches. The young people are very friendly and willing to include newcomers in their activities. However, I must point out that there is a complete absence of single adults. All the young adults in this church here are either married, engaged, or paired off. This made me feel, to say the least, very out of place.
I say, take it or leave it; I’m continuing to search for better options but I could see myself coming back from time to time if I don’t find anything better.