For more than sixty-five years, Trinity Episcopal School and Trinity Episcopal Church have shared a relationship that is both deeply rooted in our history and essential to who we are today.
Trinity School is a ministry of Trinity Church, but the connection between our two institutions extends far beyond an organizational relationship. We share a physical campus, a history, a community, and, most importantly, a common sense of purpose.
That relationship dates to the very founding of our School. In 1958, as she prepared for retirement, Miss Aiken approached Canon Turner at Trinity Episcopal Church with a proposal to transfer her school to the Church. Two years later, in the fall of 1960, Trinity Episcopal School officially opened its doors on Jackson Avenue, carrying forward Miss Aiken’s extraordinary legacy of child-centered education within Trinity Church’s longstanding commitment to the educational, spiritual, and civic life of New Orleans.
That partnership continues to shape the life of our School every day.
Perhaps its most visible expression is Daily Chapel. Each morning our students and faculty gather in Trinity Church to sing, pray, reflect, celebrate, ask questions, tell stories, and simply be together. Chapel marks the rhythms of our year and many of the most meaningful moments in the lives of our students. It is where we celebrate birthdays, honor achievements, welcome alumni, bless animals, and remind ourselves that we are part of something larger than ourselves.
But the influence of the Church is not confined to Chapel. Our Episcopal identity gives context and meaning to the values we hope our students will carry into the world. We ask our children to be Gentle, Generous, Truthful, Kind, and Brave, not merely because those qualities make for a pleasant school community, but because they call us to recognize the dignity and worth of every human being.
Importantly, being an Episcopal school does not mean expecting every student or family to believe the same things. Quite the opposite. Trinity includes families from a variety of faith traditions, as well as families who do not identify with a particular religious tradition at all. The Episcopal tradition gives us a way to welcome that diversity with both conviction and humility — to take faith seriously while also making room for questions, differences, and discovery.
As both an Episcopal priest and Head of School, I have the particular privilege of seeing the Church and School relationship from both perspectives. I see how the Church provides our children with a spiritual home, a living tradition, pastoral care, and a sense of continuity that extends well beyond their years as students. I also see how the School enriches the life of the Church. The relationships formed here often endure long after a student’s years at Trinity, drawing generations of alumni and families back to the Church for some of life’s most meaningful moments and creating a connection to this place that extends well beyond graduation. Each institution is stronger because of the other.
At the heart of our work is a shared belief that education is about much more than academic achievement. Trinity School’s mission is to build confident and resilient upstanders on a foundation of academic excellence, moral responsibility, and faith. Our students are strong academically, but their education at Trinity is also about who they are becoming — people of empathy, integrity, courage, and compassion who understand their responsibility to others.
That is holy work, and it is work the Church and School undertake together.
The relationship between Trinity Episcopal Church and Trinity Episcopal School has endured because it is not simply a relationship of proximity or history. It is a genuine partnership grounded in shared values, mutual respect, and a common commitment to children, families, and the broader New Orleans community. I am profoundly grateful for it, and I am confident that this partnership will continue to help the life of Trinity go, as our School Prayer has asked for generations, “from strength to strength.”
The Rev. E. Gary Taylor
Head of School
