HTELC History

Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church traces its beginnings to July, 1911, when the Reverend J. L. Morgan, missionary with the United Synod in the South, held the first meeting in the Briggs Hardware Building. The Morgan family and two others were in attendance. This stirred sufficient interest among other Lutherans in the area and a year later on July 7, 1912 (our Centennial Celebration page), HTELC was officially organized with 12 charter members. Officers were elected and a constitution adopted. Charter members included six men and six women.

Services continued in the Briggs building until a new church was constructed at Boylan Avenue and Hillsborough Street. The first service in the new building was held May 9, 1915.

Busy years of organization and new growth saw the beginnings of Luther League, Children's Missionary Society, and the Ladies' Aid Society, as well as many baptisms and confirmations.

Holy Trinity, as the first Lutheran church in the Raleigh area, became the "Mother Church," sponsoring the establishment of other Lutheran congregations. St. Paul's in Durham (1923) was the first, followed by several others over the years: St. Philip (1962), Christ the King (1964) in Cary, Lord of Life (1978) in Garner, Good Shepherd (1983) in Raleigh, Living Waters (1989; no website) in Cherokee, Abiding Presence (1992) in Fuquay-Varina, and most recently, Joy of Discovery Mission in Southeast Raleigh.

In 1941 the original constitution was amended, permitting women to serve on the congregation council. This was a much needed but heavily debated change.

In 1953 the present church site at Brooks Avenue and Clark Avenue was purchased from North Carolina State College. To accommodate the membership that had outgrown the original building, construction of an educational building and student center was begun. The first service in the newly completed building was conducted on December 2, 1956. The education building served as a place of worship until the present sanctuary was completed in 1968. The 3-rank M. P. Möller organ, donated for use in the temporary sanctuary by Mrs. E. E. Randolph, church organist for 37 years, has long since been replaced.

The Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church is a study in contrasts. A modern building with a traditional spire, the rough texture of the exterior brick is answered by clean smoothness on the inside. Architect Horace Taylor, a graduate of the NCSU College of Design and a Holy Trinity member, took on this project with his classmate Stan Fishel.

From the air, the roof creates a cross. From the ground, more of a space-age effect. An appropriate concern for acoustics drove many of the interior design decisions: terrazzo floors, exposed brick walls, a brick reredos curved inward to reflect the clergy's voices. In later years, succumbing to the inevitable tension between the value of acoustics and a wish for "warmth," the floors were carpeted and the pews cushioned. But a recent renovation project reconsidered those dubious improvements and has returned the hard surfaces to the space.

During the renovation, the shaft of the rooftop cross was opened up to create a skylight, to dramatic effect. Taylor made the interior purposely simple to focus the congregation's attention. He sought out a striking white marble with gold streaks for the altar to draw all eyes to the central area of worship. The stained glass windows, designed by E. Crosby Willett of Willett Stained Glass Studios of Philadelphia (now Willet Hauser Architectural Glass), represent major events in the church calendar. They present a color gradation rising from dark to lighter colors. The striking window behind the altar represents the Holy Spirit symbolized by a dove traveling to the heart of man which is just above the level of the altar. The window rises the full height of the building, with the physicality and earthly reality of man at the lower level. Read the description of the stained glass windows and see the slideshow of the interior of the sanctuary.

The beautiful window from the original church building was moved and now serves as a focal point in the Gethsemane Chapel. Linking the two buildings and serving as a gathering place, the Emily Kees Pavilion was dedicated in 1997.

The congregation participates in numerous community ministries, including resettlement of refugees; local, national and global mission work; and is the location and congregational agency for Lutheran Campus Ministry for NCSU and other Raleigh colleges. The congregation housed the first offices of Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas. Additionally, the congregation partially supports the WCPE (89.7 FM) broadcast of the "Sing for Joy" music program on Sunday mornings at 7:30 a.m. with Rev. Bruce Benson.