By Linda Yates (adapted from an article in the August 2004 issue of Tidings)
What do you do with a sparkling, newly renovated three-story building? Before the paint was dry on Trinity Hall, Long Range Planning Committee II had been named to prepare recommendations. Its report was presented on April 25, 1988, to the church’s Administrative Board.
The first planning committee’s recommendation that Trinity Hall be refurbished had been accomplished.Now it was time to put its many classrooms to greater use. LRP II said over the next 10 years an expanded ministry of program and Bible study for persons of all ages should be offered in the new facilities and the staff increased to implement them.
David Hortin arrived as new Senior Minister in June 1988 and Rev. Beth Fogle-Miller came as Associate Minister. A new director of Christian education, Linda Mobley, joined the staff also in June. With other staff and church members, she began to plan new educational programs for each age group.
On September 27, 1989, a new tradition of study and fellowship began with something called Lay Academy, a program to include “learning and teaching, sharing and giving, fun and fellowship.” On Wednesday afternoons and evenings for eight consecutive weeks, one-hour classes were offered at 4:30 and 6:15 p.m. Dinner in Moor Hall was served at 5:30 to those attending classes as well as to other persons who just wanted to share in the fellowship.
Wednesday also became the time for handbell choir and children’s and adult choirs to practice. To take advantage of the Lay Academy setting, programs for elementary children began – first Trinity Troopers and later NETkids.
Rev. Fogle-Miller and DCE Mobley took training to lead another new program – Disciple Bible Study. The 34 weeks of Bible study began as part of the Lay Academy. Also offered were other Bible studies, prayer groups, support groups, exercise, health classes, crafts and hobbies, music, study of current issues, bridge, Piano 101, and church liturgy and symbols.
A Lay Academy Committee came up with a wide range of offerings in the years that followed. Classes on books of the Bible, gardening and landscaping, defensive driving, stress management, income tax laws, church wide mission studies on Africa and other foreign lands, and computers have been offered, to mention a few. Classes sometimes drew 80 or more people when health issues were presented by local physicians or spiritual issues were discussed by a group of current and retired professors of religion at FSU.
A new Director of Christian Education replaced Linda Mobley in October 1993. Barbara Doak, now Barbara Hynes, continued the successful Wednesday Lay Academy programs.
NETkids and other children’s and youth programs attracted more and more young families to the after-school activities at Trinity. Youth groups had annual mission projects in Appalachia, and adults went on mission trips to Mexico and to help build Habitat houses in Brazil. Here at home, a team from the church took part in the Tallahassee Habitat for Humanity’s Thanksgiving Blitz building of three houses. Trinity continued to work with other UM churches in building additional Habitat houses each year.
Dr. Hortin invited leaders of the religious community to plan an interfaith Thanksgiving service each year of his 11-year ministry at Trinity. When the Florida Annual Conference adopted a Vision 2000 plan by which to strengthen United Methodist Churches by the year 2000, Dr. Hortin and the Administrative Board appointed a committee to prepare Trinity’s own plan. The committee presented its Vision 2000 mission statement to the congregation in January 1993 and presented priority goals later that year. At that time membership totaled 2,058.
The church celebrated two important events during Dr. Hortin’s ministry. On Feb. 5, 1995, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Florida Conference of the Methodist church was celebrated at Trinity, the place where the Conference first met. Dr. Hortin named the 175th anniversary committee that made plans to celebrate in September 1999, the anniversary of Trinity’s 1824 organization. He retired in June 1999, three months before the event and a new minister, Rev. John Willis, presided at the gala occasion.