Parish History

	The Right Reverend John Hazen White, first bishop of the Diocese of Michigan City, received the Reverend Victor von Kubinyi into the Episcopal Church on December 7, 1913. Father Kubinyi was the godson of the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, who supported him while the congregation was a national Catholic Hungarian Church. The reception service took place at Saint James’ Episcopal Church, South Bend, Indiana. Shortly after this, 83 heads of families signed a petition to organize the first Hungarian Episcopal Mission in the United States. On December 28, 1913, Bishop White received the congregation into the Church. It was the only Hungarian-speaking congregation in the American Episcopal Church. The Bishop appointed Father Kubinyi as the priest-in-charge.
	Trinity Hungarian Mission worshipped in the Old German Lutheran Church, which also served as Armory of Company F, Indiana National Guard. When Bishop White again visited the Hungarian Mission on February 28, 1914, to confirm the first Hungarian class of 27, he was impressed by the devotion of the humble flock. The Bishop’s kindly and well chosen words carried a message which, it was hoped, would live in the hearts of the good Hungarians. Some ladies of Saint James’ Church took it upon themselves to take charge of the Woman’s Guild, and several other organizations were brought in to make the work more complete and extensive. Members of the Trinity Mission board included George Nemeth, Joseph Lochmandy, Peter Bujtas, Joseph Hoffer, Joseph Fekete, Steven Illes, and Michael Huzsvar.
	After worshipping for a year in the Armory, a simple but pretty little church was provided for them on the corner on West Colfax Avenue and Elm Street, in the neighborhood where many of the parishioners lived. The church, a neat frame building of 25 feet by 64, with a seating capacity of 130, was made by the Mershon and Morley Company of Saginaw, Michigan, and was erected by the priest-in-charge and some of the parishioners. On December 24, 1914, the Bishop, assisted by the Reverend B.F. Ivins, dedicated the church. After the services, the congregation adjoined to Hoffer’s Hall. Hoffer’s Hall was two doors from the church and owned by Mr. Joseph Hoffer, a staunch member of the mission. At the celebration, the Bishop and his family distributed 300 gifts to the children and presented the Mission with three beautiful vestments, candlesticks, and a chalice. The Christmas Eve celebration presented a lovely picture of harmony, making a deep impression upon those present.
	The winter of 1914 was a very hard one. Many of the church members were unemployed. An appeal made by the priest-in-charge to help the destitute members of the flock was answered generously through the kind efforts of Miss Mary May White. The needy were provided with food and necessities of life. Though poor, the family and friends of Trinity Hungarian Mission did everything possible to provide for the spiritual and temporal needs of the flock. Ladies from Saint James’ Church conducted the Women’s Guild meetings. Much effort was given to helping the Hungarian women to find work (much of it needlework) and their efforts helped to establish a true churchly spirit. At the meetings of the Woman’s Guild, a number of children were also instructed and entertained by the ladies helped by the Reverend Russell J. White. The children sent a missionary box to Alaska, the first box ever sent by Hungarians. Church records show there were 317 services in 1915 with an average attendance of 63 of the 297 communicants. Parish Socials were held every month. The Dramatic Section was organized to entertain the young men and women. They gave little theatricals every other month, the proceeds going toward helping the mission’s work. The skits were not merely entertaining; they were also culturally educational. On Easter Eve, 1915, while the priest-in-charge was preparing a class of forty children for the Easter communion, the church somehow caught fire. Fortunately, the children were led out of the burning building without any bodily harm. Damage to the structure was covered by insurance.
	The 1915 Sunday School included 5 teachers (supplied by Saint James Church) and 83 scholars. It met every Sunday at the church and was conducted entirely in English. Its chief purpose was to acquaint the children with the Doctrines of the Church and familiarize them with the use of The Book of Common Prayer and The Hymnal. The Sunday School did much towards getting the children interested in church life and was closed each year with a picnic provided by the generosity of the teachers.
	On May 1, 1915, Bishop White wrote to Father Kubinyi granting him permission to translate portions of the USA 1892 Book of Common Prayer into Hungarian. The list included the Order of Holy Communion (Szent mise), Collects with Bible references, The Litany (Létánia), Evening Prayer (Vesperás), Public Baptism of Infants (Keressztelési szertartás), Solemnization of Matrimony (Házasságkötés Szertartása), Churching Of Women (Egyházhozmenés vagyis Avatás) and the Burial of the Dead (Temetési szertartás). The Reverend John Heyward McKenzie, Rector of Howe School, and The Right Reverend Williams Leonard, Bishop of Ohio, helped publish The Hungarian Service Book. Project Canterbury has published the Imprimatur and some of the translated portions. (Almost the entire congregation spoke Hungarian. Indeed, until 1948, the mission board’s minutes and church records were recorded in Hungarian.) After Father Kubinyi left in 1918, the Reverend Edwin Smith was ordained at the age of 55 to be the pastor of Trinity Hungarian Mission. He would serve the mission faithfully for 20 years.
	In the late 1930’s, due to the waning health of Father Smith, the Reverend Harold Kappes became the priest-in-charge. He inherited the now shaky portable chapel that had been condemned by the city authorities years before and still had a mortgage of $1,800. By 1940, the mission was debt-free. On Christmas Day that year, the new church building fund was started—with a child’s donation of two cents. During this time the parish grew in numbers and building expansion planning began. Various building fund raisers were held, from church socials, family picnics at Shady National Grove, to annual Hungarian harvest dances and youth group rallies sponsored by the teenagers’ Servants of Christ the King group. The clergy and mission board made requests for personal monetary donations to help the expansion efforts. The mission board members included Frank Mohacek, Sr., Harry Thau, John Bernat, John Horvath, Joseph Fekete, and Steve Papoi.
	Through the work and sacrifice of the Holy Trinity family, help from the National Council, and gifts from clergy, enough money was collected to build a brick church, a rectory, and a parish house. Unfortunately, after delays caused by World War II, inflation left only money enough for the church building. Another $30,000 would have to be raised to achieve the goal of three buildings.
	Ground was broken for the present church at Prast Boulevard and Olive Street on Sunday, July 11, 1948, a day reported as being “95 degrees in the shade.” The cornerstone was laid on October 10 of the same year. The 32-foot-high arches of laminated wood were actually ribs of ships used on the Great Lakes. The solemn “Opening of a Church Door” liturgy was a simple ceremony during Passiontide of 1950. The building was completed in 1951.
	The new rectory was built in 1958. The parish house was constructed in 1960, absorbing the old rectory.
	Father Hibbert came to Holy Trinity in 1968. After 57 years as a mission of the Diocese of Northern Indiana, Holy Trinity was admitted to parish status at the 72nd Annual Convention of the Diocese in the fall of 1970. The Right Reverend Walter C. Klein, fourth bishop of the Diocese, instituted Hibbert as the first rector of The Church of the Holy Trinity, Episcopal, in January 1971. The Reverend Teunisje “Tina” Velthuizen was installed as rector of The Church of the Holy Trinity, Episcopal, in September 1991. She was the first female priest in the Diocese of Northern Indiana. She continues as the rector as well as working as a chaplain at Memorial Hospital in South Bend.