Holy Trinity church celebrates Mozart Mass
Church maintains traditional Common Book of Prayer Anglican worship; 'Carpenter Gothic' building
Jack Hittinger
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: News
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The concert was set as an oratory mass so attendees could listen to the music and understand its traditional context, according to Holy Trinity Pastor and Hillsdale College Chaplain Duane Beauchamp. While this was a special event involving community members from all religious backgrounds, Holy Trinity parishioners and attendees stressed that this kind of traditional worship is commonplace in the parish.
"I've come to love the liturgy and the beauty of the language," Provost and Professor of Law Bob Blackstock said. Blackstock wasn't raised Anglican, but he's a self-described "happy victim" to the church - his wife brought him to it and he came to appreciate the liturgy. He likes the liturgy's orthodox qualities, something he thinks other churches lack.
Beauchamp said that members of the college community approached him to head the relatively young parish in 1989 for the same reason.
"We have a traditional liturgy, using the Anglican one as established in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer," Beauchamp said. No other area church at the time used quite this same traditional liturgy, so those seeking it came to Beauchamp.
Carpenter Gothic
Services began in 1989 in the Knorr Room in the Knorr Student Center on Hillsdale's campus, but by the next year it grew so that parishioners had to meet in the Hillsdale Medical Center's large front room. In 1991, they built the church at its present location on Spring Street.
Set in "Carpenter Gothic" style, the church was constructed almost entirely of wood, mimicking the basic design of stone Eastern Seaboard churches. These churches were popular on the frontier around the turn of the century.
"The church was built with an interest in acoustics so traditional and classical music could be presented," Beauchamp said. "That's been our focus through the years."
Beauchamp said that while the parish has consistently served around 35 families over the years, including college President Larry Arnn, there have been a larger number of student attendees in recent years.
Senior Laura Calderone is one such student. Growing up in a more evangelical family, she said that when she came to college she was looking for something a little more high church.
"It's very doctrinally sound," she said, also adding that it avoided the pitfalls of most Episcopal and other Protestant churches that tend to have inconsistent liturgies.
Diversity and Change
Although it's a small church in terms of registered parishoners, Holy Trinity draws different people from all walks of life, even if they have to walk a little farther to go to mass on Sundays.
Blackstock said that one family comes all the way from Angola, Ind. - nearly 40 miles away - just to attend the church each weekend.
"We've become more than just fellow parishioners," Blackstock said. "We're friends who share love of an old, good and beautiful tradition."
Calderone said she also enjoys being a member of the parish community, especially being able to see college personnel outside their normal roles as professors.
"Getting to know Dr. Arnn as a fellow parishioner has been a plus," she said. "And Father B strikes a perfect balance between being dignified and being humble."
Beauchamp said that his official duties as pastor and chaplain give him a unique way of helping students in a spiritual capacity.
"It's great to help students who want a meaningful spiritual life, not one where they compartmentalize their personal lives," he said. "Service to fellow man shouldn't be limited to church."
He also said that he'd like to expand the parish to others who may not have experienced such a liturgy.
"I want the church to outlive me," he said. "It's my honor to plant the seeds, and now I'm asking God to bring others to continue."
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