Worship
Sundays
Family Church, 9:30 am followed by sunday school
For folks and families on the go, this family service is child-friendly and informal. This service is shorter than most Sunday services, and we do our best to make worship comfortable and fun for children. Family Church begins with the Word of God and ends with Holy Communion. Everyone is invited to the communion table. The service is immediately followed by Sunday school, which ends at 11:00 am
rite ii HOLY EUCHARIST, 11:15 AM
Our more traditional service at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity features music accompanied on a landmark E.M. Skinner pipe organ. The Rite II liturgy from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer is dignified and accessible. Guest singers and musicians perform regularly at this service.
Wednesdays
HOLY EUCHARIST, 6:00 PM
This brief, informal Rite II liturgy with Communion includes a brief homily on the appointed scriptures and provides mid-week opportunity for quiet reflection and contemplation.
Weekdays
MORNING PRAYER, 8:30 AM
Join us via Zoom for this 20-minute service at the start of the day. The service is found on page 75 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Study
Bible studies, contemplative prayer, faith formation classes, book discussions, and group conversations around challenging issues offer opportunities to broaden and deepen Christian faith. These gatherings help us to explore and enhance our understanding of Jesus’ message and our relationship with God. Participation draws the community together and enriches our parish life. Everyone is invited to take part.
Wednesdays
BIBLE STUDY, 12:15 PM
Weekly Bible Studies bring a welcome midday break as we explore a passage of scripture that is an appointed reading for the following Sunday. We gather on Zoom for this informal 45-minute discussion. All who can are welcome and encouraged to join us.
The Mystical Tradition, Second Wednesday of the Month, 7:00-8:00 pm
The Rev. Dr. Craig Townsend, Associate for Faith Formation, invites members and friends of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity to join him for an exploration of some classical and modern expressions of mysticism. We will compare the works of a Christian writer to those of a writer(s) from another faith tradition each month. Join Fr. Craig on the second Wednesday of the month during the 2022-2023 program year, starting on September 14, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, on Zoom.
The common usage of “mysticism” generally points to experiences, and expressions of those experiences, of human-divine connection or even union. There is a rich tradition of writings (and other portrayals) of mystical encounters between believers and God in the history of Christianity – from Teresa of Avila to Mary Oliver, and Augustine of Hippo to Howard Thurman, for example. And there are rich analogous traditions in other religions of the world as well, including the Sufi poet Rumi, the Jewish cabbalistic writings of the Zohar, and the Hindu poems of Mirabai.
Approximately 20-25 pages of reading will be assigned for each session. A full schedule and readings is posted on the series website. Please contact Fr. Craig if you wish to participate at 
.
Image: Nave looking west, Noirlac, 1990, by David Heald, in Kinder and Heald, Architecture of Silence: Cistercian Abbeys of France (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000)
Racial Recognition, Reconciliation and Justice
The 2006 General Convention of the Episcopal adopted a resolution that called on all Episcopal congregations to explore whether they had a history of complicity in the institution of slavery and of deriving economic benefits from that institution. The Rev. Dr. Craig Townsend, St. Ann’s Associate for Faith Formation, spent the 2020-2021 academic year working with six students at Saint Ann’s School to research the ways in which the original St. Ann’s Church (founded in 1784, when slavery was still legal in New York) and Holy Trinity Church (founded in 1847, twenty years after slavery became illegal) was connected to slavery and slavery-driven economies. The group presented “History of Slavery at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church” to the parish via Zoom on Sunday, May 23, 2021, (the video is here). The final report is here, along with an informative map of sites in Brooklyn Heights that memorialize slaveowners,
The Diocese of Long Island has named Fr. Craig Townsend its Historian-in-Residence for Racial Justice. He is helping parishes in the diocese established before the Civil War who wish to study their early congregations’ involvement with slavery. While it is disturbing to learn the truth about our past as a congregation, knowing that truth should set us free to face it, address it, and carry it forward in our ongoing work for racial justice.