It is also the home of the earliest series of figural stained-glass windows in America, designed by William Jay and John Bolton. Built as the Church of the Holy Trinity between 1844 and 1856, the church combines high-style English Gothic design with French Gothic motifs. St. Ann’s Parish, founded in 1778 as the first Episcopal church in Kings County, merged with the Church of the Holy Trinity in 1969. Separately and together, parishioners from St. Ann’s and Church of the Holy Trinity served on the front lines of major political and social movements in the United States.

St. Ann & the Holy Trinity works at “the intersection of faith and culture” through community outreach and programming. The church hosts annual backpack, winter coat, and toy collections for community members in need, and provides space to concert series, book festivals, and cultural events. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the congregation established the Pop-Up Pantry to combat food insecurity in Brooklyn. This program has provided over 10,000 meals in its first year.

A $250,000 National Fund grant and $500,000 in matching funds raised by the congregation will support restoration of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity’s church tower. The ongoing deterioration of the tower presents unsafe conditions that need to be rectified. The restoration will stabilize and enhance the character-defining features of the brownstone tower by addressing delamination, weathering, spalling, extensive material loss, and biological growth. This work will help the congregation meet its goals of ensuring the tower’s long-term preservation, enhancing the safe usage of the church, and revitalizing an iconic feature of Lafever’s design.

St. Ann & the Holy Trinity by John Denaro