ABOUT TRINITY
"I and the Father are one.”
OUR HISTORY
Trinity Episcopal Church was incorporated in 1872 to worship “according to the customs and usages of the Protestant Episcopal Church.” There were fourteen original members in the mission church who worshipped in private homes with supply priests. A wooden church on the present site was completed in 1875 on land donated by parishioners and partially financed by small denomination bonds purchased by townspeople. The Church building was consecrated in 1881. In 2010 a beautiful, $2 million total renovation replicated the original 1875 “board and batten” church building and included a $200,000 renovation to our pipe organ. This renovation received a historical preservation award from the local Cranford Historical Society.
FATHER ANDY
Father Andy was ordained an Anglican priest in November 2011 in South Africa. In 2011 and 2012, he was Curate at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. George, Grahamstown, SA. In 2013, he served as Assistant Priest of the Parish of St. Faith’s, Durban, SA. From January 2014 until December 2016 he was the Rector of the Parish of Umkomaas with Scottburgh, SA. He began his ministry at Trinity Cranford on Feb. 5, 2017. Father Andy has a Masters in Theology from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. He is an avid student of the Liturgy and worked on the Anglican Church of Southern Africa’s Prayer Book Revision Project. Father Andy has broad experience in intergenerational pastoral care, youth ministry, and parish growth. In his ‘downtime’ he loves hiking and soaking up the music and art of NY City with his wife, Heather.
Listen to Bernie Wagonblast’s interview with Fr Andy on Cranford Radio. Click here.
John Beier, Senior Warden
John Beier is recently returned to Trinity (in his first time here, he was Secretary of the Vestry from 1996 to 1998). While attending the Church of the Holy Comforter in Rahway, he was Secretary from 2002 to 2005; he also taught Sunday School and was on the Vestry and Search Committee, finally working on the merger with St. Paul’s in Rahway from 2006 to 2010. He attended Trinity Church in Woodbridge from 2010 to 2018 and was on their Vestry for one year in 2013, Search Committee in 2015 and delegate to Northern Convocation. Back home in Cranford, he is a faithful member of the Choir and is currently on Vestry. He is a Senior Property Manager for the Federal Government and offers a wealth of experience and wisdom. John and his wife Carol live in Cranford; their daughter Sophie is away at college. He loves farming and singing.
Sydney O'Hagan, Junior Warden
Sydney O’Hagan has been a member of Trinity Church parish since 2013. She currently serves as a lector and Sunday school teacher. Sydney, her husband Eamonn, and her two daughters, Katherine and Jane reside in Cranford. Sydney is a Girl Scout leader of two troops, creator of the Walnut Avenue School Garden Club, and owner of a cooking business “The Nearly New Yorkers” that recently hosted the Trinity Church banquet. Sydney currently works as an attorney in a civil litigation practice in New York City. In her downtime, she loves to read, garden, cook, and spend as much time with her family as possible.