Trinity Lutheran Church, founded in 1751 and one of the oldest continuously worshipping congregations in Berks County, will open a year of 275th anniversary celebrations on Trinity Sunday, May 31, 2026, at its historic sanctuary at 527 Washington Street. The day begins with festival worship at 10 a.m., during which the congregation will welcome nine new members, and continues with a free public organ recital at 1:30 p.m. presented by Trinity’s Cantor, Dr. Cameron Lee Wentz.
The anniversary year will continue through Trinity Sunday 2027, which marks 275 years since the consecration of Trinity’s first sanctuary building in 1752. A series of special events, programs, and observances is planned throughout the twelve months between.
“For 275 years, this congregation has worshipped, served, and helped shape life in Berks County,” said the Rev. Hans E. Becklin, Senior Pastor. “We open this anniversary year on Trinity Sunday because that is the day this place has always returned to—the day our forebears gathered to consecrate their first building, and the day we now gather to welcome new members into a community whose work is far from finished.”
The 1:30 p.m. organ recital is designed to reflect the historical cultural composition of Reading, gathering composers of German, American and Native American, and Latin and Hispanic heritage into a single afternoon’s listening. The program opens and closes with the two halves of J.S. Bach’s monumental Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major (BWV 552)—the “St. Anne”—which frames the recital as a kind of musical bracket around the wider world the composers within represent.
Between the Prelude and the Fugue, listeners will hear Hózhó by Connor Chee, a contemporary Navajo-American composer whose work draws on the Diné concept of harmony and balance; a Toccata by the Portuguese Baroque master Carlos Seixas; and Richard Frey’s Three Trumpet Tunes for Today—Procession, Pastorale, and Jubilation. After a brief intermission, the program continues with the Prelude from Joseph Rheinberger’s Sonata No. 7, the Interludio of Mexican composer Alfonso de Elías, Mainacht by German composer Barbara Heller, and Mary Beth Bennett’s Partita on Veni Creator—a set of variations on the ancient Pentecost hymn “Come, Creator Spirit”—before closing with Bach’s “St. Anne” Fugue.
The recital is free and open to the public. Parking is available at 121 North Fifth Street.
Founded in 1751, Trinity Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) whose historic sanctuary at 527 Washington Street in downtown Reading is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Trinity is known for its high-church liturgical tradition, its commitment to sacred music, and its long-standing service to the people of Reading and Berks County. The congregation’s 275th anniversary year coincides with the launch of a $3,000,000 Sanctuary Restoration Project and the adoption of a new five-year strategic plan.
