Judy Baker: 50 Years of Memories
Author: Judy Baker
Holy Trinity has offered my family an irreplaceable community since April 1968. I’ve participated in many meaningful projects, found support and joy through the church’s community life, and have raised my own children here.
It was by coincidence that my husband Arnold and I first moved to Northern Virginia. We had just moved back to the United States after living in Montevideo, Uruguay for the first two years of our marriage and two family friends offered us a place to live while we conducted job searches.
Arnold had been Assistant Director of the Peace Corps program and after serving those in need for four years abroad, he looked forward to helping even more people in the United States. He knew that he wanted to work for the federal government and ultimately secured a job helping migrant and seasonal farm workers with the Office of Economic Opportunity. I later went back to work as a teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools.
Meanwhile, we had also begun the search for a church. I had a strong connection to Lutheranism through my parents and had been baptized in a Lutheran church. Arnold and I decided to search the phone book and we found three nearby churches that seemed like they could be a good fit. In the end, it was Holy Trinity that impressed us with the friendliness of their congregation and the sanctuary itself. The beautiful stained-glass windows and the unique shape of the nave made us feel as though we had found our church home.
We joined Holy Trinity’s group Young Adults, Married and Singles (YAMS) which allowed us to quickly become enmeshed into the congregation. Through this group, we had the opportunity to meet others our own age for the first time since moving to Northern Virginia. We attended many fantastic events including parties, bar-b-ques, service projects and more.
Our first child, Paul, was born in August 1969 and baptized at Holy Trinity. We had no extended family in the area but Naomi Circle at Holy Trinity offered the vital support I needed as a new mother. Although we always did a Bible study at each meeting, much of our time together involved comparing notes on how our children were doing and how to tackle the latest health issue. Over the years, the other ladies and I became good friends.
Shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the resulting riots in D.C., Holy Trinity felt compelled to take action. Our committee members discussed the importance of reaching out to our African American neighbors who lived along Annandale Road between Arlington Boulevard and Hillwood Avenue and decided to establish a connection.
I had the pleasure of becoming the liaison between Holy Trinity and a group called Operation Breakthrough. Members from two African American churches (Galloway United Methodist Church and Second Baptist Church) also attended and shared the concerns and needs of their members. We met at the old James Lee School, formerly the school for African American children in the area during the time of segregation and Virginia’s “Massive Resistance” to integration. The school closed in 1966, eventually becoming the James Lee Community Center. The seeds for the community center began with Operation Breakthrough who identified the need for child-care, senior services, youth activities, and athletics for the existing African American community.
Holy Trinity's positive impact on our local community is truly expansive. In addition to the social justice work of the late ‘60s, this church runs the Breakfast with Santa program, hosts fun runs, welcomes the community to our Jazz Coffeehouse and Concert series, sponsors refugees and migrants, and shelters the unhoused in our community.
My family and I have had many wonderful moments at Holy Trinity. Though it would be impossible to narrow it down to a single favorite memory, I will always look back fondly on the family retreats at Caroline Furnace. It was such a treat to stay in cabins and worship outside in nature.
Today, my favorite part of Holy Trinity is participating in the choir. Josh Brown is an excellent director and makes singing in the choir very fun. I also appreciate the many opportunities to continue exploring and strengthening my faith.
When we arrived in Northern Virginia, we had no other contacts than the two family friends who generously hosted us. We now have a supportive and welcoming church family and over 50 years worth of memories, all thanks to Holy Trinity.