The Bible describes the office of elder and the qualities elders should possess. PCA congregations elect elders to a life-long office of church oversight and governance. Elders shepherd members and manage ministries in the church. The profiles below list each elder's ministries (note: some are inactive or on sabbatical) and contact information.
Join a small group of Trinity's women on Tuesday mornings for a time of fellowship and prayer. We meet online every week at 5:30 AM during the school year and 6:00 AM during the summer. For details, contact Lauren Everhart.
Being a mother is a difficult, all-encompassing calling. We have many families at Trinity, particularly families with young children. As such, we started Moms Coffee + Conversation (MC2) as a forum where moms can be in fellowship and discuss (or not discuss) the challenges that they face and receive spiritual counsel and encouragement.
MC2 happens every other month, hosted by a Trinity family generous enough to open up their home to the mothers of the church. Some snacks and drinks are provided, though we often ask attendees to bring refreshments to add to the spread. The goal is create an atmosphere where our mothers can enjoy rich fellowship, ask hard questions, and receive loving support from their sisters in Christ.
We occasionally have a program -- a guest speaker or one of our members speaking to a specific topic (educational choices, parenting techniques, and more). These topics can be helpful and stimulate conversation, but we encourage mothers to come with fellowship and rest in mind.
While location and timing varies, these events usually occur from 7-9 PM. For news of the next MC2, check our events or calendar page.
Join us September 19-21* for a weekend of study, song and fellowship! *Option to arrive on Thursday, September 18, for added time of rest and fellowship.
This year, Allison Clapp will be leading us through Richard Sibbes's "The Bruised Reed." In it, Sibbes expounds on Isaiah's prophecy about Jesus, the Servant of the Lord, showing how he provides tender care for those who are weak and struggling. We'll be dipping our toes into the Puritans with this short and beautiful book. It's available in a modern English version to make it more accessible.
Isaiah 42:3 "A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice."
Cost:
$200/person for 2 nights in a double room
$280/person for 2 nights in a single room
$315/person for 3 nights in a double room
$425/person for 3 nights in a single room
Meals Included:
Thursday: Lunch and Dinner (for 3 Night Option)
Friday: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Saturday: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Sunday: Hot Breakfast at 8 a.m.
Location: Shrine Mont Conference & Retreat Center (Shenandoah County, Va.)
Invitees: All Trinity women age 16 and older; friends of TPC welcome as space allows. Infants under six months old are welcome but note that no formal childcare will be provided. If you need help finding coverage for infants older than six months, please let us know.
Registration: Registration for Trinity women will open on June 1; registration for friends of Trinity will open on July 1. Registration for everyone closes on July 15.
Schedule: Check-in begins at 4 pm on either Thursday or Friday, but feel free to come early to enjoy lunch at 12:30 p.m. Program will begin Friday evening and conclude on Saturday evening. There will be no formal retreat activities on Thursday or Sunday.
Contact Lauren Everhart with any questions or request for scholarship funds.
Women's Fellowship Nights are informal times of fellowship that occur every other month, hosted in homes by women of the church. Some snacks and drinks are provided, though we often ask attendees to bring refreshments to add to the spread. The goal is to create an atmosphere where women can have true community among Christian sisters, knowing their days can be spiritually and physically challenging, as well as emotionally draining.
These evening events are child-free.
We recognize that our men are called to serve God, the church, and their family. As leaders in their household and in the church, men frequently shoulder burdens on behalf of others. As a result, our men need rest, while others need encouragement. Some may need advice, or simply an opportunity to engage with other men familiar with their circumstances. At Men's Fellowship Night, we aim to provide all of these things.
Men's Fellowship Night happens on a monthly basis, hosted by a Trinity family generous enough to open up their home to the men of the church. Some snacks and drinks are provided, though we encourage men to contribute beverages (alcoholic beverages are generally welcome) to share. When the weather permits, there may be a bonfire as well as cigars. The goal is create an atmosphere where men can have true community among Christian brothers.
We occasionally have a program -- a guest speaker or one of our members teaching a lesson. These are usually only a portion of the evening, as we want to stress building friendship and brotherhood at these events more than any particular doctrine.
While location and timing varies, these events usually begin around 8 pm and continue late to the evening. Men should come prepared to be outdoors, particularly if the weather is reasonably good. For news of the next Men's Fellowship Night, check our events or calendar page.
The sheets below give information on 4s-1st and 2nd-5th Sunday School classes, along with the memory verses and catechism questions/answers for the month. The current month is bolded, but we maintain an archive of past sheets for reference as well. The Sunday School teachers also distribute these sheets to students each month.
To encourage our children to hide God’s Word in their hearts and learn the tenets of our Reformed faith, we maintain a Memory Prize System that rewards children who can recite verses and catechism answers at church on a weekly basis.
Any child up through 5th grade can participate in the prize box system. Participation is not mandatory, but all children through 5th grade are welcome.
Points each month can be earned by:
Each verse, catechism, and sermon page for the month will be worth 1 point (9 or 10 points possible per month). Students will receive a sticker each Sunday that they recite their verse/catechism or turn in their sermon sheet.
Alexis Zintak and Esther Doolan will be taking turns with this responsibility. Every month we will send out an email with the catechisms and memory verses and also note who will be handling prizes that month.
Students can receive stickers for reciting verses/catechisms and turning in sermon sheets to Alexis or Esther:
On the last Sunday of the month only, students will be able to turn in their points for prizes. Students are also welcome to save their points to earn a larger prize the next month.
TPC provides Young Worshipper in Training (YWIT) twice a month during a portion of the worship service. While many churches offer a full service for children each week, we want children worshipping with their families routinely. Families are not required to use YWIT, and we do not view children as a nuisance in the service. On the contrary, we value children (even infants) participating simply by being exposed to corporate worship with their families.
YWIT is currently offered on the first and third Sundays of each month. YWIT is intended for children at least 3 years old but not yet 6. After the children's message, parents should quietly escort their children to the 4s–1st grade Sunday School classroom. YWIT volunteers will return children to the sanctuary after the sermon. Parents should tell children to find their seats quietly.
The primary purpose of YWIT is to train children to worship well and understand our liturgical practices. While children benefit from worshiping alongside their parents, YWIT provides an opportunity to engage children with tailored material that increases their understanding of our spiritual practices. The YWIT liturgy mirrors the adult service, including children’s hymns, Scripture memorization, a catechism, and a Bible lesson. YWIT volunteers lead children through this material, teaching them what these activities signify and why we do them.
YWIT also provides an opportunity to engage our children in a manner that increases multi-generational interaction. Members who teach YWIT are helping raise the next generation of Christians in accordance with their membership vows, and for some, this is an excellent introduction to spiritual instruction or a model for family worship with children.
The elders oversee all the ministries and business of the church. While the Session collaboratively governs and seeks counsel in all their decisions, each ministry does have an elder that is directly responsible for its spiritual health and direction, noted below.
All members and their families are assigned to an elder that personally oversees their spiritual care. If you don't know who your elder is, please contact Admin Elder Ben Zintak to find out. You can also raise concerns with any elder -- they will be quick to pass on your need to your elder.
If you have general questions for the Session, or wish to bring a need from another member to their attention, please reach out to your elder, Chris Schwartz (Clerk of Session), or the Session itself. The elders meet monthly (dates are noted on the calendar) to discuss business and ensure member needs are met.
In the PCA, elders are called to spiritual oversight, shepherding, and governing the church. They are to lead by teaching the Word, guarding doctrine, and caring for the souls under their charge. Together, elders form the Session, the governing body of the local church, tasked with guiding our congregation in faithfulness to God’s Word. Elders:
In the PCA, we distinguish between two types of elders — men equally ordained but serving in distinct capacities:
Scripture provides clear qualifications for those who serve as elders. These men must exhibit spiritual maturity, integrity, and a commitment to sound doctrine and personal holiness.
“The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach…” — 1 Timothy 3:1–2 (ESV)
“...appoint elders in every town... if anyone is above reproach... He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”
— Titus 1:5–9 (ESV)
These passages remind us that elders are to be humble, faithful, and doctrinally sound men who lead by serving — not by power, but by Christlike care and example.
Ministry Areas: Administration, Community Groups
Born into a Christian home, Ben came to Christ at a young age in the Chicago suburbs. God's irresistible grace preserved him through his time at the US Naval Academy, at graduate school in the UK, and in the Navy. In 2015, he settled down in the Annapolis area and promptly began attending Trinity. In 2017, he met and married his wife, Alexis, whose work took them abroad to Trinidad from 2019-2020. They now have three children and a Trinidadian cat.
Ben was elected to the session in 2022. He currently serves as the admin elder and oversees the church's community groups. Ben enjoys church history, teaching youth and adult classes, and debating the relative merits of each week's hymns with his fellow saints. A passage that speaks to his calling is Philippians 3:13-14: "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Ministry Areas: Worship, Adult Education, Women's Ministry
At around age 10, Andy confessed Christ and was baptized in a Southern Baptist church in the Deep South, later joining a Presbyterian church. He and his wife Cindy have been members of Trinity since 2018.
Andy was elected to the Session in 2019. He currently serves as one of the worship elders, oversees the women’s ministry, and coordinates adult Sunday school and new members’ classes. Most anyone will tell you that Andy enjoys reading and watching classic films, and always has a book or movie recommendation. He also enjoys writing and working on challenging jigsaw puzzles.
One of Andy’s favorite scripture passages is Psalm 121, a reminder that God is always in control.
Ministry Areas: Adult Education, Missions
Jim has been a member and elder of Trinity since 2014 (when Trinity was founded), having previously been an elder at Annapolis EP (our planting church).
Having served in the U.S. Navy for almost thirty years, Jim and his wife Leslie have been members of 4 different PCA churches over more than four decades and served in various ministry leadership positions in each. They have five sons, five daughters-in-law, and sixteen grandchildren (six of whom live locally). Outside of his role at church, Jim enjoys water-related activities and pretending to be a boat mechanic.
One of his favorite verses is Romans 5:8 -- “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” as it points us to the freedom that we have in Christ: that He is the author and finisher of our faith.
Dale Vander Wall was a founding member and elder of Trinity in 2014. While he maintains his office of elder and is a faithful member, he is not currently active on the session.
Ministry Areas: Worship, Outreach
Joe became a member of Trinity in 2016 and was elected to the session in 2017. In addition to serving on the session, he plays guitar for the worship team.
Ministry Areas: Children's Education
Clerk of Session
Chris was a founding member of Trinity and was elected to the session in 2021. In addition to serving on the session, he leads our Building Committee. In his free time, he enjoys golf and spending time with his family.
Candido Giron joined Trinity in 2017 and was elected to the session in 2019. While he maintains his office of elder and is a faithful member, he is not currently active on the session.
Ministry Areas: Youth Ministry, Men's Ministry
Originally from North Carolina, Terry has lived in Maryland since 2011 with his wife and four children. He was a founding member of Trinity and was elected to the session in 2023. As an elder, he provides oversight for both men's ministry and youth ministry. In his free time, he enjoys golf and following UNC basketball.