Becoming the Sugar River Episcopal Mission

“Where the Sugar River Flows,” a musical gift to the Mission-To-Be from Trinity’s Martha Maki

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Becoming the Sugar River Episcopal Mission (by November 2026)

The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one (John 17:22)

“The mission of the church is to restore all people and creation to unity with God in Christ” BCP Catechism, page 855

The future of the Episcopal Church in the Sugar River region is a shared future, as a vital and vibrant part of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, functioning as a “mission of the diocese.” (Canon 3.1). A “mission” represents a partnership between the Bishop and the gathered Episcopalians who worship and serve in a particular area, together exploring community partnerships, raising up leadership, offering good news to the neighborhood, and developing resources to sustain the ministry long-term. The Episcopal congregations in Newport and Claremont are asking the diocese to allow us to re-organize as the “Sugar River Episcopal Mission,” a process that would begin following a vote at Diocesan Convention on take full effect after Diocesan Convention in November, 2026.

Read the official Resolution for the 2025 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire here (to be published by September 16)

As a unified Mission, Sugar River Episcopalians will offer worship, fellowship, faith formation, and community care, in ways and places that honor and build on the legacies of our founding congregations: those who gather to worship on Old Church Road in West Claremont (historically “Union Church,” and, since the diocesan convention of 2012, “Union-St. Luke’s”), at 120 Broad St in Claremont (“Trinity Claremont”), and at the corner of Newport’s Cedar and Cheney Streets (“Epiphany Newport”): three distinct expressions of one joint mission of the Episcopal Church to the Sugar River region.

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What is <not> changing as we become the Sugar River Episcopal Mission? Our people, our places, our connection to our wider Episcopal community led by our Bishop, and our commitment to our neighbors and our neighborhood.

What <is> changing?

For Trinity (and for Union), our “canonical status,” from “parish” to “mission.” In the diocese of New Hampshire, there are 3 kinds of congregations: parishes, missions, and Gospel-Oriented Communities (GOCs for short). All three sorts are “in union,” interdependently connected with the diocese, the bishop, and each other. (All that is a hallmark of being an Episcopal church).

A church that is a “mission” – The Bishop is the Rector; the Bishop’s Committee is made up of members of the congregation assigned to conduct the day-to-day business of the parish on behalf of the Bishop and advise the Bishop as to the needs of the congregation. The Bishop as Rector has authority over all church business, including appointing and evaluating the Vicar (his “stand-in”), always with congregational input. Extra support from the diocese, like Fair Share adjustments and grants are available.  

A church that is a “parish”– Parishes have their own Rector, and the Rector convenes the vestry as representatives of the congregation. The Rector has authority over church affairs, the vestry is responsible for hiring and evaluating the Rector and making sure the church has the assets it needs to do its ministry.  

A church that is a  “gospel-oriented community” is a congregation, affiliated with the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, that meets throughout the year under the supervision of the bishop and is not bound by the traditional customs of a parish, mission or seasonal chapel. Gospel oriented communities are intended to offer creative and innovative expressions for worship, ministry and collaboration.

For Trinity, having status as a “mission” is an alignment with reality. Spending 2026 as a GOC will be as a transition zone, whose flexibility allows the reorganization and realignment to happen while losing no forward momentum.

Signs, names, and how we introduce ourselves.

The church sign at 120 Broad St will continue to identity “Trinity Church” A sign will newly recognize that Trinity is also part of the “Sugar River Episcopal Mission” (Signs at Union and at Epiphany will also recognize their membership in the Sugar River Mission)

Street signs are only one way that people find churches, of course. Our website and email address refer to “Trinity Claremont.” We anticipate that there will be a website and an email address for the mission as a whole, which will link and connect visitors to all three places/expressions.

In all ways, this is about <adding> and not taking away.

Does this save money? It might, in the mid-to-long term. Cost savings are not the driver of this realignment, though by moving from 3 entities to a unified one, there will be less “church bureaucracy.” Nor is it about creating a full-time job for a priest. Forming a regional mission is about collaborating and cooperating in order to worship God and serve our neighbors.

What about our relationships with banks and other service providers? Relationships matter! Understanding who the Mission’s business partners will be is part of the year-long discernment process, knowing that honoring local relationships and practicalities matters.

When and where and how will we worship? Worship happens Saturday evenings in Newport. Trinity and Union are both used to alternating Morning Prayer and Eucharist on Sundays. As a regional mission, each “expression” can draw on a larger pool of lay worship leaders and preachers who are “their own.” Deacon Geof Smith will serve the whole mission, and the priests who are currently serving will continue to do so. Dean Kelly will serve as the “vicar.”

It will be important to discern the particular gifts of each local building and tradition. What is unique in each place? What new worship opportunities might emerge: More weekday worship? Given our musical strengths and diversity, could we offer Evensong somewhere, which is one of the most “hospitable” Anglican services? Does the region need a Spanish-language service?

Who will our lay leaders be? Following convention 2026, when the Sugar River Mission re-joins the diocese as a Mission, the Bishop will a appoint its first Bishop’s Committee. These first Mission leaders will reflect a balance of demographics; they will be knowledgeable about their “home base,” and visionary and creative to re-imagine and collaborative. Ministry teams will lead is focused areas, such as, perhaps, food and hospitality; buildings and grounds; community partnerships; worship and music. Experienced and emerging leaders from Epiphany, Union, and Trinity will be needed to serve at all levels. For the transition year, the GOC will be led by a “leadership team.” Current senior warden Jackie Hall, former senior warden Gale Delaney, and lay preacher/creation care leader Joan Garuti are currently leading for Trinity. Diocesan Finance leader Lauren Tennett will be the Mission’s first treasurer.

How does this compare to previous changes?  Folks connected with the Sugar River Mission have previously experienced changes in their status and their relationships with other congregations. It’s likely that forming the Sugar River Mission may recall echoes of those, but this is truly a new thing. Please speak with Dean Kelly if you have questions about differences and similarities between creating the Sugar River Mission and other moments, including the split between Union and Trinity in 1843, the merger of Union and St Luke’s Charlestown in 2012, the folding in of Prince of Peace Lutheran, other seasons of cooperation between Union and Trinity, the season of cooperation between Epiphany Newport & St. Andrew’s New London, and Epiphany’s time as a GOC. Dean Kelly can also speak to the experiences of other partnered congregations across the diocese.

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