About Us
The Episcopal Church
Introduction
My name is Jeffrey Samuel, and I am originally from Pakistan. I have been working as an Anglican/Episcopal priest for the last 16 years, and it has been an amazing journey. My journey as a priest started at the Diocese of Peshawar, which is part of the Church of Pakistan. When I was 19 years old, I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior.
After completing my graduation from Peshawar University with a BA, I went to Zarephath Bible Seminary to obtain a theological degree for three years (Bth). I was ordained as a deacon in 2008 and as a full presbyter in 2009. In 2010, I went to the Seminary of SouthWest in Austin, TX, to obtain a diploma in theological studies (DTS).
I started my journey as an Episcopalian priest in 2018, starting from the Diocese of Mississippi, then the Diocese of West Tennessee and currently serving in the Diocese of Long Island, New York. I am blessed with three children, Henry, Jemimah, and Ivan, and my wife’s name is Rita Samuel. Moreover, I can speak five languages: Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Pashto, and English.
Our Members
Vestry Members
Roy Grey-Stewart
Sr Warden
Ayodeji Fola-Owolabi
Jr Warden
Shahkeel Samuel
Treasurer
Margo Miller
Recording Secretary
Other Vestry Members:
Justin Aldrich
Elwin Barket
Donna Cannon
Our Church
Church Staff
Amanda Burch
Parish Administrator
History
Holy Trinity Church, 130 Jerusalem Avenue, Hicksville, New York. Organized September 1, 1899; incorporated July 27, 1954; admitted May 17, 1955.
The first Episcopal services in Hicksville were conducted in September 1899 by the Rev. Joseph P. Smyth, Jr., at the time a transitional deacon. He held services in the Union Church on Broadway and in the Odd Fellows Hall on Jericho Turnpike, and the community shortly became an Archdeaconry Mission. In his report to the May 1900 convention the Archdeacon of Queens and Nassau, the Venerable Henry B. Bryan, says of the congregation that its “present substantial growth is due, under God, to the presence and spiritual care of given this work by the Rev. Mr. Smyth”. Bryan noted that seven lots had been donated to the mission, and the Archives show that the giver was a Miss Eliza Sevin. The church reported 15 communicants. A church building was erected, and it was dedicated on July 4, 1900. In 1939 the church began a capital campaign to raise $10,000 to place a basement below the first church, and expand and remodel it.
The Rev. Charles W. Taylor began serving the church on June 1, 1941, and on the next day he was ordained deacon. On February 2, 1942 he was ordained to the priesthood in the Cathedral of the Incarnation by Bishop Ernest Milmore Stires. Taylor had been an engineer for eight years before entering the priesthood, and he took charge of the renovation of the church. The cornerstone was laid on Palm Sunday, March 29, 1942 and the work was completed in the following year. Taylor left in 1944 to become rector of Christ Church, Babylon, but the building program continued under his two successors, each of who served for no more than three years. In 1947 the church built a rectory on Old Country Road at a cost of $14,000.
Transitional deacon, the Rev. David Sanford Duncombe, Jr., was named “deacon-in-charge” of Holy Trinity in July 1950; he was ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, December 23, 1950 at the Cathedral of the Incarnation by the Rt. Rev. James P. DeWolfe. The 1954 journal describes Holy Trinity as “woefully over-crowded due to the gigantic influx of population into that area. Extensive enlargement of the church and parish house constitutes a must”. Duncombe led the church into union with the diocese at the May 17, 1955 convention (see p. 77 of that journal), and he was instituted the first rector by Bishop DeWolfe on June 4, 1955. Following the service of institution, ground was broken for a new parish hall, and the cornerstone was laid on August 28, 1955. The Rev. Domenic K. Ciannella led the church from 1959 to 1993. On June 18, 1961 ground was broken for a new church designed by architect Seth Hiller. The cornerstone was laid on Sunday, June 17, 1962. The building was dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Jonathan G. Sherman, then Suffragan Bishop of Long Island, on February 16, 1963. A 1990 history of Holy Trinity in the Archives says that Holy Trinity was the first parish in the diocese to welcome ordained women in the person of the Rev. Anne Lyndall, who was ordained a deacon in June 1979. The church was served by its previous rector, the Rev. Joan Grimm Fraser, from 2004 until her death on May 23, 2016. The Rev. Winfred (Fred) Vergara was the priest-in-charge 2018 to 2023. The current priest-in-charge from January 2023 to present is the Rev. Jeffrey Samuel.
The Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church, of which Holy Trinity Church is a part, is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The mission of the church, as stated in the Book of Common Prayer’s catechism, is “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.”
The 2012 General Convention established the Anglican Communion Five Marks of Mission as a mission priority framework for the 2013-2015 triennium: To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom; to teach, baptize and nurture new believers; to respond to human need by loving service; to seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation; and to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. To find out more, please visit episcopalchurch.org.
The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island
Holy Trinity in Hicksville is a member of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. There are 132 member churches in the diocese, which stretches from Brooklyn and Queens all the way out to the east end of Long Island. The grand gothic cathedral in Garden City, the Cathedral of the Incarnation, is the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Long Island. For more information about the diocese, please visit dioceseli.org.