Vestry slate announced! Meet your 2023 Vestry candidates

At our upcoming Annual General Meeting on Sunday, January 29th, Trinity will vote in a new class of Vestry members. Please review their bios below and get to know them and join us in church to vote.

Margaret Coons

Margaret grew up in the Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio and moved to New Haven for the first time to attend Yale, where she studied history and was active in the service and singing communities. As a study abroad student in the UK, she joined the Pembroke College Chapel Choir and found a church home in the Anglican tradition.

After several years away, including a year at St. Mark's Episocpal Cathedral in Minneapolis, she returned to New Haven with her partner Stefan Weijola in 2021. Margaret and Stefan sing in the Choir of Adults and Girls and were married at Trinity in July 2022. Margaret teaches History and Civics and coaches Cross Country at Wilbur Cross High School.

Charles O’Connell

Having joined the choir of men and boys at the age of 7 in 1986, Charlie O'Connell has enjoyed a life long affiliation with Trinity Church on the Green.   Currently, Charlie lives in New Haven with his wife Dominique, and three daughters Violet, Ella, and Clara.  The O'Connell family returned to Trinity as regular members in 2017, and enjoy the fellowship, love, music and message of Trinity.  Charlie is the founder and CEO of GlucoseZone (www.glucosezone.com), a New Haven based health and wellness company dedicated to helping people living with diabetes around the globe through fitness.

Charlotte Rea

Formerly Head of School at The Williams School in New London, Charlotte was an English Teacher for many years at the Dalton School and Head of the Upper School at the Brearley School, both in Manhattan.  She served as Academic Dean at Northfield Mt. Hermon School in Massachusetts and Assistant Head at the Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles.  After serving as a search consultant to independent schools, Charlotte retired and lives in Hamden. A life-long Episcopalian, Charlotte has belonged to the wonderful community of Trinity for ten years and has served on the Vestry and as Warden.

Bob Scott  

Before retiring to New England 8 years ago, Bob was an organizational development professional for 30 years with the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.  His role was to develop and implement strategies to achieve institutional goals and to create a workplace environment consistent with the university’s values. His goal was to not only increase employee satisfaction but to create employee engagement. As a result, the University was consistently ranked as one of the Best Places to Work in the Houston metroplex. Because of his expertise and success, he became a sought after national speaker on the subject. 

The Episcopal Church has always been a source of strength and an opportunity to serve for him. Among the many ministries he has leant his time and talent to include lay reader, altar guild, children’s Christian formation, annual giving campaigns and chairing a search committee. His goal, if elected, would be to use his skills to increase parishioner engagement through new opportunities and ministries .

Patricia Thurston

I have been a member of Trinity for more than 20 years. I have enjoyed serving as an usher, on the Altar Guild, on the Vestry, and have participated in other programs. I love this faith community. Over the past two decades I have witnessed our parish opening its doors and heart to an increasingly diverse population. We have adapted our worship practices to meet people's spiritual needs in ways that have brought me closer to God through Christ. I am grateful to have found Trinity. I work as a librarian at Yale, where I manage a team of people who have come to the New Haven area from around the globe. Together, our unit receives and catalogs non-Latin script collection material for the library. I am immersed in a world of many languages and faiths, and have come to appreciate the importance of compassion and courage. I truly believe in the mission of the church to serve God through serving others.