Unity in the Community is Holy Trinity’s annual flagship community event. Held on the third Saturday in August, it brings together residents, vendors, non-profit organizations, and government agencies and connects residents with Baltimore City and Maryland State resources.
The first Unity in the Community event in 2018 was a culmination of several months of planning by Rev. Ramelle McCall, Maryland Episcopal Diocese Urban Missioner and Church of the Holy Trinity Rector, and Mrs. Marietta English, then President of the Baltimore (City) Teachers Union. The main purpose was to have a Back-to-School community event where children would receive free backpacks filled with grade-appropriate supplies and enjoy some fun activities.
Support for the nascent event was enthusiastic.
The Friends of Enoch Pratt Free Library Outreach Committee gave each child the choice of a free book to take home.
The Holy Trinity Churchmen offered free neckties to the boys and youth and gave lessons on how to wear and tie a necktie. The Holy Trinity Churchwomen were busy supervising games, face painting and distributing backpacks. The Holy Trinity Sunday School had fun activities at its table. Two local barbers gave free haircuts. A local nail salon owner was on hand giving free manicures. The James Mosher Baseball League, the nation’s oldest continuously operating African-American youth baseball league with its playing fields located two blocks from the church, had representatives to tell the history of the league and hand out information.
The Enoch Pratt Free Library/Maryland State Library and Resource Center was definitely present on the lawn. Representatives from the Central and the Pennsylvania Avenue Branch Libraries issued temporary library cards and had Pratt activity schedules and other Pratt giveaways at their tables. For adults, the Pratt Mobile Job Center representatives shared information on how to research and apply for job postings using the resources and computers at Central and the neighborhood branch locations.
The Baltimore City League of Women Voters representative encouraged registered community members to vote and assisted any interested eligible unregistered person with the voter registration process.
Coppin State University representatives talked about some of the university’s open-community events in addition to making available information on Coppin’s academic programs and admissions process.
There were food and snow cone trucks and other independent vendors present. Officers from the Baltimore City Western District Police station stopped by to enjoy the activities.
Everybody’s favorite, The Baltimore City Fire Department Engine Company 36, stayed, until it was dispatched, to give children of all ages the opportunity to explore the fire engine and sound the siren. Engine Company 36 has returned every year.
Later, in the early evening, a Movie-on-the Lawn event was held on the church lawn. Unfortunately, it had rained lightly for a short period earlier in the day; so, the evening event became a battle of humans versus mosquitoes. The mosquitoes won.
No evening movies were planned in subsequent years.
Unity in the Community has been held every year since 2018, except during the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2021). In 2025, it was combined with the Cynthia Lynn Corbin Health Fair in order to offer additional free health screening, information and services to the August community event.