History
The Trinity Episcopal Church is the oldest surviving church building in Murrieta.
The Episcopalian congregation began in 1885 by Dr. Charles E. Lewis when he
would host missionaries in his home. In 1892, Rev. Henry J. Camp moved an old
drugstore from Wildomar to Murrieta to be used as a church.
In 1929, Rev. Robert M. Hogarth of Hemet was in charge of the diocese that
included Hemet to Lake Elsinore and south to the San Diego county line. He decided
that the Murrieta congregation needed a permanent church building.
Rev. M. K. Crawford of Hollywood was hired to be the architect and construction
supervisor. The church was built in a simple vernacular Mission style. The Murrieta
residents worked together to fund and construct the sanctuary building. The first church
service was held on September 15, 1929. The church was consecrated by Rt. Rev. W.
Bertrand Stevens, Bishop of Los Angeles, on November 24, 1929.
By the 1940s, the congregation had disbanded. The church was sold to the
Murrieta Union Church. It remained a church up to the 1980s. Then Calvary Chapel
bought the church and resided here until their congregation outgrew the facility. The
dove over the front door is the church’s logo.
Eventually, the church was abandoned and was empty for a number of years. In
2022, Lilly Kelly Ministries purchased the former church and established a faith based
outreach program for the community.
