In front of the Minott Litany Desk is the Laidlaw Memorial Cross. The cross was given to Trinity at Christmas 1889 by the Hon. James Laidlaw (1847-1913) in memory of his wife Louise Carpenter Laidlaw who died in August 1886. James Laidlaw emigrated from Scotland, was a vestryman at Trinity, and served for many years as the British Consul in Portland. The cross was used for decades as the altar cross in the second church and current church but was replaced as the altar cross in 1983 during renovation of the chancel and nave.
The cross was stolen from the altar on December 23, 1978, but was returned three weeks later in exchange for a $250 reward. The cross also survived the 1894 flood and 1902 fire at the second Trinity church at 6th and Oak.
