Cathedral to host special worship service

Building on the momentum of the diocesan Season of Spiritual Renewal, a global call to prayer is preparing to take root in Toronto this spring.

On the afternoon of May 17, St. James Cathedral will host a beacon event for Thy Kingdom Come, the global ecumenical movement that calls Christians to a special season of prayer from Ascension to Pentecost – this year, May 14-24. Started by the Church of England in 2016, the movement now reaches around the globe as Christians join in prayer that more people would come to know Jesus.

The theme for 2026 is “God with us,” exploring God’s presence in the joys and sorrows of life. Over 11 days, the campaign will explore bible stories that demonstrate God’s transformative power and love at work in the lives of people and places. Participants are called to pray for five people in their lives, that they will experience the life-changing love of God and choose to follow Him.

“It’s encouraging Christians to think about how the good news would fit into the questions or challenges that people in their lives are having, and to see if they can find solace and purpose in the good news of Jesus,” says the Rev. Matthew Waterman, assistant curate at St. James Cathedral, who’s helping to plan the beacon event.

A representative from the Anglican Communion approached the cathedral’s leadership team in the fall, looking for cathedrals around the Communion to lead events for their regions. The beacon events are meant to be focal points for prayer and worship, and to serve as a visible reminder that local communities are part of a worldwide network of prayer.

“The hope is to draw more attention to Thy Kingdom Come so that more individual parishes will be inspired to participate in their own contexts,” says Mr. Waterman.

Plans for the event at St. James Cathedral are well underway. Archbishop Shane Parker, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, will attend, and Mr. Waterman has reached out to congregations to invite participants and worship leaders who reflect the diversity of the diocese. The liturgy will include many different languages, including Tamil, Twi, Spanish, Tagalog and Cantonese, in readings, prayers and liturgical expressions.

“We’re aiming to think about not just how the gospel is heard in the Church, but how the gospel is heard by those around us. We’re focusing on some of the major immigrant ethnic groups in Toronto, for them to bring testimonies about responding to the gospel from their contexts and their experience sharing it with others within their cultural groups,” says Mr. Waterman.

In addition to inviting people to join the worship service in-person, the cathedral team will livestream the service to share the Toronto experience of Thy Kingdom Come both locally and with Christians around the world.

“We will encourage people to have watch parties, maybe in their parishes or with their friends, to join in the experience,” says Mr. Waterman. “Even around the world, anyone at any place can tune in and see what we’re doing here in Toronto.”

The beacon event comes at a fitting moment for the Diocese of Toronto, which recently concluded its Season of Spiritual Renewal. The emphasis on prayer, listening and discernment from the past two years echoes many of the themes at the heart of Thy Kingdom Come, encouraging individuals and parishes to root themselves in prayer for their neighbours and the wider world and inviting them to build on practices they began during the Season of Spiritual Renewal.

“I hope they feel more inspired or more equipped to share the good news, and maybe more aware of where there’s a need for that good news,” says Mr. Waterman. “They may think more about who’s around them in their neighbourhood, that perhaps they could share the good news and have their parish represent the diversity that’s around them in whatever form.”

As plans develop, Mr. Waterman and the cathedral team are looking forward to sharing more details about the service.

“Stay tuned! We’ll have more exciting, specific details that we can share as it gets closer,” he says.

In the meantime, Thy Kingdom Come’s website provides free resources for individuals, families and churches, from prayer journals to a kids’ cartoon series. To learn more, visit www.thykingdomcome.global.