The Rev. Gerlyn Henry is looking forward to not only preaching at the next Lift Up Our Hearts service at All Saints, Whitby on May 31 but sharing parts of it with her online community afterwards.
Rev. Henry, incumbent of Holy Wisdom, Toronto, has 53,000 followers on TikTok, the social media platform for creating and sharing short videos. Each week, she posts a brief clip about her life as a priest and matters of faith.
“Engaging with people online about faith has been such a gift,” she says. “I’m hoping the Lift Up Our Hearts service in May will not only be a time of spiritual renewal for our diocese but that elements of it shared online will be powerful and impactful for people around the world.”
She plans to promote the service on her TikTok account leading up to the service but says the real engagement will probably happen afterwards, when people see and hear snippets of it and want to comment and discuss it with her. “I think people will respond really well to it,” she says.
The service, one of five that are being held around the diocese during the Season of Spiritual Renewal, will be in-person and livestreamed. It will begin at 2 p.m. All are invited to attend.
Rev. Henry, who has been the incumbent of Holy Wisdom for three years, says she was surprised to be asked to preach at the service. She had also planned to attend the Lift Up Our Hearts services in March at St. James Cathedral and Trinity, Streetsville.
“I’m a little nervous but I’m also excited,” she says. “I feel I’m still so new to the diocese, so this will be a cool opportunity to not only see my colleagues but also parishioners of the diocese in ways I haven’t had the opportunity to.”
She says going to different churches and attending different worship services is a way of renewing one’s spiritual life. “I think sometimes parishioners and priests feel siloed in their particular churches and traditions. But when we go out and experience different styles of preaching and music and hear the word of God from different interpreters, that can bring a renewal of spirit.”
And it’s an excellent time for the Lift Up Our Hearts services, she adds. “At this time of political and social unrest, we need to focus a little bit on how we’re going to survive and thrive while we care for our neighbours, so these services couldn’t have come at a better time.”
‘Bring the little children unto me’