The exhibition, called “Flickering of the Flame: The Book and the Reformation,” will run from Oct. 4 to Christmas. Admission is free. The library is located at 120 St. George St., Toronto.

As its name suggests, the exhibition will show how print played a key role in the emergence and development of the Reformation. In addition to some of the more famous books, such as a first edition Book of Common Prayer from 1549, there will be lesser known items such as pamphlets and caricatures created by Martin Luther, the German monk who officially launched the Reformation in 1517. Another seldom seen artifact on display will be an indulgence, a printed piece of paper sold by the Roman Catholic Church in medieval times to absolve sins.

The exhibition will have several sections on the reformation of the church in England. There will be an original copy of Henry VIII’s “primer,” which begins to establish what form of liturgy the Church of England will use. There will be a 1559 Book of Common Prayer, used during the reign of Elizabeth I and her successors for nearly 100 years. Another part of this section will show how Roman Catholics responded to the changes taking place in the English church.

Propaganda was used extensively during the Reformation. The exhibition will show a first edition of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, one of the most important books for developing the idea of England as a Protestant country. The library has every edition of the book since 1561 – and the Catholic responses to it, urging the English not to abandon their Catholic heritage.

“The exhibition is very much about that struggle that goes on to win over hearts and minds through the official documents, like bibles and prayer books, but also through propaganda,” says Pearce Carefoote, curator of the exhibition and interim head of the Department of Rare Books and Collections at the library. “A lot of the propaganda is illustrated because that was the best way to get people’s attention, especially in a time when literacy was not quite up to snuff.”

The exhibition looks at the Reformation in Scotland and in Europe. There is also a section of how the Reformation unfolded in North America with the arrival of the Puritans and Catholic orders such as the Jesuits.

There will be about 100 items on display, giving visitors an in-depth look at the momentous changes in the church – changes that are still felt today. “These documents remind us of where we come from,” says Dr. Carefoote. “It’s very important to do that – to realize the struggle that was there to reform the church.”

For more information, visit the library’s website, www.fisher.library.utoronto.ca.

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The history of slavery and segregation in the past, in addition to societal suspicions and poor treatment by the police in the present, continue to be reminders that there is still much room for healing. While the Anglican Church in the past has often been complicit in the negative treatment of black people, Black History Sunday is a time to recognize the deep importance of the spirituality and commitment to Christ that so many black people have to offer.

At St. Paul L’Amoreaux, a large proportion of the congregation is of West Indian or African heritage. Celebrating Black History Sunday is a joyous occasion of music, with a full steel pan band, a contemporary music group, a junior and senior choir, and an “angel” choir of very young children. All participated in the celebration on Feb. 19, and the preacher was the Rev. Vernal Savage, OHC, of St. Peter, Scarborough. In his homily, he touched on systemic racism that often pervades the community and the wider church, even in multicultural Toronto. He urged the Anglican Church to accept its role in systemic racism and to begin the process of repentance that will lead to reconciliation. In so doing, the Anglican Church can find reconciliation between all the races.

“Black History Sunday is an important part of St. Paul’s,” says the Rev. Canon Dean Mercer, incumbent. “It is now one of the four or five largest services of the year.” He notes that the West Indian community comprises the largest community in the parish.

Singer Delicia Raveenthrarajan performed an original solo piece. “One Word” was commissioned by the “Me to We” program and she was sent to perform it at the opening of a new high school in Kenya this past December. It contained the powerful lyrics, “There are obstacles that seem impossible/But with strength in numbers we are unstoppable/Who’s to judge what we can and cannot do.”

After the celebration of the Eucharist, a moving and dramatic reading of quotes from the letters and speeches of Nelson Mandela, arranged by Ian Stuart, was read, reminding everyone of the struggle that he went through for decades during apartheid rule in South Africa. There were quotes such as, “Reconciliation is central to that vision that moved millions of men and women to risk all, including their lives.” The readings showed how his Christian values informed his deep desire to see reconciliation between the black and white people of that country. It was a reminder that the fight for equality can be done in non-violent ways that respect the humanity of people on each side of the conflict.

“The world has come to St. Paul’s,” says Canon Mercer. “In Christ, we are all stronger and richer as a result.”

Robert Knetsch is a member of St. Paul L’Amoreaux, Toronto.

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While the original print copies of the BAS do not contain this commitment, the online version of the BAS, which is available for free download from the Anglican Church of Canada, does contain the wording added in 2013. The pages relating to Holy Baptism can be printed as a leaflet for use during baptismal services.

At Easter, we remember that we are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. We recall how we have died to the sinful patterns of the world and are raised to new life in Christ – a life that expends itself for others, that restores the goodness God intended for all of God’s creation, and that repairs the relationships between humans and God, each other, and the earth, that have been damaged by sin. How fitting, then, that in remembering our baptism we are reminded to take our part in caring for God’s creation, which has suffered so much from humanity’s sins of greed and waste. And how fitting, as well, that during Eastertide we celebrate Earth Sunday, this year on April 23.

Each year, the diocese’s Creation Matters Committee produces resources for Earth Sunday, including notes on the lectionary readings aimed at those preparing sermons, as well as a bulletin insert with a reflection and action ideas. You can find these resources by going to the diocese’s website, www.toronto.anglican.ca, and searching under “Environmental Resources.” This year, we invite you to explore how you and your parish can carry out our baptismal vow to care for creation in a fresh way.

Perhaps you can follow the example of St. Cuthbert, Leaside, which recently hosted an environment fair to showcase eco-friendly vendors in the community and to give an opportunity for local elected representatives to discuss environmental initiatives at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. You might look into options for environmentally and economically sustainable investing. Perhaps you can organize a team from your parish to clean up garbage in your neighbourhood, or join efforts to maintain wildlife habitat in a local park or shoreline. Perhaps you can study the impacts of climate change on Inuit communities in the Arctic or villagers in east Africa or island nations in Polynesia. Our treatment of the earth and its resources is inevitably linked with our treatment of our neighbours at home and worldwide.

Through baptism, we are reborn into a living hope – hope in Christ whose resurrection gives life to the entire world. Let us go forth into the world as bearers of that Easter hope.

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My transition began two-and-a-half years ago, shortly after I moved to Toronto to pursue a masters’ degree. I met a number of trans people. At school, I was encouraged to develop a professional image and network. In practical terms, this meant wearing skirts and being much more sociable. I also went back to church after about 15 years away. This brought me closer to God and better able to listen to Him. A few months after starting school, I became depressed. I found myself jealous of the trans people I knew and constantly ill at ease in social situations. I felt like I was pretending to be someone else and doing a really bad job of it. I also felt like no one saw the real me. It became increasingly hard to get dressed in the feminine clothes I was wearing to look “professional.” One day it hit me that I needed to acknowledge my masculinity and my mood improved immensely for a couple of days. Almost immediately, I started wearing men’s clothes and got my hair cut short. This happened just before Holy Week. The Holy Week services gave me a lot of opportunity to pray. By Easter, it was clear to me that God was calling me to be a good man in the world. In the following months, I changed my name and pronouns, asking people to refer to me as he or him instead of she or her. In early 2016, I legally changed my name and gender. I have also started the process of medically transitioning. Being able to live an authentic life has made me much more confident.

When I was growing up, my family was active in the church. When I left home for university, I drifted away from the church. During this time, I was sometimes interested in spirituality and read widely on it. A few years ago, I found myself more and more drawn back to Christianity. As a result, I started attending St. Stephen-in-the-Fields. At U of T, I participated in the Ecumenical Chaplaincy’s Queerying Religion program and joined the Student Christian Movement. In these spaces, I became familiar with a queer- and trans-affirming Christianity that prioritized social justice as a Christian vocation. At St. Stephen’s, I learned about a Christianity that acknowledges that the world and humanity are deeply troubled and urges us to find God in that brokenness and to love ourselves and others from a place of vulnerability. Having a regular religious practice allowed me to hear and listen to God again and be open to what He was saying to me. Since my experience of being trans is an important part of my faith journey, I wanted to mark my legal name and gender change in the church. Mtr. Maggie Helwig suggested a re-affirmation of my baptismal vows, including a blessing of my new name and gender. This gave me a chance to publicly express my new understanding of my relationship with God and to commit to living it out.

I’ve started co-facilitating workshops with the Rev. Margaret Rodrigues. The workshops are designed to introduce people to trans issues and experiences. We also provide some suggestions for ways that parishes can be more trans-friendly. Other than the workshops, I try to be open about being trans and raise awareness about trans issues and experiences in a more informal way.

The first step (that the church or parishes can take to be more accepting of trans people) is to learn about trans issues, preferably from trans people. If you don’t know any trans people, look for books, websites and movies created by trans people. Once a parish feels it can be openly welcoming and supportive of trans people, there are a number of concrete things that can be done. Churches should have at least one gender-neutral washroom. Single-user washrooms are already gender-neutral, so those just require new signs. If your church doesn’t already have single-user washrooms, you may want to consider designating a multi-user washroom as gender-neutral or making a gender-neutral washroom part of a renovation project. Include prayers for both the difficulties and joys that trans people experience because we are trans. Try to reduce your use of gendered terms. For example, say “children” instead of “boys and girls” or “friends in Christ” instead of “brothers and sisters in Christ.” If you have a statement in your leaflet welcoming different groups to the church, include trans people in that statement.

What I find most welcoming is being treated as a whole person rather than having my gender identity be the only part of me that people see. Regardless of how welcoming the parish is as a whole, people in certain roles within the parish (priests, youth leaders, parish nurses, etc.) should become familiar with trans issues and be able to refer trans people and their families to appropriate services.

Trans folks are a diverse group of people who bring a variety of gifts to the church. Speaking personally, my experience being trans and transitioning has led me to experience exclusion and fear in ways that I never had before. I hope I can use these experiences to work towards inclusion and to still some of the fears that divide us from each other.

Five years from now, I would like to continue to be educating people about trans issues and doing more activism in support of trans people, particularly the most vulnerable, since we experience higher rates of homelessness, unemployment and depression than the general population.

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The contrarian in me sees a slightly different picture in our diocese: rural congregations investing in expanded ministry in Fenelon Falls and Minden; a wealth of volunteer talent being honoured through the annual Order of the Diocese of Toronto; generous giving in some of the most challenged economic environments; and most excitingly, 25 per cent of our parishes are actually growing in their financial stewardship and in the numbers attending Sunday worship.

The growth cuts across a variety of categories – rural and urban communities, wealthy and not-so-wealthy neighbourhoods, and conservative and liberal congregations. We have a church in Markham where the average annual gift on the collection plate is nearly $4,000. That’s right, from each giver. We have a church along the lakeshore, in west-end Toronto, where the neighbourhood is beset by a host of challenges, yet each giver donates close to five per cent of their income to that church. A small church in mid-town Toronto boasts that 100 per cent of its givers use Pre-Authorized Remittance to support parish ministry. A rural congregation in Nottawasaga has grown its average gift to more than $2,000 per giver and has experienced five successive years of offertory increases. Growth is happening. Seeds planted in good soil are bearing fruit.

There is a common denominator that separates the growing churches from those that are just getting by: discipleship. In his book, Your Church Can Thrive, Canon Harold Percy identifies the central motif of our God-given mission: “that we are seeking to help people connect with God and become followers of Jesus.” That’s it; Christ must be the centre of our actions and engagement in church.

We cannot afford a church that is merely comfortable, where showing up on Sunday is a sufficient reflection of our Christian lives. The experience of healthy and growing churches suggests that something much deeper is required. Canon Percy nails it: “As disciples of Jesus, we are called to the lifelong adventure of learning to follow him closely and faithfully.” That our healthy churches experience an increase in giving is merely a by-product of living Christianity well.

Canon Percy identifies 10 powerful transitions that parishes must make to fully disciple their congregations. Some of the transitions are obvious: teach the Gospel, make reading scripture a daily practice, pray, forgive, attend worship on a weekly basis, and bear witness to one’s faith in daily living. Among the transitions is one related to financial stewardship. But he approaches the question of giving not in terms of giving to a need, but rather “how much do I need to give in order to be set free from the lies I have learned from outside our secular culture about the importance of money?”

If we are to grow in our relationship as disciples of Christ, we need to become extravagant givers.  The story of the widow’s mite has a powerful lesson for us. The woman in her poverty gave all she had – two small coins – to the ministry of the church. She trusted God so much that she was able to lavishly give away what she had. Could we do the same? In our abundance, can we give extravagantly?

Amid the examples of generosity I noted above is an interesting observation. Even with giving at these levels, it pales when compared to our brothers and sisters in the evangelical church. Their giving levels are much closer to the standard set in the Old Testament to give 10 per cent of one’s income. If you ever wonder why those churches have the myriad of programs, ministries, small groups and Bible studies that they do, it is because they have the financial resources necessary to make investments that expand ministry.

Here are some sobering facts: the average gift per donor (including gifts on the offering plate or through Pre-Authorized Remittance) in 2015 in our parishes was $1,290 per year, or about $25 per week. This translates to roughly 1.4 per cent of gross family income of our parishioners. (This information is based on Statistics Canada data for households in the Diocese of Toronto). That’s it – 1.4 per cent. Overall, $32,190,000 was given to support the operations of our parishes in 2015. So consider this: what if we all tithed? If we did, the annual giving across our diocese would have been $228,297,872 that year. That is nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.

What could we do with a quarter of a billion dollars? What would our churches look like? Would we have unlimited ministry opportunities? Would we be lamenting the noise level caused by raucous kids during church services? Would our clergy be more concerned about doing ministry than worrying about balancing a budget?

We have the capacity to be extravagantly generous stewards. We can see how other churches have grown because their members believe passionately in a Gospel that liberates people from consumerism and the insatiable monotony of wanting more. We can see that when people truly believe in Jesus, believe in his Word, live it and make prayer a part of their daily lives, their disposition changes. We can be that church. We can choose to believe in a theology of abundance where our giving models that of the poor widow.

Here’s a challenge to Anglicans everywhere: Start with one per cent. If you are not in a pattern of regular giving, start today by giving one per cent of your gross family income to your parish and another one per cent to charity. Make it real, reliable and realistic by doing it through PAR. If you are a regular giver, up your annual gift by one per cent. If your gross family income is the diocesan average –  $92,000 from all sources – give an extra $920 this year. Give from your net income if you think that is more practical. Even if your family income is lower, or you are on your own, you are encouraged to give one per cent more. Can you do it? Aspire to shift your giving to the standard set in Deuteronomy.

If we all gave one per cent more tomorrow, much would change. Everyday worries would become a thing of the past and most of our parishes would have more than they could ever ask for or imagine.  With one per cent more, our church would experience our own version of Freedom 55 and so much would be different, so much would be possible. For most parishes, this would essentially lead to a doubling of their budgets. All this is possible by leaning on God and embracing discipleship. Let us become extravagant givers – not to meet a budget but because it reflects our own faithfulness.

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As a parish priest, I value the richness of our Anglican tradition. One of the ways that rich tradition is expressed is through the rhythm of our liturgical year. A few weeks ago we celebrated two extremes, back to back. Like many parishes, we gathered on Tuesday for pancakes, sausages, sweet maple syrup and ice cream. The following day when I got to church, I went to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. The faint smell of pancakes and sausages lingered in the air as we prepared to begin our journey through Lent.

That night, I led our congregation through the Ash Wednesday liturgy. During the Litany of Penitence, we confessed that we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We asked God’s forgiveness “for all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbours, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us.” On the altar lay a shell-shaped bowl filled with the ashes of last year’s palm branches; I would use it to place a small cross-shaped smudge on the foreheads of those who knelt at the communion rail. The irony of joining a symbol of our baptism (the shell) and a symbol of our mortality (ash) was not lost on me.

Later on in the liturgy, the words of the Eucharistic Prayer reminded the attentive listener that our faith is anchored in the God of Abraham, Sarah and Moses. As I drove home after church, I considered all the troubling things I had heard in the news lately. Within the last few weeks, several Jewish homes had been vandalized, not far from where I grew up. The previous night, a mosque had been damaged by fire – a fire being investigated as arson. I thought about how our three faiths shared many of the same stories. It almost seemed as though no one was exempt from these kinds of attacks. I wondered how I would react if my place of worship, or my home, was vandalized because of my faith. How do we as people of faith react when we hear such things?

I am reminded of an old joke that asks the listener if they know how to eat an elephant. Like many jokes, the answer is simple – one bite at a time, just like anything else. As individuals, there are many “big issues” that can seem overwhelming until we break them down into bite-sized morsels. Often, people respond with fear to that which is unknown or different. The solution to these feelings may seem overwhelmingly simple: counteract fear by becoming familiar with that which, at first, seems different; turn the person who is “other” into a person who is “friend.”

Last summer, I enjoyed several long walks with our new dog. During one of those walks, I met a wonderful Muslim family who had just moved into the neighbourhood. The family had two young girls, one of whom is the same age as my daughter. As the girls played with my dog, I was invited to join their picnic. Since then, we’ve exchanged pleasantries; a friendship is slowly developing. As we’ve begun to know each other, my new friends have taught me a few things. Those who were once strangers have become friends.

As we journey together through Lent, I encourage you to build new relationships that will enrich your life experience and knowledge of the world. We can counter acts of hate and violence by building communities of compassion and trust. Together, we can choose to be passive spectators as fear and ignorance impact our neighbours – or can we courageously step out in faith and, in the words our Baptismal Covenant, “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbours as yourself”?

The Rev. Greg Fiennes-Clinton is the diocese’s interfaith dialogue officer.

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Beginning in 2001, I served in the Diocese of London for five years as the associate vicar at a church re-boot in the heart of the city. During this time, my area bishop was John Sentamu, now Archbishop of York, and my diocesan bishop was Richard Chartres, who has recently retired. Leading the Diocese of London, at least as varied as our own, Bishop Chartres was famous for saying that the only division that actually mattered in the Church was whether a church was dead or alive. The key to growth, in his opinion, was not whether a local church was high or low (or pick any other category you can think of), but whether or not it was alive in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit. Dead or alive. He encouraged his clergy to pay close attention to nurturing the piety of those who were in their congregations – teaching them how to pray and to read the scriptures. Bishop Chartres recognized that there is no other way to renew the local church but to equip people to encounter Jesus themselves.

Bishop Chartres’ insistence that the only division that matters is whether a church is dead or alive made an impression on me, and I was reminded of it recently when I visited one of the churches in York-Credit Valley that, while small and facing many challenges, is certainly alive and growing. As we live in a context that is post denominational (and, in many senses, post Christian), hardly any of the millions of people who live within our diocesan boundaries wake up on a Sunday morning and think, “I should check out my local Anglican church today.” However, many people would be willing, at the invitation of a friend, to explore a Christian community that is alive and not dead. With this in mind, I recently urged all the clergy in York-Credit Valley to investigate how they could host some form of Christian basics course (there are so many to choose from) after Easter or in the fall. This would not only nourish those already in the congregation, but would also serve as a non-judgmental space for those in the neighborhood who are interested to explore the claims of Jesus, maybe for the first time.

I believe our diocese needs a wide diversity of local churches with varying styles of worship to reach out to our eclectic and growing city and to our changing suburban and rural areas. Confident in God’s unfailing love for us, we should be ready to cast a constructively critical eye over the ways we have strived to share the Gospel in previous generations and in our current life together, and to ask a number of important questions. Where are we true to the mind of Christ today in our local churches? Where have we forgotten our first love, and where do we now worship our preferences? We must be guided by the tradition of those who have gone before us, but not controlled by traditionalism. The fact that other denominations are effectively planting churches across our province reminds us that the Gospel has not lost its power to transform people’s lives, and this can give us great hope as Anglicans. The Gospel does not change, and yet we must continue to seek fresh and vital ways to proclaim the news that Jesus lived, was crucified and yet was raised in great power by God the Father. We follow a God of the living and not of the dead (Mark 12:27).

Secure in the knowledge of God’s love and mercy displayed for us on the cross, Lent gives us the opportunity to be honest about our finitude and sin. When looking at the renewal of the local church – which every generation of Jesus-followers must earnestly and urgently labour for – we must similarly be led by God’s vision for us and not by our problems and failings. Because of the character of our God, I believe many of our churches can be renewed in their love for God and in their love for neighbour. At the same time, we do not need to fear the death of some of our existing structures, since the death and birth of churches has been going on since St. Paul first went on his missionary journeys. Death to life. Thanks be to God, as we all stumble together toward the joy and hope of Easter.

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We have all experienced fear, and I suspect we have all experienced the fight-flight-freeze syndrome. In the Gospels, we see that pattern many times. The disciples run away when Jesus is betrayed. One of them picks up a sword and cuts off the ear of a servant before running. Earlier, unable to face the prospect of what is about to take place, they fall asleep – another way to run and hide. Peter, protecting himself, denies he knows Jesus, and the rooster crows “Betrayer! Betrayer!” The soldiers guarding Jesus’ tomb are paralyzed with fear when the great rock is rolled away. Why wouldn’t they! They had participated in killing him and now feared his retribution. Even after hearing that he has been raised, the disciples hide behind locked doors “for fear.” Thomas goes even further away.

Later, the new Christians were terrified of their persecutor, Saul. His sudden conversion frightened them, especially Ananias, who was sent by the Spirit to heal Saul. The young Christian community did not trust Saul, who had to be brought in, introduced and vouched for by Barnabas.

In all these situations, there is a word of the Lord: “Fear not!” That command (or is it an invitation?) is not only spoken but put into flesh – there is a presence and a promise: “I am with you.” Jesus is with us for healing, not judgement, for comfort and challenge, not punishment. On the cross, Jesus does not curse and condemn the soldiers and the high priests – he prays. He offers forgiveness to the people watching (and themselves cursing) at the foot of the cross. He looks with compassion on his mother and the blessed disciple, and forms a new community.

Raised from the dead, Jesus comforts Mary Magdalene in the garden, forgives and re-commissions Peter, strengthens and empowers the frightened disciples, gives the information Thomas needs to overcome his doubt, calls to his service Saul, soon to be renamed Paul, the old enemy of the faith. Later he calls Peter to baptize and welcome the centurion Cornelius, who surely was at the crucifixion.

What do we make of this “Fear not”? The opening chapters of the first book of the Bible, Genesis, tell the story of the betrayal of God’s commandment by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We call it The Fall of Creation, the first sin of humanity, following our own path rather than God’s. The story tells us that after they ate the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve hid themselves from God, who was searching for them, because they were afraid. Indeed, there were consequences for their actions, but God did not stop loving and caring for them. In Eucharistic Prayer 1 in the BAS, we pray to God saying, “When we fell away from you in sin, you did not cease to care for us, but opened a path of salvation for all people.”

In Eucharistic Prayer 4, we say to God, “We turn against you, and betray your trust; and we turn against one another. Again and again you call us to return. Through the prophets and sages you reveal your righteous law. In the fullness of time you sent your Son, born of a woman, to be our Saviour…By his death he has opened to us the way of freedom and peace.”

Freedom and peace!

Joy Kogawa, the renowned Japanese-Canadian author who is a churchwarden in one of our parishes, writes in her most recent book, Gently to Nagasaki, “For me, the big difference between Peter’s betrayal and the betrayal of Judas Iscariot is the early-rising rooster, its feet rooted in the night, its voice in the morning crying good news. Take heart betrayer! You can make amends. You can be forgiven.”

Our fears turn us away from God and from one another – in fight, in flight, in paralysis. We can express it in anger or addiction or indifference or acting out. We may think we are unworthy or that God does not care or that we are abandoned or that we are too small to make a difference. Jesus, the whole of him – his birth, life, death and resurrection – is God’s invitation to fear not, and is his continuing promise to be with us always so we can learn to fear not as we grow in love following him and serving one another in forgiveness and love.

Christ has been raised from the tomb. We are offered new life in him. Alleluia.

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Parishioners George and Kathy Axcell, who have been tending the sign for many years, put up the message in late February at the suggestion of the Rev. Glenn Empey, the priest-in-charge. It read “Tweet others as you wish to be tweeted,” a play on Jesus’ teaching to do onto others as you would have them do unto you. The message was accompanied by the church’s Twitter hashtag and, on the back, the address of its new website.

Local singer-songwriter Carling Stephen liked the sign so much that she took a photo of it and shared it on Twitter, the micro-blogging platform. A digital media company that specializes in social news and entertainment about Peterborough, PTBO Canada, posted the photo on its website and Facebook page.

Within a day, the picture had been retweeted, or shared by others on Twitter, nearly 900 times and “liked” about 2,000 times. Thousands in Canada and the United States viewed it on Twitter and Facebook, and many commented.

As the posting took off, Ms. Stephen sent a Twitter message to the church: “Bravo to you! Thousands of people have been amused and tickled by your work.” Mr. Empey replied with a word of thanks and a posted a video of one of her songs on the church’s website, www.stlukesanglican.ca.

He says he was surprised by the reaction to the sign, located on the church’s property beside Armour Road. “St. Luke’s has had the sign there since it moved to the site in the early 1960s and there have been messages on it for many years, but I don’t think anything has had the impact that this one has.”

He says the message wasn’t trying to make a comment on President Donald Trump’s use of Twitter. “It had nothing to do with that. The idea was to have a catchy slogan that has a theological connection and it connects with people on social media.”

He saw the message online a few years ago and used it on a sign outside St. Matthew and St. Aidan, Buckhorn, where he is also the parish priest. He suggested it to George and Kathy Axcell to attract people to St. Luke’s new website and social media channels.

The strategy worked. In addition to being recognized by Twitter and Facebook users, the church has seen an uptick in the number of visitors to its website, particularly in the 45-50 age group. “I was really surprised by that,” says Mr. Empey. “We don’t have a lot of people in that age group at St. Luke’s, and it’s interesting that they followed it on social media and then went to the website.”

He says St. Luke’s is still working out a strategy for using digital and social media, something he thinks every parish should be doing. “People don’t go to the newspaper anymore to find out where Sunday services are – they go on Google. That’s their window on the world. If I was looking for a church, that’s what I’d do.”

He says a good website is critical to any strategy. “If I went to a website and it didn’t look good, that would tell me a lot about the church. But if it’s a good, topical, inviting website, then I’m liable to spend a bit of time there. A good website might bring in some people to get involved – whether it’s for a project or coming to church.”

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Thanks to a generous grant, the Mission to Seafarers Southern Ontario is installing its first station in the Port of Oshawa. Ms. Alltree, executive director of the mission, hopes to have the building up and running when the shipping season begins in late March.

Ms. Alltree, a priest of the diocese, says the station will make an enormous difference in the lives of the seafarers. The Port of Oshawa is one of the fastest growing shipping terminals on Lake Ontario, with about 150 freighters from all over the world docking from late March to December.

In previous years, seafarers coming off the ships would ask where the nearest “Seaman’s Club” was – their nickname for Mission to Seafarers stations around the world – and were disappointed to learn it was 65 km away in Toronto. “They’d look at me like I’d lost my mind,” says Ms. Alltree.

With the help of volunteers, Ms. Alltree would arrange to drive the men to the nearest mall in Oshawa, about a 10-minute drive away. If a ride wasn’t available, they’d have an expensive taxi ride ahead of them.

These on-shore visits are crucial, she says, because the men are desperate to talk to their families after weeks at sea. “The first thing they want is WiFi. They’ve been on a journey across the Atlantic or up the coast and they want to get in touch with their families. They need to hear their wives’ or their girlfriends’ or their mothers’ voices.” The station will be the only place in the port where the seafarers are provided with free WiFi.

The mission tried to provide free mobile WiFi in the port but it was too expensive. As the number of seafarers arriving in Oshawa increased over the years – more than 3,000 arrived last year – it became clear that a more permanent solution was needed.

The situation took a turn for the better last year when the mission received a £10,000 grant from Seafarers UK, an organization that supports missions to seafarers in Commonwealth countries. The mission used the money to buy a used Miller construction trailer, which it transported from Burlington to the Port of Oshawa.

Ms. Alltree admits that the trailer needs to be fixed up. It needs new doors, floors, walls and windows. It also needs to be hooked up to hydro. But she’s thrilled that at long last there will be a station for the seafarers.

“This way, they can walk from the foot of the gangway to the station in five minutes and we’ll have the coffee on and a WiFi code for them. They can sit down in an easy chair and put their feet up. We might even be able to get a big-screen TV. They’ll have place to get away from the ship, especially the noise.”

Ms. Alltree is looking for local volunteers to help out. The job includes staffing the station and going on the ships to welcome the crews. Ideally, volunteers would be able to commit to two to six hours a week. Training will be provided. “Going on board the ship is a huge thrill,” she says. “I never get tired of it.”

The Mission to Seafarers Southern Ontario has two other stations, in the ports of Toronto and Hamilton. It is part of the Canadian branch of the worldwide Missions to Seafarers, founded in 1856 as an Anglican outreach ministry.

Ms. Alltree says the support from parishes and individuals over the years has been remarkable.  “We’re incredibly grateful for the amount of support that we continue to receive from so many churches in the Diocese of Toronto. Every dime of their support is vital to us. From small churches to big churches – it is astonishing who still remembers us.”

For more information about the station in the Port of Oshawa or the work of the Mission to Seafarers Southern Ontario, contact Ms. Alltree at glutenfreepriest@me.com.

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