Church #59. Holy Trinity Anglican Church

....And welcome back ladies and gentlemen!

I showed up a bit late.

It was definitely one of the fuller churches I have seen, I had to move around a bit to find a place to sit. Eventually I got settled in and had a moment to look around. There were 80 people in attendance. Most were seniors, but there was still a noticeable population of young couples and even a few teenagers. The population here is largely caucasian, however I did see a few visible minorities. 

There was a roughly 20 person choir. All dressed in white and red robes, facing each other, front and centre in the church. On a side note... if you have never attended Anglican mass, or been inside one of their churches, I do strongly suggest trying it! If anything, just to see the layout of the building as it is truly unique.

It was already children's time when I got there and the church leader was sitting on the steps at the front of the church with a large group of children sitting around him. He was telling the children about the manna. For those of you that may not know, manna was the food that was provided by God, for the Israelites while they traveled in the desert. Manna is described as being "bread of heaven" or "grain of heaven". There is a description of it in Exodus 16:31... “it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey”. It was also said to have a resin-like appearance. He told the children how it appeared, how it was used to make food, and how none would appear on the Sabbath day. The church leader mentioned how many scientists have tried to come up with an answer on how such a thing could appear in the desert, but none have reached a solid theory. He explained that we should simply accept it as a beautiful gift from God. 

Looking further into this, I have discovered that not only is there multiple theories on what the "manna" actually was, everything from mushrooms, to edible insects has been put up as potential theory. But there was one thing I was not expecting.  

Recipes!!! 
Yes! if you look online you will find hundreds of  "manna bread" recipes! Many culinary crafty people of faith, have put long hours into attempting to re-create the holly bread of the Israelite's. Options range from bread, to cookies, all the way to full on deserts!


Fun fact!- the word manna; when translated from Hebrew literately means "what is it?"  

I found the sermon very interesting today. Not so much so the analysis of the day's scripture, but what interested me was a personal note from the Church leader. He spoke of the daily lives of pastors and all of their busy duties. How they are always writing sermons, preforming weddings, baptizing babies, leading funerals etc. And then he referenced a famous essay called "Can pastors be saved?" and in this essay it comes to the humorous conclusion that pastors can not be saved. My may be asking saved from what? As far as my understanding goes, part of the answer to that is pride. He spoke of how much this Church thrives. It currently boasts a large and growing congregation, a prosperous children's church, strong involvement with the arts, their own theatre productions, and they even get media attention on occasion! I personally can tell you that in the last 58 churches I have attended, this is not the norm. I think the speaker was also fully aware of this. He explained that in his life there appears to be a line. On one side of it, is his commitment to the service of the people, and God. On the other side is Pride in the churches achievement. He shamefully admitted that "I have crossed that line many times before." and how he must strive to stay on the right side.

Sometimes, even the pastor needs to check himself at the door. 

On a side note; this church leader also reminded the room that this church will share the table of God with anyone that is baptized to receive the bread and wine. "This church has no further requirements beyond these". And looking at the crowd in this place, that is probably a good thing. I might just be throwing out assumptions, but I am sure there is more then one gay couple, and likely more than a few gender-diverse people in this church.

I was a bit confused on where this Church stands on its acceptance of the gay community. The impression of the air in the room was we don't judge. The churches website didn't seam to offer any clear answers ether. After further research I discovered that there are currently ten dioceses within Canada that will provide a same sex marriage ceremony, and others that with provide a same sex couples blessing.

After that one of the Church leaders came down and there was a blessing for a lady that was celebrating her 91st birthday. It was all quite fun. Following was a quick point mentioned about the church's current project to sponsor a Syrian refugee family. Then the Church got up and offered the sign of peace to everyone in the room, shook everyone's hands, and greeted them.

If there is one thing I have noticed about Anglican churches in general, it is that nothing drags. These places are structured and move like clockwork! These services move from A-to-B-to-C and then DONE!

After the offering was collected, we got to enjoy the vocal talents of a young lady singing a Hymn. The reason this is significant to me, is that I have heard some bad hymn-singing in my life. Like.. really bad. And when it is at a 4-hour Orthodox Sunday service. It can downright painful. Thank you for renewing my faith in this art of hymn-singing!

For those of you that are not familiar with this, please enjoy the video as an example!

As mentioned before, this Church drives heavily into the arts and the population reflects that. I saw many people in the room with funky hairstyles, trendy fashion, and fun-colored eyeglasses. I am sure that almost the majority of population of this church has some type of full-time or part-time investment in some type of art or performance style. It almost feels like going to church with the Fringe .

After that the church received communion. There was an option to ether receive it kneeling or standing. The communion wine was real wine, and it was one of the better ones I have had so far. It was well rounded sweet red, with rich earthy tones. It was honestly really good. I would have gone for a second glass!

The building its self is quite elegant. And it includes the typical ceilings that resemble the hull of a boat flipped upside-down.

And as always...I will never miss an opportunity to photograph St.George the dragon slayer!

Have a good week y'all !!!