Epiphany Anglican Church at 1290 Ogilvie Road is a truly twenty-first century church. The community celebrates its 25th anniversary this fall and the warm, welcoming building incorporates the colours of nature all around it, thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows of its round sanctuary. I visited their 9:30 am liturgy on October 5th, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. In the Anglican tradition, this includes the blessing of animals. The liturgy opened with a West African hymn entitled “Wa Wa Wa Emimimo,” translated as “Come, O Holy Spirit.” The choir director took a few minutes before the start of the service to practice the song with both the choir and with the gathering congregation, most of which isn’t of African descent. The Communion Hymn “Blest Be the Tie That Binds,” was more familiar territory for most.
In her homily, Reverend Simone Hurkmans reflected on the Parable of the Mustard Seed. She highlighted that being faithful is not the same as being perfect. The quality of our faith is often far more important than the quantity of it. At the heart of that genuine, profound faith is the capacity to seek and find internal peace, even as external conditions remain unchanged. Rev. Hurkmans observed that in this parable, Jesus is being loving, but also tough. Our mustard seed sized faith is enough to go into the world and participate in building the Kingdom of God. We shouldn’t be defeatists, thinking that we must wait for our faith to grow before we put that faith into action. We can do it now — we don’t need to wait!
During the blessing of animals, the church projected photos of pets, living and deceased, submitted by parishioners. The names of these pets were called out. During the blessing, Rev. Hurkmans prayed:
Open our eyes to the wonder of creation, that we may see you in all your works; Make us wise and faithful stewards of creation, caring for the earth, the waters, the air, and all that live therein. Look with compassion on those that are abused and mistreated, show us their dignity in your creation. Remember those creatures that have died yet remain dear to us that they may rejoice in your new creation.
God’s animals inhabit the skies, the land, and the sea; we share the earth with them, and like them rely on God’s blessing to sustain and preserve us. We gather today in communion and friendship with Francis of Assisi who preached to animals and moved throughout the known world sharing God’s unconditional love for all beings.
Following the Eucharist, the liturgy ended with a rousing hymn “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah,” sung enthusiastically by the congregation that exceeded 80 this Sunday. The lyrics — “Open now the crystal fountain whence the healing stream doth flow, Let the fire and cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through” — rang through the church.
Epiphany Anglican Church is built in a way to make it exceptionally conducive to receptions and community gatherings. After the liturgy, we gathered for coffee, tea and homemade baked goods and the faithful spent much time visiting with each other in this bright, welcoming space.
Constructed in the year 2000, Epiphany is the result of the merger of two east-end Anglican parishes: St. Christopher’s Church, located in the Cardinal Heights neighbourhood, and St. Paul’s Church in Overbrook. The church community is active in food drives to support the Gloucester Emergency Food Cupboard and they are known to put on lively Christmas bazaars each December. Epiphany is also intentional about building community, offering a program called Creative Connections on Tuesday mornings where participants are encouraged to play card games, chess and engage in craft projects. Sunday liturgies are held at 8:00 am and 9:30 am, with the robust Epiphany Church choir participating in the latter service.