Holy Trinity Church, Thornhill Established in 1830
140 Brooke Street, Thornhill, ON L4J 1Y9 Phone: 905 889 5931 ● Fax: 905 889 5632 www.holytrinity-thornhill.ca ● info@holytrinity-thornhill.ca
Trinity Monthly MAY 2020 “Something good is happening here!!”
No April Edition In responding to the swiftly moving developments brought about by the Coronavirus, we were unable to produce the April Edition of Trinity Monthly. We were able to communicate through Canon Stephen’s weekly email “Physical Distance - Social and Spiritual Connections”. The six editions published so far may be found at the end of this edition Trinity Monthly.
190th Anniversary Our first significant event for this year’s celebration, the first of four episcopal visits, was to be a visit by one of our past Incumbents and now Primate, Archbishop Linda Nicholls. This will still happen. Though we will not be back in the church building on May 3rd, the day of the scheduled visit, she will still be coming to us as we meet in our ZoomChapel on that day at 10am. The rest of our plans will, no doubt, be informed by the way the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds in the next few months.
The ZoomChapel A variety of platforms have been employed across the church We have not been able to gather as a worshipping community in our building since we last met on Sunday, March 8. One way we, like many churches across the world, have sought to remain connected to that body at this time is by means of “virtual worship”. For almost three years, we have been meeting for morning devotions and for some meetings by way of the ZOOM conferencing platform. On one occasion our Advisory Board met with now retired Archbishop Colin Johnson. Some platforms allow for “priest-only” or “priest-and-a-few” online services, with others as mere spectators. ZOOM, our platform of choice, provides for a more interactive experience, allowing others to see each other and engage more fully. Unlike other platforms, members can call in on the telephone and participate. Since March 15, we have been using this facility for Sunday worship, Bible Study, and other devotional moments.
Members and friends from near and far, within the boundaries of Canada or beyond are joining us, though physically distant so that they can be spiritually connected. (Above is a screen shot of one of the 3 screens on Palm Sunday). Two members joined the morning (viDEoVOTIONS). There has been significant growth in number of participants in the Tuesday Bible Study. After the first two weeks, we have come near to or exceeded our capacity of 100 connections. We are thankful for the amazing support being given by Rebecca Jones who has worked to improve the quality of experience. She has also been supporting John Carrington as he continues to facilitate the Tuesday Bible Study during this time.
Members’ comments about the ZOOM experience I'm happy with Zoom. I particularly enjoy Bro. Reg's homilies which I think are excellent in both content and production quality. (Eric Preston) “Bob and I are feeling so blessed to have this opportunity to share with OUR FRIENDS and FAMILY in Christ at Holy Trinity. These are difficult times and our Sunday morning service is a big part of our healing, reassurance and calming in our life. (Gail Priestman) “I want to thank Canon Stephen and particularly Rebecca for their dedicated and heroic efforts to keep us together as a virtual community. (Robin Pacific)