Everyone is welcome at St. George on Yonge where God opens to you the unexpected!
No experience necessary! Questions most welcome!
We invite you to come as you are and be warm, welcoming and curious by adding to our diversity!
First time at St. George on Yonge
… what to expect at a service
If you are walking, there are two entrances to our facilities: the main doors are off of Yonge St; and there are doors on the lower level off Churchill Ave.
If you are driving, you can park in the parking garage, which you access by the driveway off of Churchill Ave. Once you have parked, you can take either the stairs or the elevator to level 1, where our worship space is located.
For the 8:00 am service, copies of the service leaflet can be picked up at the entrance to the chapel. Please take a seat wherever you are most comfortable. We sing a hymn at the beginning and proceed using the traditional service from the Book of Alternative Services. An offering is taken and presented. You are encouraged to make a contribution as you are able. At the time of communion, we form a semi-circle in front of the altar, and the sacrament is distributed by the priest and a lay person. To receive the bread, please hold your hands out; and for the wine, please assist the administrator in guiding the chalice to your lips. If you don’t wish to drink from the common cup, please place your hands upon the base of the chalice as it is offered to you. Communion in one kind, either the bread or the wine, is complete. You may respond to receiving your communion by saying “Amen.” Note: the 8:00 service is currently cancelled due to COVID.
For the 10:00 am service, ushers will be at the entrance to our worship space to greet you and welcome you to St. George on Yonge. They will give you a printed copy of the service leaflet if you wish. All the words to the service are projected on a screen.
Sit where you would like
Please feel free to sit wherever you feel most comfortable. Before the service is a time for quiet prayer and reflection as we prepare to begin our worship.
The service is projected through a television screen at the front of the church. This includes the hymns and the various prayers. You are welcome to follow along in a printed bulletin if that is easier for you.
We have listening devices for those who find it hard to hear. Please ask one of the ushers and they can provide you with one.
We generally stand when we are singing hymns and either stand or sit when we are praying. During the readings of scripture, we sit for the first two readings and stand for the reading of the Gospel. However, please stand or sit throughout the service as is easiest and most comfortable for you.
Sermons
Sometimes the sermon is interactive, with the opportunity for members of the congregation to engage in questions. People participate as much as they are comfortable. Please also feel free to participate by listening.
Sections of the Service
The sharing of the Peace is part of the liturgy that acknowledges that God gives us a gift of peace that is beyond anything we can create for ourselves, or that anyone else can offer to us. We share it with each other in the liturgy as a reminder that we are at peace with God and each other, and in anticipation of being at peace with those we encounter in our daily lives, too. As you are comfortable, you are invited to exchange a greeting of peace with your neighbor usually by shaking hands with the greeting “The Peace of Christ.” NOTE: Due to COVID the shaking of hands is discouraged, just a nod and a smile is a good way to greet someone and say “The Peace of Christ”.
There is an offertory during a hymn in the middle of the service. As you are able, we invite you to make a contribution to support the ministry at St. George on Yonge and the church abroad in our Diocese, throughout the Anglican Church of Canada and around the world. Please know that if you are not in a position to make an offering, we don’t expect it of you. We are happy that you are worshipping with us.
At the time of communion, there are usually two standing stations in front of the altar, one for the bread and the other for the wine. You are welcome to receive communion if you so desire. Please come forward at the invitation of the ushers first to receive the bread by holding out your hands to the one administering; then move to the person administering the wine. Please know that if you do not wish to drink from the common cup, you may place your hand upon the base of the chalice as it is offered to you. Communion in one kind (either the bread or the wine) is considered to be complete.
Hand sanitizer is provided please use it before receiving communion.
Following the closing hymn and dismissal, the worship is finished. We hope that you will join us for a time of coffee, tea and fellowship together following the service.