St. George's Anglican Church Owen Sound Verified listing

GROWING TOGETHER in LOVE, SPIRIT and SERVICE
 St. George's is the union of two long-established Owen Sound Anglican parishes: St. Thomas (1889-2017) and St. George's (1849-2017).  Although the new parish opted to keep the name ‘St. George's’, we are now an invigorated and stronger parish.  215 families are actively engaged in the life of the Parish although, as with many churches, our parish list is bigger.
Our guiding principles are those outlined by Robert Schnase in his book, Cultivating Fruitfulness. These are the five practices of fruitful congregations: Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service and Extravagant Generosity.  We try to approach our spiritual life with the knowledge that we have been given much and, from our abundance, we are called to give in all ways.
 
Our Buildings
Located on one of the busiest 'gateway' corners in Owen Sound, the church buildings are beautiful examples of the times in which they were built: the church is constructed of stone ashlar in the Gothic style and the Parish Hall, a hybrid of Gothic and Craftsman with plain Victorian details.  The layout of the church is traditional Anglican with the altar at the east end of the Sanctuary.  The local paper The Owen Sound Sun Times published this in 1920:
 As we go into the House of the Lord to sit quietly in meditation, the beauty of the interior, with its oak-beamed ceiling, softly tinted walls, and mellow light shining through the stained-glass windows, brings to mind those, who by their faith and works, erected this house of worship to the Glory of God. (Owen Sound Times, 1920)
 There are as many as 18 significant stained-glass windows (several of them soaring over 30 feet in height) in the church – as expensive to restore as they are stunningly beautiful. Originally framed in wood, over the last 100 plus years, snow and ice have gradually begun to seep in around the windows and have jeopardized the integrity of the walls. Each of the large windows in the sanctuary and the north and south transepts must be repaired in place. It is a painstaking process and an ongoing responsibility – we recognize we are not owners but stewards of these priceless examples of the art of stained-glass.  Our work progresses slowly due to the cost but it does progress.
The congregation uses the Hall regularly, for example, coffee hour each Sunday after the 10:30 service and rousing games of Pepper each Friday afternoon well-attended by seniors primarily. The Hall functions as something of a community centre – dance groups (by all reports the hemlock floors are perfect for any type of dancing), choirs, VON clients and others meet weekly.
Worship
Sunday morning, the community gathers for worship. At 8:00 o’clock service is Communion from the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and at 10:30, Holy Eucharist from the Book of Alternative Services (BAS).
We aim to greet all who come with a Spirit of Welcome and Hospitality.
A diverse team – choir, soloist, musicians, and both clergy and lay leaders- leads and facilitates worship in which we celebrate God’s love in word, music and stillness
 Our Ministries
We are an active Parish both within and beyond our doors.  Our groups/ committees are made up almost exclusively of volunteers with some Clergy support and leadership.  A parish leadership team, comprising 2 ‘Churchwardens’ and a ‘Parish Council’, provides overall leadership.  Church Committees and Teams are ultimately accountable to Council and beyond that to the entire congregation through an ‘Annual Vestry’ meeting. We strive for transparency and clear lines of communication.
Various programmes are offered for the church and for the wider community by our many groups, committees and teams:
 Accessibility Project 

Brotherhood of Anglican Churchmen (BAC)
Catering/ Hospitality
Chancel Guild                 
Coffee Hour
Communications
Eucharistic Ministers
Faith Development       
Family Ministry              
Finance                              
Gardening                         
Grants & Loans                
Health & Safety 
Lay Readers
Martha Quilters
Meals on Wheels
Music/ Choir         
OSHaRE
Neighbourhood Outreach - Friends of Mudtown
Pastoral Care
Prayer Chain        
Property                
Readers/Greeters/ Prayers/ Communion Scheduling
PWRDF (Primates World Relief Development Fund)
Refugee Initiative
Salvation Army Foodbank
Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW)
Stewardship
Talking About Faith
Telephone
Twilight Group
Worship

Our Place in the Community
We are forward-looking and strive never to forget our past.  As the community gathers (in-person or online) for worship, we acknowledge our indebtedness to and relationship with the original inhabitants of this land: “Here on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe people, we pray to be guided by the Great Spirit and to honour the Creator in lives of Love, Wisdom, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility and Truth.” Our desire is for this acknowledgement to be not just lip service but to be embodied in action.
We are involved, supported by the Diocese of Huron, in the Gitche Namewikwedong Reconciliation Garden project here in the city.  Our support is financial and spiritual and also grounded in relationship and presence.
Recently, some of us gathered in a circle in the public square in front of City Hall to read out loud the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  Participants ranged in age from 95 to 10 years, and came from both congregation and community. Each participant read one of the articles.
Each day at 5 o’clock, our carillon rings out to remind us and our wider community of Murdered and Missing Aboriginal Women as well as the lives of children lost to the residential school system.
Our relationship with our Indigenous neighbours is important to us and we look forward to further opportunities to meet.
Speaking of neighbours, several parishioners and several of our immediate neighbours have joined together to create a group called Friends of Mudtown (‘Mudtown’ is an early sobriquet for the area around St. George’s).  The Mudtown group hosts monthly dinners where all are welcome at no charge.  The group plans, shops and prepares the meal together in our Parish Hall kitchen. 
Adjoining the church property is the St. George’s Park (public property) in which the Canadian Association for Mental Health have established community gardens.  Some of the Mudtown membership tend a couple of plots from which the harvested produce is used in the preparation of the dinners, the surplus being distributed in the neighbourhood.  Dinner attendance averages about 100 people.  During these precarious times, the group have organized take-away dinners and a ‘kitchen cupboard’ located by the main entrance of the church which is regularly replenished with non-perishable food available to all – no questions asked.
For almost 30 years, in February, St. George’s holds the Mariners’ Service and Blessing of the Great Lake Fleet. It is an ecumenical service conducted by the mariners themselves – prayers, psalms, hymns and a sea shanty by members of the International Shipmasters’ Association A Cappella Consort.
For many years, we have held a community gathering each Spring and Fall called Habits of the Heart.  Each event was comprised of a series of 4-6 Tuesday evenings.  Attendance was about a 50-50 split between community and parishioners.  Topics have been as diverse as ‘Honouring People’s Stories: Being at Peace with people of all faiths & cultures’, ‘Our relationship with ourselves, our bodies, our lives, health, illness and aging’, ‘Self-interest and the Public Good’, ‘The Place of Religion in the Public Square’, ‘Understanding We’re all in this together’, ’Appreciation of the value of “otherness”, ‘Metissage: from Newash to Mudtown – a 2 part presentation of poetry, music and discussion around the historical experience of the Indigenous peoples in Owen Sound. The preceding topics are a few among many other areas of broad interest within the overarching theme “Finding Courage to Live Lives Worthy of the Human Spirit”.
 
Our Response to Covid
With Covid, we adapted ways we do things, with temporary arrangements for the times when gathering for worship was restricted.  We discovered that we are able to adapt well to the times in which we live.
Traditional though our architecture may be, with the onset of Covid, we adapted and installed audio/visual equipment that allows us to livestream services on both YouTube and Facebook each Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m.  During the pandemic, services were pared down yet still stirring and reassuring and will continue to livestream into the future.  Online worship is very well-received and an unexpected boon to those who are unable to attend services even in the best of times. 
Music is an integral part of our worship and even though, during Covid, we had to make do without our tremendous choir, our talented music director proved adaptable too, providing both piano and organ accompaniment as the clergy sang the hymns.
 
Our Invitation to You
We invite you to come to service on Sundays. During Covid, it has been at 10:20 on YouTube or Facebook. When Covid is done, we’ll be back to 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. in-person with livestreaming continuing of the 10:30.Read more