About TSP

Worship of God, nurture of one another, and the struggle to be faithful to God’s purposes lie at the centre of our community and our outreach. We affirm that all who seek to live faithfully regardless of ability, age, class, ethnicity, gender, race or sexual orientation are full participants and are urged to take full responsibility in the life, membership and leadership of the church.

As an Affirming congregation and a member of the Affirm United movement in the United Church of Canada we affirm the full participation of lesbian/gay/ bi-sexual/ transgendered/queer people in our life together.

We believe that all persons are equal before God; that the miracle of God’s creation is manifested through our many differences; and that racism is a sin and violates God’s desire for humanity.

As a Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts (CFJA) we are committed to:

• Developing new partnerships with arts, justice and community groups.
• Deepening our understanding of how faith, justice-making and artistic endeavours can interact and enliven one another and be a source of great creativity and hope.
• Creating a place of hospitality and community.

The vision for the Centre for Faith Justice and the Arts is guided by the TSP Board through the CFJA Steering Committee whose purpose it is to facilitate the vibrancy of the CFJA vision by:

• Communicating the CFJA vision.
• Initiating activities.
• Developing new relationships in arts and justice networks.
• Coordinating the implementation of the CFJA vision with others at TSP. 

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True Amazing Facts!!

(Things you might not have known about TSP)

• Did you know that the tower is 115 feet high? During WWII and for years afterwards Claribelle Smillie climbed the tower every Sunday to play the chimes, which rang out to the streets below.
• The organ in the sanctuary was built by the renowned Casavant Freres of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec and was installed in 1941. It has 2900 pipes arranged in 45 ranks, with 50 stops. When it was dedicated in 1941, the inaugural concert was performed by Sir Ernest MacMillan (principal of the Royal Conservatory of Music and conductor of the Toronto Symphony).
• Rev. George Fallis of Trinity United wrote of his experiences as a decorated WWI army chaplain in his autobiography A Padre's Pilgrimage (published posthumously in 1953)
• When Trinity Methodist opened its doors in 1889, it was following a year of extraordinary church building in Toronto. Twenty other churches had been built, with a total expenditure of about $500,000 - supporting Toronto's reputation as the "City of Churches".
• In the 1930s, a fine Sunday School orchestra, under the baton of Norman Esch, performed every Sunday at 3:00 p.m, in the gym.
• Lester B. Pearson, prime minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner, sang in the choir during his student days.
• According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a Narthex is a railed off western portico or ante-nave in early Christian churches for women, penitents and catechumens (a convert under instruction before baptism).
• Seventy-eight feet of the roof above the sanctuary is not directly supported - believe it or not!
• After James Endicott was widely condemned for observing that the Chinese people were better off after the Chinese Revolution of 1949, he found a church home at Trinity United, where he was invited by Rev. Crossley Hunter.
• Did you know that Canadian soprano Lois Marshall was once a soprano soloist in the TSP choir?
• Many young couples met in Pop Hay's Bible Class during WWII, later married, including Fred Staples and Norma Giles, Fred Fallis and Lois Bouck; Joan Smillie and George Penstone.
• At one time Trinity United had the largest Protestant congregation in North America.

By Jill McKechnie with thanks to Lois Fallis, David Fallis, Brett Clifton