St Stephen’s Anglican Church
I like to think of St Stephen’s Anglican Church as a fighter. It has deep roots in the Anglican tradition and has a very interesting history. Originally St. Stephen’s was located in Vaughan. Then, it relocated to Maple in 1895 and plays an important part in the local community. In 2008, a difficult decision was reached to close the church in light of falling attendance and ongoing financial struggle.
St. Stephen’s was re-consecrated by Bishop Peter Fenty on October 30th, 2016. As a result, weekly services resumed as usual. Since then they’ve been overwhelmed by neighborhood support. St. Stephen’s is a Christian community in the making. It’s at the intersection of what was and what will be. All are welcome at St. Stephens. Whether you come with great faith or great doubt. They don’t care about age, race, gender, sexual orientation or marital status. Whatever your financial status or housing situation, they want to learn with you.
Such a symbolic place for a couple to have a church wedding. They relocated, shut down, and came out the other side stronger than ever. Now they stands here still fighting for its belief and faith. This is something I wish all couples strive to live up to. Marriage is hard. That’s a given. There will always be relocations and financial troubles along the way. But is their love and faith strong enough to make it through? This is a question we all have. For those who do follow the Christian faith, hopefully this church can help you answer that question.
Backyard Wedding
When it comes to bad weather, I always believe in preparing for the worst. Luckily Canada’s rainstorms aren’t full-day affairs. So for the most part, I can time myself around crappy weather. This couple was expecting thunderstorms through most of the afternoon. Obviously getting through the formal portraits with the family, bridal party, and the couple within an hour was essential. So instead of going to the originally planned park, we did everything at St Stephen’s Anglican Church. The grounds surrounding the church was quite nice. And, the entire time I’m watching these storm clouds coming in. Luckily we made it into the shelter of their tented backyard wedding before the downpour hit. Let it Go… Let it Go…The RAIN never bothered me anyway.
