Joy In Faith: A Homily For Welcome Back Sunday

 A Homily for Welcome Back Sunday.  Preached at All Saints, Collingwood, Anglican Diocese of Toronto, 20 September, 2026, the Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost (A).

Readings for Today:  Ex 16:2-15; Ps 105:1-6, 37-45; Phil 1:21-30; Mt 20:1-16

We call this welcome back to church Sunday, and so if you are new here, or if you haven’t been here in a long while, welcome back!  It’s good to see you.   And of course for you, the faithful regulars, we welcome you and are happy to see you every Sunday.

So when we say welcome back, what are we welcoming you to?

To be sure, we’re welcoming you back to a place with a specific address, a building and its grounds on Elgin Street.

If you’ve been away for a while, you’ll notice that we’ve made some changes to the building.  Our tireless Building Manager, Robert, has been busy.  The half of our parking lot that used to be a lake when snow melted and when it rains has been levelled and gravel applied, so it’s drier.  And there’s more spaces to park in.

Robert is also installing new railings on ramp from the parking lot, which is now more attractive and safer!  We have a project ongoing to bring sound and video into the parish hall, which will be useful for rental purposes and for overflow from big church services.  

So we’re welcoming you to a physical space, and we are also welcoming you back to ministry, because this place exists to serve the community as part of our Christian witness  In a few minutes  Barry and the choir will speak musically to that ministry.  The offerings on our altar today speak to our food ministry, as we obey Christ’s command to feed and clothe those in need.  And of course our ministry serves the community in times of sorrow, as with the funeral we held here on Friday, and in times of joy, as with the wedding here yesterday.

And, as with our building, you will noticer some new things about our ministry.  We welcome Rev Amy Pauley to an expanded role as a full time Associate Priest serving the four churches of our region.   Amy brings prayerfulness and a deep faith, as well as humour and vitality, to our clergy team.  Taking her on full time is a significant financial commitment, shared by All Saints  and by our friends at Prince of Peace, and helped by a generous five year diocesan grant.  Another change is that our beloved Rev Sharon and her husband Bryce are now honourary members of our clergy team.  And of course all of our paid staff help make our ministries possible.

So we’re welcoming you back to a building and to the ministries that the building and its staff enable, but most importantly, I would say, we are welcoming you back to a community that is centred around Jesus.   We have our differences of course - age, wealth, education, place of birth, etc - but they shouldn’t be important.  Today’s gospel reminds us that, like the workers in the vineyard, we are equal in the sight of God, all loved equally, and asked in return only that we do our best to love God and love our neighbour.

In our second reading today, we heard Paul speaking to a Christian church and praising their “progress and joy in faith” (Phil 1.25).  I see this joy in faith when we gather, on Sundays, especially when we share the peace.   All Saints has a particular, joyful identity.   We enjoy one another’s company, our worship is reverential but also uplifting, and we are hopeful because the risen, loving Jesus is in our midst.   Each of our four regional churches has its own identity, but I think what characterizes All Saints is a sense of joyfulness.

Over the next few months, our Stewardship Group will lead us through a campaign that we call Joyful Giving.  Giving can be time and talent as a volunteer, but it is also treasure, giving back from the resources we are given    All of the things I’ve mentioned - our building and grounds, our clergy and staff, our ministries and services - come with a cost and need to be paid for.   Yes, we have the cemetery land, but it isn’t sold yet. When we do sell it, the proceeds will help us with our needs, but our needs won’t go way.

So today, my friends, I’m inviting you to think what coming back to church means to you.   What do you find here at All Saints that gives you joy?   What is it about your faith that makes you grateful?    What would make you glad that you’ve helped All Saints and its ministry continue well into the future?