This summer, I had the privilege of staying at my cottage in Denmark for a couple of weeks. It is located in the dunes on the West coast of Jutland close to the waves of the North Sea. On arriving at the Summerhouse, I can see the local beacon in the distance, telling me the direction to my favourite spot.

The beacon was initially erected to help the sailors on the ocean to navigate on the quiet waves and in the storm. 

Church towers had the same function in the old days in the landscape: navigation and a point to lead the direction of the route.

The newly painted church tower at the Danish Church in Toronto does the same: After half a year’s lockdown of the church, the tower is there to show us the way back to your Danish Church; back to the house of fellowship and cultural events, back to coffee and chats and back to the Sunday services with the message of Jesus, of faith, of love, and that there is hope after the pandemic. We can navigate to the church when our life is like the waves: quiet and beautiful or stormy and harsh.

Half a year with a lockdown has been a great challenge for us all, and it has taught us to relate in other ways than we are used to doing. One of the new ways for me has been to make video-worships on youtube. I believe we will continue to do that some Sundays in the future because it has been a great way to reach out to people living a distance from the church in Toronto. It has been a way to make the Church tower in Toronto a beacon for many more.

Welcome back!

Pastor Simon