What an amazing May 25 and 26 weekend for St. Peter’s first Doors Open Toronto! A cloudy and rainy Saturday morning saw the trickle of early morning visitors. With the afternoon sunshine, came a steady stream of those wishing to visit the church. Sunday was particularly busy with groups of visitors, and some slipping in just as the event was closing. There were past members, neighbours, passersby, those who had carefully planned their visit, and some looking for a congregation to join or rental space. The MPP for Don Valley West, Stephanie Bowman dropped in to view the church to express her support.
The weekend event was a resounding success, within both meanings of the word. Not only was it unmistakably memorable and a first such event for our church, the sanctuary also reverberated with the musical sounds of the Toronto Estonian Men’s Choir, the musical sounds of the piano and organ played by Erik Kreem and Chung Lee, and the practice of a female choral group.
Artist Ernestine Tahedl, the designer and creator of our beautiful stained-glass windows, honoured us with her visit. She delighted our guests with personal stories and answers to questions about the design, creation, and installation of the windows. She talked about how she acquired the coloured glass from England and France, and that it is no longer available. She told visitors about the cherry picker that was used to install the tall window behind the church organ that represents the glorification of the cross and healing. The opaque sides emphasize the shape of the cross, but were the result of not enough funds at the time to add more coloured glass. The window is dedicated to Inge and Andres Tork (Chairman at the time), who both died tragically before the window’s completion. Visitors also learned that it was Ernestine who designed the wooden doors that lead from the sanctuary to the office.
The Toronto Estonian Men’s Choir sounded incredible under the direction of conductor Avo Kittask, who began each musical segment with wonderful introductory stories, and remarked about the fabulous acoustics in the sanctuary.
Erik Kreem - "our cream of the crop" delighted us with his piano playing and then an absolutely phenomenal organ recital, drawing a large crowd into the church and up onto the balcony.
Guido Laikve inspired us with his devotion to answering architectural questions.
The theme of this year’s Doors Open weekend was Hidden Histories, and so we went about gathering materials about the different memorials that are distributed throughout the church: The Finnish Boys’ memorial, the Donation Tree, the plaque to the Estonian fleet that joined the British Merchant Marines, The Window dedicated to Inge and Andres Tork, and of course the Columbarium and people interred therein. Mary and Wayne Donaldson, Linda and Guido Laikve, and Ingrid Sepp researched materials and set up an interesting exhibit in the Guild room. Visitors could examine church artefacts, photographs, architectural drawings, historical timelines, various bibles (the oldest from around 1870 – rich with beautiful illustrations) and other memorabilia.
Thank you to the Salvation Army who invited visitors to view and participate in their Sunday Service. Our toes began a-tapping as their congregation celebrated Africa Day with Caribbean music and their brass band.
A huge thank you to the volunteers who came out to hang signs, create brochures, take photographs, greet visitors, answer questions, and provide tours of the building:
Toomas Arget; Kevin Chorowiec; Mary Donaldson; Wayne Donaldson; Väino Einola; Maie Ilves; Katarina Jaenes; Tiiu Jalakas; Tiina Jenkins; Alice Jupe; Markus Jukkum; Erika Jõgi; Tiiu Keefer; Anne Liis Keelmann; Väino Keelmann; Marika Kull; Guido Laikve; Linda Laikve; Ilo Maimets; Roul Martjak; Tiiu Roiser; Allan Seim; Ingrid Sepp; David Sooaru; and Toomas Trei.
We thank Aida Shelton and her capable team of helpers Viivi Kivi, Maie Lees, Tiiu Keefer, and Eneke Mirka who provided refreshments for our volunteers.
We were very pleased at the great turnout and interest from the community and are grateful for everyone’s efforts and enthusiasm! Same time next year!
