History

Beginning in the late 1950s and through the 1960s, time was taken up with the building of the church on a site generously donated by local benefactors – the Caines family. Services started in the gymnasium of Pleasant Avenue Public School, still our neighbour across the road, and progressed into portable buildings on the church site. September 1960 saw the turning of the first sod for the current building. The official dedication service took place in 1961, the Rt. Rev. Wilkinson, Lord Bishop of Toronto, officiating. The pioneering energy of a new congregation led out of an early Patronal Festival to what has become a recognizable brand of St. Theodore’s – The Monks’ Cell.

In 1989 plans were drawn up for the renovation of the narthex area, adding an elevator, a large washroom and moving the main entrance to the west end of the church. The beautiful stained glass frontage you see today was added at that time too. The resulting modifications made St. Theodore’s entirely accessible and we proudly display the wheelchair logo on all our information material.

St. Theodore’s has always been blessed with fine musicians. In 1992 a fund was established to replace the old electric organ with an instrument more worthy of the music played and sung here. The three-manual, digitally mastered Johannes you hear today was purchased and placed in the choir loft in 1997.

Our neighbourhood has always been in transition, and many waves of immigration have passed through. Each wave has brought us challenges and blessings. The years of the new millennium have brought us a sense of purpose in our outreach to newcomers. We have learned lessons from our history that uniquely equip us for this. Our multicultural community is strong.