Like other residents in the Swansea neighbourhood, Kate Manson always looked forward to the spiritual messages posted on the lawn of Windermere United Church.

“Listen to the stories of a veteran. Remember the cost. Commit to peace,” noted one on Remembrance Day. “They came for the Muslims and we said, ‘not on our watch’” read another after the 2017 attack on a Quebec City mosque. And there were more general ones, like, “Offer encouragement rather than criticism.”

“Their messages spoke to me,” said Manson, a non-churchgoer who has lived in the south-west Toronto neighbourhood for 15 years. “Who really reads church signs when you don’t go to church? But this sign made you pause and think about things. The messages were so relatable and we really appreciated them.”

When the church’s rented signboard suddenly vanished last summer after a dispute erupted between the church administration and the signage company owner over what messaging was appropriate, Manson and her neighbours took notice.

The community has now come together to raise $20,000 to bring a 1.5-by-2 metre sign back to the church — this time, permanently — to replace a temporary sign borrowed from a neighbourhood dance school.

In a complaint filed with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Rev. Alexa Gilmour, minister of the church near Bloor and Jane Sts., alleged Archer Mobile Signs refused to post a message encouraging people to “wish your Muslim neighbours a Ramadan Mubarak (Happy Ramadan),” and another that promoted the celebration of diversity during Pride Week.

Although there had been disagreements in the past between Gilmour and Archer owner Steven Thompson over some of the messaging, according to Gilmour, she flagged the two instances in the human rights complaint because, she said, Thompson clearly defined his reasons for objecting to her choice of words and it ultimately led to Archer removing the signboard and ending its service. The human rights complaint is still waiting on a hearing date.

Thompson has not responded to the Star’s repeated requests for comment.

Manson said news of the sign’s disappearance was shared on social media last fall. A few of the neighbours who saw the posting reached out to the church and asked what they could do to bring the sign back.

“We live in a divisive world and the church’s message is always inclusive and represents all kinds of people. The neighbourhood felt strongly about the sign,” said Manson, a social worker, who, having lost her mother, was particularly touched by a message one May day that said, “Hold someone who grieves on Mother’s Day.”

“The church has done a lot of great things and cares for underprivileged groups. It’s up to the church to put up the message. The sign owner can’t control what it says.”

Gilmour said the small church community — with some 100 congregants — has been overwhelmed by the support and pleasantly surprise by the response to the spiritual messages. Since a Star story about the church sign was shared, she has received emails and messages from coast to coast, including from a man in California who dropped by during a visit to Toronto to praise “the human rights stance we took,” said Gilmour.

In an email to the church, one area resident described how the messages “lifted” her up in tough times.

“The signs for me let a little light in that would make me smile or make me feel a sense of belonging to a shared consciousness which expressed kindness, encouragement and inclusion. Hope in the dark. Constant support and reassurance and a reminder of the light and courage that reside within each of us whatever the external circumstances,” wrote Marina Dempster, who is not a churchgoer but began photographing the sign and sharing the images with the community on Instagram.

“I was absolutely gutted and shocked … when I saw that the sign had become invisible — leaving but a patch of discoloured grass.”

Maggie Knaus, an American-born photographer who moved to the neighbourhood three years ago, said while she respects Thompson’s choice and values, his disagreement with the church speaks exactly to the need to spread positive messages of “love, tolerance and inclusion.”

“It was sad to see the sign taken away when we are at a time when we need love most,” said Knaus, who has been helping in the hunt for a new permanent sign and applying for city approval.

“This is definitely a local effort. I’m not surprised by Canadians’ response to this issue with the church sign,” added Knaus, who is also not a churchgoer. “Canadians have big hearts and like to show off their country being welcoming and inclusive. You see that at the national level with the Syrians and you see that at the local level and everywhere.”

So far, the campaign has raised $2,800 through a community dinner and an online crowdfunding site. They are aiming for $20,000 in order to pay for not only the illuminated permanent sign, but also the excavation, wiring and labour required to install it.

Originally published in the Toronto Star online