A video of an energetic rave at a downtown church in Toronto has gone viral with some commenting that partying in a religious space could be seen as offensive, but the church’s pastor sees no problem with it. (Courtesy: Heritage Toronto; @thatisangela/TikTok)
A viral video showing a high-energy rave at a downtown Toronto church has sparked heated debate, with critics questioning the appropriateness of partying in a religious space, while the pastor is defending the event.
A video shared on TikTok last weekend shows a huge gathering at the Holy Trinity Church along with the caption, “Raving in a church beside the Eaton Centre ” and it got a lot of attention online.
@thatisangela Unreal @Lee Ann Roberts set🔥🔥 #technomusic #torontolife #ravetok #torontoravecommunity ♬ original sound – Angela Tran ✿
The techno party was organized by event groups The Industry, Apollo, and NowNow, and featured DJs Lee Ann Roberts and Sopik. The event was quickly sold out online prior to it on Saturday.
Among the many comments of enthusiasm on the TikTok post, some users suggested that it could be somehow offensive to the church community to hold events like this in a sacred space.
“How come this would never occur in a mosque even if the church allows rental of the space doesn’t make this right but wtvr Catholics and Christian’s don’t matter anymore ig,” a TikTok user said.
“Cross necklaces and raving in a church is actually very disrespectful and this is so ridiculous on the church’s part also why’d they let this happen,” another user added.
But Holy Trinity’s Community Pastor/Priest Pam Trondson says there is no problem with hosting non-religious events at the church.
In an interview with Now Toronto, Trondson says the church rents out its space for several events with a wide range of themes and attendees. Some of the events it hosts include choir presentations, business conferences, and events for not-for-profit organizations, including FLAP Canada, which focuses on bird collision issues, and Maggie’s Toronto Sex Workers Action Project, an initiative that advocates for sex workers in the city.
“We’re really about trying to offer amazing space and amazing experiences of wholeness to a wider community,” she said. “We’re looking to be diverse in what we offer.”
The church offers some of its spaces for long-term and one-time rentals in a way to raise revenue to maintain its operations, staff salaries and infrastructure, and actively looks for diversity in terms of what events they host.
“We have beautiful buildings—and they’re heritage buildings—and so we have to be very careful about caring for them, and it’s very costly,” Trondson said.
“We also have a very, very large outreach program. And so we need to make money that will carry what we do in terms of outreach for the most vulnerable of our area,” she added.
According to the pastor/priest, the criteria for renting a church space at Holy Trinity requires that the event not explicitly go against their mission statement.
“We are a community who express faith through lives of integrity, justice and compassion. We celebrate the arts, foster lay leadership, include the doubter and marginalized, and challenge oppression wherever it may be found,” she said.
She revealed that the historical building has some structural issues, including a column in their cafe space that is cracking and will cost around $75,000 alone to be fixed.
According to her, renting out the space is an essential way the church found to raise more revenue, as it has applied to several different grants by the City of Toronto to address structural issues, but has still not heard back.
IS IT DISRESPECTFUL?
Trondson disagrees with those saying that having events like the rave in the church space is disrespectful to the Christian community, suggesting that people should expand their views on religion.
“Enjoyment is not something that God dislikes. I think God actually has the border on joy. And often there are people that are very judgmental or are narrow [minded]”
“It’s about community and caring for each other as community,” she said. “I don’t think church and just keeping the church kind of pristine is the only way of bringing value to people,” she added.
Trondson emphasized that the church is open to everyone, not only those who identify with Christian religious ideologies.
“I feel that the church is a wonderful place because there are people that say that the church is home, and yet these people would not say that they’re religious. So, they have found a belonging and a matter, that they matter, that, in fact, maybe that they’re loved by God because of what we do.”
The pastor/priest also said she welcomes those who might have felt offended by the viral party to reach out to her or visit the church and learn more about their mission.
“I would love to find out what their view of church is, what their view of God is, their view of what is sacred.”
