At Trinity United Church in Beamsville, Reverend Jane Capstick pauses for a moment to write “peace, love, friendship” on the large wooden “hope” sign displayed on the front lawn. As vehicles pass by on the busy King Street, the sign stands as a beacon of positivity in a challenging time.
Typically, this sign, accompanied by the words “love,” “joy,” and “peace” in bold letters, appears during Advent in December as part of the church’s celebration leading up to Christmas. After the holiday season, the sign is usually taken down. But this year, church officials made a meaningful decision to leave it up.
The idea was born out of a desire to spread hope in uncertain times. Irene Romagnoli, chair of the church council, explained, “By keeping the sign up and encouraging people to add their own messages of hope, we thought it could help bring the community together.”
The initiative has been supported by the church’s Gather Peace Service 365 committee, who proposed leaving the sign in place. With markers available nearby, people have begun writing their own words of encouragement and hope. Romagnoli added that the response on social media has been very positive, which they hope will inspire even more community involvement.
For those who can’t make it to the sign in person, the church has made it possible for people to send their messages by email to [email protected], and a church volunteer will add them to the sign. Of course, inappropriate messages will be painted over to maintain the positive spirit of the initiative.
Although the sign will eventually be taken down, repainted, and stored until next December, Romagnoli plans to capture the messages through photos, which will be shared on social media throughout the year to continue spreading hope.
As Reverend Capstick said, “The sign is a beautiful thing. We needed to keep ‘hope’ on the front lawn so that people would have a tangible way of expressing hope for the world right now.”
