By Clark Ehman | Staff Writer

On May 5 Jonah’s Call Anglican Church moved into its new location at 907 Middle St. The move converted Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church to an Anglican Church that traces its “spiritual heritage back through the historic Church of England,” according to the church’s website. “Jonah’s Call” is in reference to the Prophet Jonah, “who was called upon to preach the news of God’s love to a city that needed to hear it,” according to Jonah 3:1-10 in the Bible.

Pastor Greg Sparks of Jonah’s Call Anglican Church provided insight on the history of the church, as well as details on the move into the new location. Jonah’s Call is associated with the “Anglican Church in North America” (ACNA). Pastor Sparks said that this denomination has been around since 2008.

Jonah’s Call recently elected their third archbishop. Sparks became a priest at Jonah’s Call this past January, the first time that Sparks would serve as an Anglican Priest.

Pastor Sparks has lived on the Northside for 32 years. Before coming to Jonah’s Call, he worked at Allegheny Center Alliance Church, but wanted an opportunity to lead his own church.

“To have a church that we serve and lead that is on the Northside is a dream come true,” Sparks said.

The building on Middle St. was mostly unused with the exception of the organization Urban Impact, a youth foundation that reaches youth on the Northside. Urban Impact uses it for their after-school music-arts program.

“No one was using it for worship on the weekends, so we signed a lease with the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and started having services May 5 at the new location,” Sparks said.

Services are every weekend, and according to Sparks, the idea of Jonah’s Call is that folks can “dress casually”, and “come as you are.” Having a more casual and welcoming church is something that Sparks feels is very important for the Northside, and that it is a key aspect that makes Jonah’s Call special, according to him.

“We really value that we are a unique church on the Northside, and I think there is a very strong need for it,” he said.

Before the move, Jonah’s Call was headquartered in Highland Park. Sparks says that the move from Highland Park to the Northside was very smooth because there wasn’t a lot to move.

“We just loaded up a few vehicles with a small team of people, and took everything over to the new location,” he said. “The church was all ready to go when we got there, we didn’t really have to do anything to the inside.”

In the next few years Sparks hopes that the church will continue to grow and prosper. “Growth to us is just as much in depth of spirituality and maturity as it is in numbers,” Sparks said. “We want it to grow because we believe the message of hope that we find in trust in God is the way to bring healing into our own lives and to bring healing into the world,” Sparks said. n