St. Thomas � Becket Anglican Church � About Our Parish

A Message from the Rector:

Welcome to this website! Thank you for checking us out! We invite you to be in touch and/or come to a Sunday worship service. In time we hope you will want to more fully participate in the St. Thomas � Becket Church Family.

Our Parish Family is made up of many nationalities, ages, and denominational backgrounds, reflecting the diversity of the community in which we live. We consider this to be a great strength. Presently, we are 300 households. Many parishioners live in Erin Mills, but many live in other areas of Mississauga and even beyond-Oakville, Milton, Burlington, Brampton, and Etobicoke. As followers of Jesus, our parish desire is to express our Christian discipleship through Worship, Fellowship, Spiritual Growth, Outreach and Evangelism. As agents of God's Kingdom, we hope to enhance our Anglican community and the community at large. 

Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome here!

Yours in Christ,
The Rev. Canon Jim Woolley

Who We Are

St. Thomas � Becket Anglican Church is in Mississauga Deanery which includes eleven other Anglican parishes. Mississauga is one of four Deaneries that make up the York-Credit Valley Area, which in turn is one of the four episcopal areas in the Diocese of Toronto. Our Diocesan bishop is Archbishop Colin Johnson and our area bishop is Bishop Philip Poole.

The Rector and His Family

Jim Woolley grew up in Etobicoke and graduated from the University of Toronto and Wycliffe College. Following ordination, he served as assistant Curate at the Church of St. Clement, Eglinton. He then served as rector of the parish of Stayner and Wasaga Beach.

While in Stayner, Jim met Cathy and they married; they then came to St. Thomas � Becket Church,  living nearby in the Erin Mills area of Mississauga. They have two adult daughters: Anne and Sarah. Daughter Anne and her husband Alex,  along wth their daughters "Ellie" and "Kate" live nearby. Several years ago, Jim, along with others, was honoured by the Diocese when he was named a Canon of St. James Cathedral in Toronto.

Presently, Jim serves on the following boards and committees:

Over the years, Jim has served as Regional Dean of the Deanery of Mississauga and on various community groups:



St. Thomas � Becket Shared Ministries

Called to Serve with All Our Gifts

"Serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received." I Peter 4.10

The Shared Ministries are organized to promote and stimulate commitment of Time, Talent, and Treasure through all activities and groups in the church. St. Thomas � Becket offers a wide range of activities and programs inspired by the enthusiasm, energy, and commitment of our parishioners. The Shared Ministry Teams are open to all parishioners and you are encouraged to become involved. Place, time, and date of meetings are announced in the Sunday bulletin and on the Web site.

These are the Shared Ministries:

A Short History

In the late 1960's, five Christian denominations came together with the Erin Mills New Town developers to consider a common site for a one-building church complex. The Erin Mills Church Centre became a reality in 1971 by an agreement signed by the following churches:

The congregations worshipped in local schools until the original church building was opened in 1977.

Since the departure of the Baptist, Disciples, and United congregations, St. Thomas � Becket Church and Glenbrook Presbyterian Church share an equal ownership of the common area, with each church having its own worship space.

In 1996, St. Thomas � Becket Church fulfilled a long-held dream by completing its new worship space, kitchen, meeting room and nursery. Our original worship space is now the parish hall. We now enjoy excellent Sunday worship and Church School facilities, as well as additional meeting space for parish and community activities during the week.

Who was Saint Thomas � Becket?

Thomas � Becket (1118-1170) was born in London of Norman parents. He was educated at universities in London and Paris.

In 1162, King Henry II appointed Thomas, his friend and Chancellor of England, to be the 40th Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas took his new responsibilities seriously; consequently, he was on the worst of terms with the King before the year was out. They came into open conflict at the Council of Woodstock in July 1163. Becket's defiant attitude was answered by the famous Constitutions of Clarendon in which the King defined the relations of Church and State for England. Becket and the Bishops were required to give these constitutions their approval. Becket renounced his promise to observe the constitutions, and the Bishops were subjected to unwarranted intimidation.

Invoking the assistance of Pope Alexander III, Becket fled to the monastery of Pontigny in France in November 1164. When King Henry II infringed on the rights of Canterbury by causing Archbishop Roger of York to crown his son as prince in 1170, Pope Alexander forced a reconciliation between Thomas � Becket and the King, and Becket returned to England. The Archbishop prevailed upon the Pope to suspend Bishops who were supporters of the King, and he published papal letters, which declared the constitutions null and void, causing strong resentment in the King's court. Four overzealous knights murdered Thomas near the altar of Canterbury Cathedral on December 29, 1170. Pope Alexander canonized Thomas � Becket on February 21, 1173.

In 1220, his bones were deposited in a special shrine, which for three centuries continued to be an object of one of the great pilgrimages in Christendom. In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the pilgrims are on their way to Canterbury. At the time of the Reformation in 1538, Henry VIII plundered the magnificent shrine and scattered Thomas' bones because the memory of Becket represented a symbol of opposition to the crown. Thomas a Becket is commemorated in the Anglican and Roman Catholic calendar on the day of his death, December 29th.

A stone from Canterbury Cathedral is embedded in the first pillar in the Anglican hall in St. Thomas � Becket Anglican Church.

Learn more about St. Thomas � Becket in The Catholic Encyclopedia.

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