On the lawn at St. Paul’s Anglican Church you can see a sign that reads, “God loves Pokémon players” in support of the church’s new status as a Pokémon Gym.

Hub Staff

St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Southampton is taking its Pokémon Gym status in stride and welcoming Pokémon "trainers" to relax and enjoy the church’s peaceful lawn and new adirondack chairs while teams battle their favourite Pokémon in the frequent “raid” location.

Chaplain Ann Veyvara-Divinski and St. Paul’s Director Rev. Carrie Irwin are new to the game but are enjoying seeing all the players on their doorstep and even changed the sign on the lawn at St. Paul’s to read “God loves Pokémon players.”

The mobile app, called Pokémon Go, uses GPS technology and allows users (referred to as trainers) to capture and battle virtual Pokémon in the real world. It became wildly popular in the summer of 2016 and maintains a strong following today.

“We were sitting in a meeting and these young people come up to the area where our labyrinth is going to be and they start playing with their phones and we’re going, ‘Huh,’” said Veyvara-Divinski. The two were told it was because St. Paul’s is a Pokémon Gym and players were in a “raid.” That’s when the idea struck them to change the sign.

“God loves Pokémon players because God loves everybody,” said Veyvara-Divinski. “They’re going to read our sign, they’re going to at least sit on our comfy chairs. We’ve got brand new adirondack chairs and a table so you can relax and hang out,” she said, joking that the chairs are not just for Pokémon players.

Over the weekend the Chaplain noticed that people started taking pictures of the sign. “They thought that it was really funny,” she said, with some passersby asking what Pokémon are. Irwin and Veyvara-Divinski are currently thinking of a new eye-catching phrase to include on their sign.

A closer look at the sign at St. Paul's Anglican Church.