People praying Toronto isn't stuck with a second-rate mayor this October are not alone.
Members of Mission GTA, a cross-denominational Christian group, are praying too, and say they will make municipal candidates the focus of a city hall prayer session on Oct. 20, just days before Toronto's election. On Sept. 8, they are inviting candidates for mayor to another meeting and will pray for each one, said chair Hany Boghossian, who said the Leslieville-based group isn't partisan."We don't have a favourite. We're just asking for God to move the hearts (of candidates)," Boghossian said Tuesday, July 20 as group members prayed behind him in the city's council chamber.The group has met regularly to pray in city hall and other Greater Toronto locations for about 10 years.Olwen Jones, its administrator, said such prayers are not meant to favour any policy or individual candidate. "We don't pray against anything, we just pray for peace, harmony, unity," as well as supporting whichever candidates "the Lord wants to bring in" to serve Toronto best, she said.Mission GTA prayed for peace in Toronto before the city hosted the G20 summit last month. Considering none of the G20 leaders were harmed, members believe their prayers worked, Jones said.