How many red stoles does one person need?

The Anglican Book Centre in Toronto has taken a page from Holt Renfrew and The Bay and set up a gift registry for newly-ordained priests, who sometimes receive less-than-useful or duplicate gifts from well-meaning family and friends.

After all, reads a sign in the store promoting the registry, “how many red stoles does one person need?”

The postulant, or ordination candidate, can give the store measurements for clergy garments such as shirts, cassocks and albs, a list of books or other items, and refer gift inquiries to the book centre.

Manager Dan Graves said the idea developed after staff realized that the most common request received was from friends and family members of postulants asking about gift ideas. “They don’t know what (the recipients) need,” he said.

The book centre, a nationally-known retailer of books, vestments, cards, church accessories and other religious items, is located at 80 Hayden St., Toronto, at the Anglican Church of Canada’s national office. Its telephone number is 1-800-268-1168.