TORONTO - Anglican bishops in ecclesiastical vestments invited thousands of bleary-eyed commuters back to church during a campaign at southern Ontario train stations Thursday -- with at least one being mistaken for a common salesman.

The sight of Archbishop Colin Johnson dressed in his vestments and mitre and handing out cards outside Toronto's Union Station was mistaken as "just another gimmick" by one man.

"There are guys here like every single day handing out stuff," said 34-year-old accountant Greg Hood, who added he thought it was "pretty cool" that Johnson is the Anglican archbishop of Toronto.

After all, it's not everyday you see an archbishop extolling heavenly virtues just metres away from headless mannequins wearing suits and salesmen handing out flyers.

Hood did take a card, but not the one from the archbishop. The one Hood held promoted deals at merchants and restaurants in Toronto.

Anglican bishops were also at GO Train stations in Barrie, Oshawa, Clarkson and Richmond Hill handing out the cards, which read: "Angry, bored, happy, lonely, tired, stressed -- come as you are. The Anglican Church welcomes you back to church."

The goal is to heighten awareness that the church and religious faith are important, Johnson said, adding people can return to church or attend for the first time, no matter what their faith.

Banker Paul Richards of Ajax, Ont., did accept one of Johnson's cards.

"It's a good thing that they're doing, because sometimes people get so secular that they don't know God is in the picture," said Richards, who said he was a Seventh-day Adventist who attends church on Saturdays.

"But it's always good to know that you can go back to church and go back to God because... there's a place for religion in all of our lives."

Yolanda Sivasankara, 57, of Brampton stopped to shake the archbishop's hand. She's a Catholic who belongs to the Handmaids of the Lord lay ministry.

"I think it's really great and all the bishops should be more publicly on display," said Sivasankara, who works in administration.

"It makes people more in tune with their faith. They say, 'hey, it's not just somebody in an ivory tower, somebody who's invisible, he's actually here.' "

Johnson said some Jewish and Muslim commuters told him they would go back to their synagogues and mosques.

Some people were friendly, others curious. Some simply weren't interested, he said.

Worldwide, about 105,000 people returned to church after last year's campaign, officials said.

The Toronto diocese handed out 2,000 invitations last year -- the first year the event was held in Canada.

About 1,800 new people came to church the following weekend, said Johnson, and about one-third kept going to church afterward.

Anglican Church attendance had been declining but has steadied -- and may even be increasing a little, said Johnson.

More than 800,000 Anglicans worship in 30 dioceses across Canada. About 80,000 people are on the Toronto diocese's parish rolls.

Johnson blames the busy pace of life for keeping pews partially empty.

"I think people today are a lot more individualistic," he said. "The church offers a community of people who have a vision of something beyond themselves both in terms of God but also in terms of society."

People need to develop good habits but that takes time, he added.