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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2017-03-16, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017. From the Minister's Study Grieve the passing, but look to the future BY GARY CLARK BLYTH AND BRUSSELS UNITED CHURCHES Kathy and I live kitty-corner from the old elementary and new site of the Grant and Mildred Sparling Centre which will house the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity (CCRC). This past weekend has been busy as folks from all over carne and picked up a piece of the old school. I saw desks and blackboards grow legs and march out the door to be used again in someone's home. Windows and some of the bathroom fixtures are leaving on Monday. It would be easy to be sad at this oh -so -quick decomposition of a body that was so filled with life and learning for that last 50 years. As a species we have a tendency to focus on what has been lost and the things that will cease to be at the death of a beloved institution or person. Grief is a normal expression of emotions at times of loss like this and no one should feel guilty for feeling it, even if it's just a building that is coming to an end. Of course, it isn't just a building. That school was a repository of memories and experiences from the formative years of those who attended Blyth Public School. It was part of growing up in Blyth. It was where the mysteries of reading and math and science and music were opened up to children. New worlds flowed from books and teachers. It was where the complexities of living in relationship were explored. It was where the serious business of puppy love and heartache were tasted for the first time. I don't know anyone who went to Blyth Public School that doesn't have a long list of stories about what they experienced there, and for the most part, stories are told with laughter and a tear or two. Places like the school are supposed to be secular, non -religious entities and yet I can't help but think that it was a Holy Place. When it was first built, the Lord's Prayer would have been said in the classroom and even though that ceased, God was still as much a part of the place as the bricks and mortar. God created us to learn and explore the world both outside the body and within it. God created us to be in relationship. To discover that truth, generosity, patience, forgiveness, hope, faith and love make the best and most lasting of ties. These Holy truths were taught mostly by example of teachers and the older students mentoring the younger ones. Does all that stop now that the building will be replaced? There are several answers to that question. Let me offer just two of them. First a agrIkii £iui 'Water c%alti Tellentlip Mar. 19, 3rd in Lent: 1Cor.9:22-27 Daring Faith #3: "Daring to Give God my Best'_ Evangelical Missionary Church Small Group (1)• Mon. 8:OOpm at J&R Uyl's, 180 North, Blyth Small Group (2) • Tues. 7:30 pm at G&M Lisle's, Wingham Coffee Break Women's Bible Study • Wed. 10 am at Blyth CRC Youth Group • Wed. 6:30.8:30 pm at Huron Chapel EMC, Auburn 10:30 a.m. — Worship & Sunday School at 308 Blyth Rd. (former Church of God) Pastor: Ernest Dow - 519-523-4848 + getlivingwater.org whole new crop of learners will be coming to the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity (CCRC) and although they will all be old enough to have experienced all the wonders that elementary students would have discovered that doesn't mean they will be complete in their education or personal growth. Once again that land will be used for learning and the creating of memories at a formative stage in those students' lives. It will help mould a new generation of Canadian artists and storytellers. They, too, will learn that truth, generosity, patience, forgiveness, hope, faith and love make the best and most lasting of ties. And there they will learn to dance with the creative Spirit of God known by many names and in every culture. The Grant and Mildred Sparling Centre will be a resurrection of what has been and yet different enough for us to glimpse at a larger vision of education, the world and ourselves. Secondly, actions whether good or bad have an eternal quality. Like ripples in a pond, everything that the school offered continues to radiate out from those who went there. As the years pass, the ripples seem smaller, but let's not kid ourselves, they are still there and still moving the waters around former students. We can take the school down but we can't take the school out of those students. All of this pushes me to think about what has begun to be called the Post -Christian era: A time where it is no longer the case in western cultures where the stories of Christianity are the assumed stories of everything from spirituality, to married relationships, to politics and to how we do business. Pollsters say that by far the majority of Canadians have no religious affiliation and increasingly ANGLICAN PARISH OF NEW BEGINNINGS B LYTH 'Trinity 6, 9:15 am Church Office 519-357-4883 BRUSSELS St. John's 11:15 am Church Office 519-887-6862 Everyone Welcome! COME WORSHIP WITH US! 4111e JiiviteJ '-lo ,loin SUNDAYS Morning Service Evening Service LL.S 11 1.�'CI:St'11fI 10:00 am 7:30 pm vim'"= BLYTH CHRISTIAN -'`y' REFORMED CHURCH 1 Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen !}I • , Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743 eladdeed eemoclleutv eigee You're Invited( to come worsht p with us - Sunday, March 19 Brussels Business & Cultural Centre at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday School for children 4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m. Childcare provided for infants and preschoolers during the sermon. Coffee & cookies after the morning service. For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621 Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173 Blyth United Church Est. 1875 Worship Service & Sunday School at 11:00 a.m. Sunday, March 19 - Lent 3 "Your Money or Your Life" MINISTER: Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M. Div. OFFICE: 519-523-4224 no connection or knowledge of the Christian story. Yet that doesn't mean Christianity is at an end. I rather believe that we are in the midst of a resurrection of the faith. That new faith will connect us with our history but will be different enough for us to see Jesus, the One who sent him and the church that tells the story in a way that is both universal and intensely intimate. I will grieve the passing of what has been but like those who anticipate the new CCRC, I look forward to what new things God is doing in our faith and country. Book Your Ad Now for the 2017 IPM Issue 35,000 copies in total Call The Citizen 519-523-4792 or contact sales representatives Brenda Nyveld & Heather Fraser e-mail: ads@northhuron.on.ca — -r BRUSSELS United Church WORSHIP SERVICE AND SUNDAY SCHOOL 10:00 am Bulletin notices: 519-523-4224 blythunited@tcc.on.ca Church bookings: 519-887-6377 66 Everyone welcome Minister: Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M.Div. - 226-963-1175 MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS SUNDAY, MARCH 19 We invite you to join our church family in: Worship & Sunday School - 11 am Coffee & Snacks following the service Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm - Soup & More 2 - a free community meal held in Melville's basement, and made possible by the Brussels churches working together. Nursery care available 519-887-6687 WE ILL BE AIM ALWAYS A iii PLACE FOR `` YOU 10:30am` Every Sunday ,= At f: Huron Chapel in Auburn THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS. OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS: Brussels: St. Ambrose Saturday 6:00 p.m. 17 Flora Street Wingham: Sacred Heart Sunday 9:00 a.m. 220 Carling Terrace Listowel: St. Joseph's Sunday 11:00 a.m. 1025 Wallace Avenue N.