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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2015-05-28, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015. By Pastor Perry Chuipka St. John’s and Trinity Anglican Churches A middle-aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. While on the operating table, she had a near-death experience. Seeing God, she asked if this was it. God said, “No you have another 43 years, two months, and eight days to live.” Upon recovery the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, breast augmentation, tummy tuck, etc. She even had someone come in and change her hair colour, figuring since she had so much more time to live, she might as well make the most of it. She got out of the hospital after the last operation and while crossing, the street was killed by an ambulance speeding to the hospital. Arriving in front of God, she demanded, “I thought you said I had another 40 years?” God replied, “I didn’t recognize you.” Like that funny story about the woman who had all those changes done to her body, we live in a time when looking young seems like the only way to live. Today everybody is trying to sell us the fountain of youth potion. Have you seen any T.V. ads lately? My wife and I saw a commercial about an anti-aging cream that will take away all your wrinkles. My wife says, “but some people look good with wrinkles. It gives them character.” She added further, “Why do these companies want us all to look young again? Getting older is about looking older. In fact, when we try to change things about ourselves sometimes it doesn’t look natural.” But hang on, I may have found a natural way to stay younger and healthier – by going to church. Recently, I read an article in the United Church Observer entitled “Forever young”. It reveals some of the studies about living longer and healthier by some people who are a part of a faith community. Let me tell you about a place that Don Buettner, a National Geographic writer discovered in his search for blue zones – places around the globe where people seemed to live extraordinarily long lives – naturally. Although Buettner identified five places, I just want to talk about one. Loma Linda in California. In Loma Linda, most of the 23,000 people who live there belong to the Seventh Day Adventists Church. This church was founded in the 1860s and they follow old testament rules (no tobacco, alcohol or pork) and they live a strict Saturday Sabbath. These Adventists are also seriously committed to health, as they have hospitals all over the world. In the article, I learned that in 2002 a study of 96,000 California Adventists explored the links between lifestyle, diet and disease. This study showed that male church Adventists outlive other men in California by 7.3 years and female church Adventists outlive other women by 4.4 years. As Larry Beacon, a 68-year-old professor at Loma Linda University of Public Health points out, “And not seven and four dragged out years but vigorous, healthful and productive years.” He adds, “we die in the end of the same diseases, heart and stroke and cancer – but we do it later and live well, up until that end.” Beeson says, “the conclusion to the study reveals that the essentials to a longer healthy life is eating a plant-based diet, maintain normal body weight, avoid being obese; don’t smoke or drink except lots of water, eat lots of nuts, maintain a faith base and bring God into the picture.” With regards to the last point, the Adventist in Loma Linda, emphasizes a 24-hour Sabbath. A time to de-stress, put your work aside and replace it with concentrating on your relationship to God, to your family and to your friends. So there you have it – being a member of a faith community (which helps us see the benefit of taking time off on Saturday or Sunday from work and simply concentrating on the blessings that God has given us in your life, spending quality time with family and friends) does make us healthier and help us to live longer. Now I’m not too sure that we need to be as strict as those Adventists. I still enjoy the odd beer, a little wine sometimes at meals and more than a plant-based diet. We will have to wait for further studies which are currently going on at Loma Linda University. They are doing research on more specific effects of health and longevity on people who practice religion in their life. But it does give us food for thought. Let me go back to the joke where God doesn’t recognize the lady who tried to look younger by getting all that work done on her body and then gets hit by a car coming out of the hospital. Is there a natural way to enjoy getting old? I have been an Anglican for 29 years, being a part of 14 church communities in that time frame. I figure that I have buried over 400 people and I would say that the majority of those people were over 80 years old and older in many cases. Does this say anything about being part of a faith community and how that can help one to have a better quality and quantity of life here on earth? Maybe or maybe not. But right now, I see a lot of older people in church for whom it seems to be working. Maybe it can work for you too. You’re more than welcome to join us some Sunday in church (at Trinity church in Blyth at 9:15 am. or St. John’s in Brussels at 11:15 a.m. or St Paul’s-Trinity in Wingham at 11:15 a.m.) 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. ALWAYS A PLACE FOR YOU @ HURON CHAPEL IN AUBURN 10:30 SUNDAYS HURONCHAPEL.COM Youre Invited to come worship with us Sunday, May 31 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 CORNER OF DINSLEY & MILL STREETS MINISTER Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M. Div. All Welcome MUSIC DIRECTOR Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.OFFICE: 519-523-4224 Sunday, May 31 Combined Service in Blyth Sunday, June 7 Sunday School Celebration ~ All Welcome Worship Service & Sunday School at 11 a.m. MUSIC DIRECTOR Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed. Children Welcome getlivingwater.org Living Water Christian Fellowship 10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School at 308 Blyth Rd. (former Church of God) Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848 Sunday, May 31 ~ Jer.31:7-20 Evangelical Missionary Church Small Groups Weekly in Blyth & Wingham “Rachel Weeps: Abortion’s Victims -- More than You Might Expect” MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS Rev. Elwin Garland SUNDAY, MAY 31 Nursery care available 519-887-9017 Worship & Sunday School - 10 am Coffee & Snacks - 11 am We invite you to join our church family in: 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. SUNDAYS Morning Service 10:00 am Evening Service 7:30 pm Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743 Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH BRUSSELS WORSHIP SERVICE AND SUNDAY SCHOOL 10:00 am All Welcome United Church Minister: Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M.Div. Bulletin notices: 519-523-4224 blythunited@tcc.on.ca Church bookings: 519-887-6377 Other concerns: 226-963-1175 From the Minister’s Study Communities of faith, do they live longer?