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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-10-01, Page 27THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015. PAGE 27. Continued from page 26 reached a fork in the road. Neil encouraged all to keep the faith and still look after our friends and neighbours and carry on down the fork in the road. The final remembrance was from the last minister at Duff’s United Church, Rev. Peter Kugbe-Nyande. He served from 2009-2014 and is now serving in Alberta. He enjoyed his time in Walton and interacted with all. He enjoyed visiting people’s homes, contributing to The Citizen, having fun at the sugar bush, motocross, backyard gardening, bike riding and breakfast at the Walton Inn. He was proud of our community’s contribution of the construction of a school in Sierra Leone and his personal education. He wished everyone well and that God may enrich us in our ongoing spiritual journey. The message was given by Jo-Ann McDonald entitled “Blessed are We”. At Duff’s United we are all feeling a bit down these days. The closure of the beautiful building and the congregation disbanding has caused many to feel lost. What did we do? What could we have done differently to avoid the closure? There are no easy answers, no miracles and no one to blame. But we should not dwell upon the negative, but remember the blessing the congregation has had. We are no different than Jesus was when he was taken into the wilderness and was tempted by the Devil. Jesus was tempted by hunger, he was tempted to save himself and he was tempted by the offering of all worldly goods. But Jesus rebuked Satan and said to him “as it is written – you shall worship the Lord, your God and serve him only.” We are like Jesus in that we are heading into the wilderness and are now being tempted. Tempted to lose our feeling of belonging, of losing our church family, of losing our connection to our community, of our place of worship. We are going to have to move to a new place of worship, a new community and become part of a new faith family. But many will find that it is a difficult thing to do, and many will be tempted to give up their church membership and faith. But just because changes are ahead for the Duff’s family, we need to have faith in what is ahead and be thankful for how we have been blessed. As a congregation we have been blessed with many wonderful ministers that have led us through our spiritual journey. A standing ovation was given for the very emotional final message. The Duff’s Church Band played during the receiving of the offering taken by Teresa Baan, Brian and Neil McGavin and the final offering hymn was sung. The final hymn was “We Shall Go out with Hope of Resurrection”. This was followed by words from Rev. Gary Clark, the Chair of Presbytery and the official words of closure. He gave grace for the lunch and social time to follow the service. The blessing was the beautiful rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” with words adapted by Gloria Wilbee and Glenda Morrison. It was performed by Gloria, Glenda and Sean Mitchell. A moment of silence and the joining of hands while softly singing “Hallelujah” and the final “Amen” of Duff’s United Church closed the service. Jamie Mitchell performed “Amazing Grace” on the pipes while the congregation departed the sanctuary. A lovely luncheon was supplied by the ladies of the UCW and a time of visiting among the many visitors completed the afternoon. The fate and business of the church is now in the hands of the trustees, who received direction from the congregation a few weeks ago. We wish the trustees, Neil McGavin, Jim McDonald, Karen Hoegy and Graeme Craig, God’s guidance and wisdom in the difficult days ahead. May God guide us all in our faith journey as our days at Duff’s are over. God Bless All. Remaining church business to be decided by trustees CLINTON 8 Isaac St., Box 158 Clinton, ON N0M 1L0 519-482-3434 Fax: 519-482-1491 GODERICH 46 East St., Goderich, ON N7A 1W3 519-524-9899 Fax: 519-524-9699 LUCKNOW 634 Campbell St., Box 389 Lucknow, ON N0G 2H0 519-528-3824 Fax: 519-528-2531 1-877-839-3742 www.omnibrokers.ca Your Insurance Broker Understands • FARM • HOME • AUTO • • BUSINESS • LIFE • • DISABILITY • May McConville Omni is pleased to announce that Colin Becker and Brenda Young have joined our team in Goderich, Clinton and Lucknow. Colin and Brenda both come with insurance experience and are looking forward to handling your insurance needs. Please do not hesitate to call Colin or Brenda or any other of our experienced staff today for your free no obligation quote. Colin Becker Brenda Young PHOTO OF THE DAY Let us know what is happening in your area by emailing a picture for possible inclusion on our website’s “Picture of the Day”. Please include a small caption about the picture. Visit our website at northhuron.on.ca - maybe your picture will be the PHOTO OF THE DAY! Email submissions to: reporter@northhuron.on.ca The Citizen Wants to Hear from You!Wants to Hear from You! The Citizen The final service The pews, above, were pretty close to full on Sunday as Duff’s United Church held the final service in its 150-year history. The service was officially closed when Jamie Mitchell, below, piped the congregation out of the building. (Jim Brown photo)