HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-10-08, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015.
By Pastor Perry Chuipka
St. John’s and Trinity Anglican
Churches
A group of seniors were sitting
around in a nursing home comparing
their respective ailments. “My hands
are so shaky I can hardly lift this
cup”, said one. “My cataracts are so
bad I can’t see to pour my coffee,”
said the second one. “I can’t turn my
head because of the arthritis in my
neck,” said the other one. “My blood
pressure makes me dizzy,”
complained the fourth one. “Yes, but
it’s not all bad,” said a lady who was
sitting with them. “We should all be
thankful that we can all still drive!”
Being thankful in our lives is an
important thing to do.
A few weeks ago, Bill Farnell,
from St. Paul’s Trinity Church gave
me an article to read that outlines
new research that says that having a
thankful outlook can make your life
healthier. In her book, The Grateful
Diaries: How a year looking on the
bright side can transform your life,
Janess Kaplan describes how she
learned to reframe the way she
thought about her husband, finances,
career, even food and exercise. She
says to focus more on the good in
front of her than the bad.
She adds that, “The new science of
gratitude reveals the direct effects of
Thanksgiving. Not just on happiness
but on all our relationships, health
and brain function.”
Gratitude can reduce symptoms
that bring on disease. However, she
says, “To reap these benefits, people
will have to fight an evolutionary
battle. Our brains were designed to
see the negative.”
“In the caveman and cave-woman
days, we were always scanning the
environment to see if there was an
animal lurking or some other thing
that would hurt us. If a berry had
made someone ill, then they would
develop a negative bias and catalog
it in their brain to avoid that berry
the next time as a means of
survival.”
She concludes, “Given this
information, it’s no surprise that
people struggle to, ‘see the bright
side’ of their lives.” Before adopting
a more grateful disposition, she’d get
angry when her physician husband
worked long hours. Every time they
went over the household budget, she
would exclaim, “Is that all there is?”
But since she started to be more
grateful in her life, she finds her
days being a lot more peaceful. She
had her sense of gratefulness tested
in her life. There she was, lying on
the bathroom floor. She was sick to
her stomach from something she ate.
Between the uncomfortable aches
and pains she found herself thinking,
“I’m so glad it’s food poisoning
because I’ll be fine tomorrow... and
it’s not something worse”. She
started to laugh, “I thought, ‘okay,
you’ve gotten to the point where
you’re thankful for food
poisoning.’”
Absurd as it sounds, she insists
that it did make that long night that
much more bearable. Kaplan, in her
book and her research, really does
point out how being grateful can
make a huge difference in our health.
A friend of mine has an adopted
son, who, at 6'1", loves to play
basketball. The boy was applying to
the basketball camp, and a section of
the application called for him to
write a brief essay about himself.
My friend got a lump in his throat as
he read his son’s words: “Most of
what I’m thankful for is that I’m
adopted” then my friend got a cold
dose of reality as he continued, “...
because my dad is too short”.
I shared that story because it
reminds me of how my family and I
feel in this community of North
Huron. Some of you have heard that
my family and I are moving to
Kitchener on Nov. 1, so that I can
participate in Transitional Ministry
at a new church called St John’s
Anglican. When my family and I go
into any community and any church
family, we enter as adopted persons.
We want to take this opportunity to
thank people in our community and
our parish family who welcomed us
and loved us like family members. It
has changed our lives for the better.
We will miss you all, we know
God’s many blessings will go with
you and we hope our paths will cross
again very soon.
So now let me return to the story
with the seniors struggling with the
challenges in their lives. We know
how saying goodbye is a struggle
with us all but like those seniors, we
need to share those struggles.
However, saying goodbye is also a
time to reflect on all those ways that
people touched our lives and the
many blessings we’ve received from
them. And this is what that lady was
doing in that story. She reminded
those seniors that even through all
their difficulties, they still have
things to be thankful for and it is this
gratitude that will not only help
them but can also help someone else
that they will share it with.
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.
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, October 11
Thanksgiving Sunday
Sunday, October 18
Your Vote is Your Voice
Worship Service & Sunday School at 10 a.m.
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.
Children
Welcome
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, October 11
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
HURON CHAPEL
In Auburn 10:30am Sunday
huronchapel.comgetlivingwater.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
Oct. 11: 1 Cor.6:12-20
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Evangelical Missionary Church
Tues. 7:30 pm Wingham Small Group
Wed. 10 am “Coffee Break” Women’s Bible Study
“DANIEL PLAN #1:
God’s Prescription
for Health:
What God Says
About My Body”
250 Princess St., Brussels
519-887-6388
www.bmfchurch.com
Pastor Ken Gazley
Guests Welcome
Jesus Is Lord!
Brussels
Mennonite
Fellowship
Sunday, October 18
Worship Service 10:00 a.m.
Movie Night 7:00 p.m.
God’s Not Dead
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Elwin Garland
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11
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.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11
Morning Service 10:00 am
No Evening Service
MONDAY, OCTOBER 12
Thanksgiving Day Service 10:00 am
Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743
You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen
BRUSSELS
WORSHIP SERVICE
AND SUNDAY SCHOOL 11:00 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
Thanksgiving is a healthy way to live: Chuipka