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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2013-03-21, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013. By Pastor Perry Chuipka St. John’s and Trinity Anglican Churches of the Parish of New Beginnings There was a Roman Catholic School that was celebrating the fact that Easter was coming and that it was Holy Week. In the cafeteria the nuns set up a long buffet-style lunch for the children. At the beginning of the table there was a large platter of watermelon slices. Now the nuns wanted everyone to have one piece so they put up a sign that read “Take only one piece of watermelon – remember God is watching!” A little boy read this sign and then continued down the buffet table. At the end of the table the boy saw a plateful of deliciously looking brownies. He thought for a moment and then made a sign for them which read “Delicious brownies – take as many as you want...God is watching the watermelon.” That little boy’s sign emphasizes the point that how we view things in life makes all the difference. And I think this also applies in our lives as we celebrate the resurrection on this Easter Morning. Resurrection: New life is all a matter of perspective. How we view things in life does make a difference. The other day I was looking up books on the internet with the title “Resurrection”. These are some of the titles I found. “The Resurrection: Myth or Reality?” Did the Resurrection actually happen as written in the Bible? “The Resurrection?” From the titles of these books I wonder if we are asking the right question. The question shouldn’t be, “did the Resurrection happen?” but, what does the Resurrection mean for us today? For me the Resurrection means that life can begin again. Rebirth is possible both for the individual and for society as a whole. And this is why Easter belongs to all people not just those who call themselves Christians. So whether they are religious festivals (and there are many going on across the world right at this moment) or as some would call them secular rites, the giving of Easter eggs, flowers or the wearing of new spring clothes or even the earth itself after an icy long winter – there is a universal truth we all have a need – a longing to be reborn, renewed and if you will, Resurrected to a different way of seeing life. A professor of mine also a Parish priest, who taught the course “Modern Christian Thought” said it best, “Even if they found the bones of Jesus I would still believe in the Resurrection because it is not only about the physical resurrection of Christ but more importantly it is about my belief and experience in the Resurrection and rebirth in my life. Often God calls us to see things from a different perspective so that we can find a new better way. There was a Sunday school teacher who wanted to impress upon her students the importance of doing something different with their lives instead of just their daily routines. So she told them the good Samaritan story in a very new and dramatic way. She said, a robber beat a man so that he had sores on his back, scars on his face and then left him for dead. She asked the class, what would you do if you came across a man that was lying in the gutter, wounded, all cut up with scars on his face and bleeding to death. A young girl put up her hand. The teacher was so proud that the little girl responded so quickly and was obviously intently listening to the teacher. Yes, she asked the little girl what would you do if you saw a man lying in the gutter, wounded, all cut up and bleeding to death. The girl with a frown on her face responded, I would probably throw up! Like that little girl, often when we see things in a different way we respond in a whole new way. We live in a time when we hear all the gloom and doom warnings from experts in economics, ecology, overpopulation, global warming, shortages of food and now water, nuclear and other technologies. Many of them say that time may be running out for our fragile Earth we call home. I am not suggesting that we should do nothing about this, but let us put it in perspective. Think for a moment what our generation has come through. The era of the Great Depression, two dreadful World Wars, the Vietnam War which was watched on T.V. and the devastating results of the atom bomb on Hiroshima and 9/11 to name only a few. I can remember my grandmother 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 Sunday 11:00 a.m. 1025 Wallace Avenue N. Walk through Holy Week with Blyth Community Churches Sunday, March 24, 6:30 p.m. starting from Trinity Anglican and finishing at 8:30 p.m. at Blyth CRC. You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Interim Minister: Pastor Gary Klumpenhower 519-523-9233 Hwy. 4, Blyth 519-523-4743 www.blythcrc.ca SUNDAYS Morning Service 10:00 am Evening Service 6:30 pm “Walk Through Holy Week” HuronChapel.org Sundays @ 10:30am Worship Service & Sunday School at 11 a.m. 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 MARCH 24 ~ Join The Palm Parade MARCH 29 ~ Good Friday Service 7:00 pm, Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. MARCH 31 ~ Easter Communion Sunday, “God is Alive!” BRUSSELS Sandra Cable, Pastor Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - beunitedchurch@gmail.com PALM SUNDAY SERVICE March 24 at 11:00 a.m HOLY WEEK SERVICES March 25-26-27 at 12:05 p.m. MAUNDY THURSDAY SERVICE March 28 12:00 noon at St. John’s Anglican Church GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE March 29 at 9:30 a.m. EASTER CANTATA March 31 at 11:00 a.m. Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship United Church Youre Invited to come worship with us Sunday, March 24 Brussels Business & Cultural Centre at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday School for children 4 to 11 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 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173 MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS Rev. Elwin Garland SUNDAY, MARCH 24 Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available 519-887-9017 10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship - Sunday School getlivingwater.org Living Water Christian Fellowship 10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School Wingham Bible Study - Tuesdays 7:30 pm Youth Group - Tuesdays 7:30 pm (at CRC) Women At The Well - 1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm at 308 Blyth Rd. (former Church of God) Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848 Evangelical Missionary Church Palm Sunday - March 24: 2 Cor. 5:17-21 First Nations Ministry: Stan & Sally Bragg March 24 ~ 6:30-9:00 pm: Inter-church “Walk through Holy Week” - start at Anglican Church March 29 8:30-10:30 am at Mem. Hall: FREE BREAKFAST & Good Friday Worship 250 Princess St., Brussels 519-887-6388 www.bmfchurch.com Pastor Jim Whitehead Guests Welcome Jesus Is Lord! Brussels Mennonite Fellowship Worship Service 10:00 am Sunday School 11:15 am Good Friday Service 10:00 am Easter Celebration 10:00 am Refreshments to follow From the Minister’s StudyGod gives us many perspectives, search for them Continued on page 14