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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-08-23, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012. Searching for God’s role after natural disasters By Rev. Dr. Peter Kugba-Nyande Duff’s United Church, Walton A natural disaster is a sudden event that causes widespread destruction, lots of collateral damage or loss of life which is brought about by forces other than the acts of human beings. A natural disaster might be caused by earthquakes, flooding, volcanic eruption, landslide, hurricanes, drought etc. In order to be classified as a disaster it will have profound environmental effect and/or human loss and frequently incurs financial loss. The countries that are seriously affected by drought include Australia and the Sahel in Africa and parts of the United States. At least half of U.S. counties have been affected by drought which is being touted as the worst in decades. According to a report about the hike in food prices, from the international agency Oxfam, 40 per cent of U.S. corn stocks are currently being used to produce fuel. The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard mandate requires that up to 15 billion gallons of domestic corn ethanol be blended into the U.S. fuel supply by 2022. The poorest people in the world face additional hunger as the price of staple foods soar. The chairman of the world’s largest food producer is highly critical of the rise in bio- diesel. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe of Nestle says crops produced for biofuel use land and water which could be producing food. In the meantime heavy rains in Sudan, Costa Rica, China, India, Korea, Nepal and Southern Scotland in 2012 have affected the livelihoods of peoples in those countries. In By Pastor Perry Chuipka St. John’s and Trinity Anglican Churches My dog chewed the tongue on one of my new, expensive running shoes. I hoped to save my investment, so I took the sneakers to a shoe repair shop. I placed them on the counter and told the man, “My dog got hold of this.” The repairman picked up the shoe, looked it over, and placed it back down on the counter. “Well, what do you recommend?” I asked. He looked at me and replied, “Give your dog the other shoe.” I began with that funny story because running shoes are expensive nowadays. But then so is everything. When I asked a person if they were watching the Olympics the other day they told me I don’t watch them because the Olympics are all about money. Then they asked, “Did you see all the millions of dollars spent on the opening ceremonies?” Well that person has a point. The Olympics have become too focused on money. I heard that one country was offering their athletes $5,000 dollars for a bronze medal, $10,000 for a silver and $15,000 for a gold. This would have never happened 30 years ago. But if I am fair, there are a lot of things in our lives today that seem preoccupied with money and yet I still watch them maybe even participate in them. I watched American Idol on TV (and some of the hundreds of commercials that went with it) that was giving the winner a million dollars. My wife and I took two of our children to Canada’s Wonderland this summer and they charged us over $15 for parking, bottled water (we brought our own) was $4 for a small bottle, a hotdog (we brought our own lunch and supper) was over $5. But the biggest kicker was that some people could pay an extra $45 to get what was called, “the fast lane”. We watched as we waited in line as these people who paid extra money walked by us and got on the ride in some cases 30-40 minutes before us. I had been to Canada’s Wonderland over 25 years ago and even 15 years ago, with a group of youth from the church and everyone, whether you had more money or not, was in the same line and waited like everyone else. So I would say that Canada’s Wonderland has become a money trap but does that stop me from going there. No. Mind you I have only been there three times in 25 years. On the ride home we joked and spoke about everything we experienced. It was a good day overall. Would I go again? I might if my grandchildren really wanted to go. This year we went camping for two weeks. I spoke with several campers who have a seasonal trailer in the campground. They were displeased because some large corporation has bought the campground. You can no longer bring in your own wood which at one time they were allowed to. Now you have to buy the camp wood which is $10 for five pieces of wood in a bag. If you have a friend stay overnight they have to pay $15 just for the one night. I remember getting a campsite 25 years ago for $15 a night. They also told me about all the new rules that campers have to abide by. It seems that there are more rules being invented everyday. In most cases, not all, there is more money collected by the campground in these rules. These rules sure work in favour of the owners in terms of bringing in more profits. But will this stop people from camping. Most say no and it won’t stop our family from camping again. So it seems to me that there are a lot of things in our lives that have become more commercial and it’s not only Christmas! I think we have two choices in all this money grabbing these days. We can chose to opt out or we can try to fight it, speak our mind. Getting back to the Olympics, I was surprised to see that two different teams in the gymnastic events made an appeal to the Olympic Committee when they were treated unfairly in the judging of an event. Interesting enough both appeals were upheld and the countries ended up winning medals. There are times when we speak up and change does occur. However, there are far too many other times when someone doesn’t speak up and things stay the same, sometimes unfairly. I am not suggesting for a minute that every appeal makes everything go well. There are probably many letters sent to the editor of a newspaper and many letters sent to our government where they fall on deaf ears but it certainly doesn’t hurt to let others hear your different opinion. When we make an attempt, we can at least feel that we are still in the game, still a part of the whole process of life. And that is something worth fighting for. So the Olympics may well be getting too commercial along with everything else but that should not stop us from voicing our opinion, maybe even writing a letter. Let me go back to the man who was not watching the Olympics. He had an opinion and he was expressing it. Good for him. We all have choices in this life. One of them is to express our opinion about something. Whether it is right or wrong is not the issue. The important part is that we all see things differently and maybe our perception can help a situation because it has not been viewed from that perspective. Keep giving your opinion. Whether you decide to opt out or keep at something, your opinion is valuable! 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 AUGUST 26 ~ Embrace Life Now SEPTEMBER 2 ~ The Diamond Perspective You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship Hwy. 4, Blyth 519-523-4743 www.blythcrc.ca SUNDAYS Morning Service 10:00 am Evening Service 7:30 pm BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH 250 Princess St., Brussels Guests Welcome Jesus Is Lord! Brussels Mennonite Fellowship Sunday, August 26 10:00 am Worship Service Messenger: Pastor Brent Kipfer 11:15 am Farewell for Pastor Kipfer and his family Noon Potluck Fellowship Meal BRUSSELS UNITED CHURCH Sandra Cable, Worship Leader Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - beunitedchurch@gmail.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 26 Worship Service and Sunday School - 11:00 a.m. Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship getlivingwater.org Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848 Living Water Christian Fellowship AUGUST - “Visitation Month” at area churches Check out our audio/video sermon archive on our website! Podcast, downloadable streaming mp3s, YouTube links Evangelical Missionary Church Youre Invited to come worship with us Sunday, August 26 Brussels Legion at 10:30 a.m. and in various homes at 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, AUGUST 26 Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available 519-887-9017 10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship - Sunday School 119 John’s Ave., Auburn 519-526-1131 www.huronchapel.org Rev. Mark Royall, Sr. Pastor 10:30 a.m Morning Worship Service From the Minister’s StudyThe Olympics: Your opinion is valuable Continued on page 22