The Citizen, 2012-10-18, Page 30PAGE 30. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2012.
Siebolt and Annie Siertsema
officially celebrated their 50th
wedding anniversary on Sept. 7,
2012. The couple marked the
milestone one month later on Oct. 6
at the Vanastra Community
Christian Reformed Church.
On Sept. 7, 1962, Annie Van
Oenen, the daughter of John and
Willemina Van Oenen of RR6,
Goderich, married Siebolt
Siertsema, the son of Albert and
Mina Siertsema of Blyth. The
wedding took place at the Clinton
Christian Reformed Church and the
ceremony was conducted by Rev.
L. Slofstra.
Annie was attended to by her
sisters, maid of honour Wilma
Groot and bridesmaids Joanne
Korvemaker and Diane Proper.
Siebolt’s best man was Ted Bakker
and his ushers were Gary Van
Oenen and Tom Siertsema.
After the ceremony, the couple
travelled to Holland, Michigan area
for their honeymoon.
Upon returning from the
honeymoon, the Siertsemas settled
down in Blyth, living there for
seven years before moving to a
farm at RR1, Auburn.
Over the next half-century
Siebolt would spend his days as a
truck driver for Howson and
Howson Mills, while operating a
dairy farm. Annie spent her time
working as a waitress as well as
working on the farm.
The Siertsemas are now semi-
retired, but they still live on their
own farm.
The couple has three children:
Marge, Jim (who is married to
Rebecca) and Nancy DeHaan (who
is married to Peter) and they have
six grandchildren: Joel, Annelise,
Philip and Raquelle Siertsema and
Meridan and James DeHaan.
Over the years the Siertsemas
have been members of the Blyth
Christian Reformed Church. In
retirement, they have spent their
time helping out on the farm and
travelling as their schedule allows.
The 50th anniversary party took
place at the Vanastra Community
Christian Reformed Church with
friends and family members
travelling from Holland, South
Carolina, Chatham, Newmarket,
Ancaster, Cambridge and the
surrounding area to attend the
celebration.
The Siertsemas said one of the
brightest aspects of the celebration
was that both Annie and Siebolt’s
siblings are all still living and most
were able to attend the party in
Vanastra earlier this month.
Minister tells of church being built brick by brick
Terry Fletcher, the minister at
Londesborough United Church has a
son currently living in China. During
a recent conversation via Skype the
son told Terry an interesting story
about a Christian congregation there.
This congregation did not have
enough money to build a proper
church and were worshipping out of
doors. The weather was detrimental
to the services so the congregation
came up with a plan. Each time acongregant came to service theybrought along a brick. In time therewere enough bricks to build a
sanctuary.
They worked together to make a
dream come true.
When the children gathered at the
front, Terry told them that
Londesborough is not in need of
bricks but that each Sunday, they
and the adults can bring smiles and
kindness. Those things are needed to
build a church as well.
The Minute for Missions, read by
Marjorie Duizer, was titled “Food
for the Month”. A United Church in
Minden recognized a number of
years ago that many in that
community were experiencing
difficulty stretching a small income
across all their needs. The
congregation began a food bank in
their basement. Some years laterthey are providing food for 70 to 85families with seven bags of groceriesa month from a new larger location.
The congregation also helps the
hungry by giving to seniors in need
and supporting the Christmas food
drives.
Since the earliest days of the
church, Christians have offered food
to the hungry. Monies donated to the
United Church Mission and Service
Fund continue this type of support.
The anthem by the senior choir
that morning was “Never Ending
Joy”. The sanctuary has been
beautifully decorated for the autumn
season by John and Jane Hoggart
and helpers. The flowers on the
memorial stand were placed by the
family of Don Buchanan whose
memorial service was held in the
church on Saturday. Please keep
those folks in your thoughts as they
mourn his passing.
Fletcher remarked that folks are
naturally drawn to stories of danger,
intrigue and adventure. Super heroes
are part of the excitement
particularly for the young folk. Terry
went on to explain that the preaching
and travels of the disciples/early
Christians, when studied in depth,
contain danger, adventure and
intrigue. He went on to give
congregants an insight into the trip
by Paul and Barnabas to Cyprus to
teach God’s love. A portion of that
account is found in Acts 14:19-22
and 1 Peter 2:9.
These two men were called by the
Holy Spirit to spread God’s word to
the whole world. They were
dedicated to the mission, supporting
themselves by working at trades
during their two-and-a-half-year
trip. The hardships and poor
treatment they suffered along the
way gives validation to their
dedication.
There will be no service at
Londesborough United on Oct. 21.
Congregants are encouraged to
worship at Knox United in Auburn
to be part of their anniversary
service. The service is at 10:30 a.m.Mary Fletcher is the guest speakerand Mary and Terry will be offeringspecial music. Refreshments will
follow the service.
Then on Sunday, Oct. 28,
Londesborough United will hold
their 152nd anniversary service at 11
a.m. Guest speaker and soloist will
be Rev. Perie Mitchell recently
retired minister from St. Mary’s
United Church. In August Perie
performed a concert at St. GilesCathedral in England as part of theEdinburgh Festival. The servicepromises to be most entertaining.
Lunch will follow the service.
The UCW will be making pies in
early November. If you are
interested in purchasing some there
is a sign up sheet in the church
basement and at the Londesborough
post office.
Continued from page 28
possibilities are endless,” she said.
Each month Cassell focuses on a
different member.
October will highlight the
Memory Project in hopes teachers
will use it to engage students with
war veterans in preparation for
Remembrance Day.
The Digital Human Library has
been helped by the Foundation for
Education, Mornington Com-
munications and the Avon Maitland
District School Board. “Mornington
provided each school with web cam,
the only piece of technology missing
to achieve video conferencing,” said
Cassell. The AMDSB helped to
develop the site and hosts it.
Teachers or members can register
at digitalhumanlibrary.com
New digital library highlights
veterans for Remembrance Day
NEWS
FROM LONDESBORO
Siertsemas celebrate 50 years
Siebolt and Annie Siertsema marked 50 years of wedded
bliss on Sept. 7. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Local couple marks
their golden jubilee
Snacking and playing indoors
Students at Hullett Central Public School spent an
inordinate amount of time indoors on Monday as the rain
kept them from their outdoor activities. Shown are Sophia
Greydanus, left, and Myra Caldwell enjoying an indoor
snack break. (Denny Scott photo)
By BRENDA
RADFORD
Call
523-4296
PEOPLE AROUND LONDESBORO
Seniors to meet Nov. 9
The Happy Gang Seniors held
their October card party on Friday,
Oct. 12 at the Londesborough
Community Hall. There were 12
tables of euchre players that
evening. Winners were: first, tied,
Bob and June Thomas and Kathy
and Susan, 77 points each; Harry
Lear and Helen Dale placed third
with 72; Doreen and Doreen won
the money for most successful lone
hands with six.
The seniors will hold their next
card party on Nov. 9.
Fox run raises $1,515
The character attribute receiving
attention at Hullett Central Public
School in October is ‘empathy’ –
understanding how someone else
feels.
The school’s annual Terry Fox
Run held on Sept. 22 raised just over
$1,515. The Grade 5/6
classroom raised the most money
with $100.
EQAO results from last spring are
back. The percentage of primary,
Grade 3 pupils achieving level three
and four in reading, writing and
math are 86, 93 and 93. The junior
percentages, Grade 6, for the same
subjects are 89, 89 and 44.
Congratulations everyone.
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