HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-05-26, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011.
By Mikenna Lane
It’s been another wonderful and
crazy week at St. Anne’s Catholic
Secondary School.
The Student Cabinet organized the
elections for next year’s student
cabinet where students running for
specific roles on student cabinet
prepared speeches to share with the
student body.
OSAID (Ontario Students Against
Impaired Driving) week also began,
where members of the OSAID team
raised awareness against impaired
driving.
The athletes of St. Anne’s were as
busy as ever competing. For some
teams, this past week determined
their success of their season as
various competitors of the Track and
Field team travelled to the TD
Waterhouse Stadium in London last
Thursday and Friday for WOSSAA.
The Tennis team also competed in
WOSSAA, and the Rugby teams
competed at Huron Perth. Many of
our Grade 11 students head to the
Carpe Diem Conference at Kings
University College to further their
commitment to faith-filled lives of
service and justice.
Grade 12 students are very excited
about prom and Graduation Mass
which are both coming up very
soon.
By Brent Kipfer
Brussels Mennonite Fellowship
There was a telltale roll of her eyes
as the young woman stood in front of
her congregation. It might have been
simple nervousness. More likely,
though, she was putting distance
between herself and the symbols of
faith that surrounded her. She was
18. Her church had invited her – and
others her age – to receive a gift and
a blessing to mark their transition to
adulthood. They were not alone: God
would be faithful for the journey
ahead and the love of the church
would follow them, too. A friend of
mine was travelling out of province
and happened to be a guest in the
congregation that Sunday morning.
He could not help but notice a look
of boredom on the faces of a few of
the young people, an expression that
proclaimed, “Whatever”.
They are certainly not the first to
respond to the message of the church
with a yawn or a roll of the eyes.
That may well summarize your own
experience at one point or
another! At the same time, for
those of us who believe that God is
not only real but actively seeks us
out for a relationship of trust and
love, any distance from him is a
tragedy.
The prophet Jeremiah announced
the end of an era for the people of
Israel: their covenant (relationship)
with God was broken and they
would soon be overtaken by
enemies. They had failed to order
their lives around the priorities of
God: they had broken their promises,
worshipped idols, and taken
advantage of the poor. They had
rejected God and placed themselves
outside the covenant he had
established with them.
Still, in Jeremiah 31, the Lord
announces “I have loved you with an
everlasting love; I have drawn you
with unfailing kindness.”
In his book, Reaching for the
Invisible God, Philip Yancey
highlights an insight from the
physicist John Polkinghorne, who
points out a major difference
between knowing science and
knowing God. Science accumulates
knowledge over time: first Ptolemy,
then Galileo, Copernicus, Newton
and Einstein.
Scientists build on the foundations
of those who come before them; an
ordinary scientist today has a more
accurate understanding of the
physical world than was ever
possible for Sir Isaac Newton.
Knowledge of God, though, works in
a completely different way. Every
encounter is unique and individual,
just like any meeting between two
persons, so that a fifth-century
mystic or an illiterate immigrant
may have a deeper knowledge of
God than a twenty-first century
theologian.
How, though, can we gain this
knowledge of God? How do we
make the shift from seeing God as
something “out there,” part of an
abstract philosophical realm, to
engaging in a living relationship
with the One who created us?
In response to the disconnection
between himself and his people, God
made a new promise in Jeremiah 31:
“The days are coming,” declares
the LORD, “when I will make a new
covenant with the people of Israel... I
will put my law in their minds and
write it on their hearts. I will be their
God, and they will be my people. No
longer will they teach their
neighbour, or say to one another,
‘Know the LORD,’ because they will
all know me, from the least of them
to the greatest.... For I will forgive
their wickedness and will remember
their sins no more.”
Christians believe that God
established this new covenant
through Jesus Christ, making it
possible for us to be in relationship
with him. It does not depend on our
ability to obey God perfectly, but on
the work of Jesus and our decision to
receive the gift of relationship from
him.
If faith seems boring or irrelevant,
I challenge you to pursue the
promise God made through
Jeremiah. Invite God to write his law
on your heart. Find a church
community that will encourage you
in your search and where you can
encourage others. Spend time getting
to know Jesus through the Bible. You
will not regret it!
Athletes travel to WOSSAA
From the Minister’s StudyGetting to know Jesus will be worth it
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.
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, May 29
Brussels Public School
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Sunday School for children
4 to 11 years of age (mornings only)
Childcare provided for infants and toddlers
Coffee & cookies after the morning service
For additional details please contact:
Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
Chris McMichael 519.482.1644
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Sandra Cable, Worship Leader
Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - beunitedchurch@gmail.com
Sunday, May 29
Ethel United Church
Worship Service and Sunday School - 9:30 a.m.
Brussels United Church
Worship Service and Sunday School - 11:00 a.m.
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Elwin Garland
SUNDAY, MAY 29
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
519-887-2664
10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
getlivingwater.org
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School
at Blyth Public School,
corner of King & Mill
Tuesdays 7:30 pm - Wingham Small Group
1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm - Women’s Ministry
May 29: Acts 5:1-11
50-Day Spiritual
Adventure -
Week 5
“The Church
You’ve Always
Longed For -
Models
Integrity”
Evangelical Missionary Church
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
May 29th ~ SERVICE AT 10:00,
“Stop, Drop and Roll”
June 5th ~ Youth Service, 10:30 am at
Camp Menesetung and not at the church
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
Welcomes you to come and worship with us
Trinity, Blyth
9:15 a.m.
Church Office: 519-357-4883
St. John's, Brussels
11:15 a.m.
519-887-6862
Sunday, May 29
Rev. Perry Chuipka
www.nabcom.ca/church
Please join us for 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
119 John’s Ave., Auburn
519-526-1131
www.huronchapel.org
9:30 a.m.
Sunday School
10:30 a.m.
Morning Worship Service
Guest Speaker:
Rev. David Moran
Saturday, June 4th
at 9:00 am
Missions Breakfast
with Steve and Krista
Campbell
UPCOMING EVENTS
Speaking about their time as
missionaries in Papua New Guinea
Sunday, June 5th
Anniversary Sunday
and
Church Family Picnic
ON $6.00 THURSDAYS
Drop into either of our offices any
Thursday with your word classified
(maximum 20 words) and pay only
$6.00 + HST (paid in advance).
That’s $1.00 off regular rates.
The Citizen