The Citizen, 2009-02-19, Page 9By Rev. Gary ClarkBlyth United ChurchIn the summer of 2006 I was at theUnited Church’s general council
meeting in Thunder Bay where we
elected our moderator for the next
three years.
So it was that Rev. David Giuliano
was elected to be the moderator. I am
an old friend of David’s so I was
very pleased for him and particularly
pleased for the church. I know David
to be a deeply spiritual person with a
gentle laugh and thoughtful insights.
This is the kind of person that any
organization would be glad to have
at the helm.
It was almost immediately after
that occasion that he felt a lump on
his temple. It turned out to be cancer
and these last years of him being the
moderator have also been years of
surgeries, radiation treatments and
nagging weakness.
In his words, “I dreamed of
leading our church for a time from a
place of strength, wisdom, and
creativity. Instead I have beenoffering my weakness to the church,trusting that God’s power ‘is madeperfect in weakness’ (2 Corinthians
12:9). I would not have chosen it, but
I cannot deny that it has been a gift
to me and to others.”
These words are found in his
book, Postcards From the Valley,
which is a collection of his journal
entries as he journeys with cancer.
When I read these words I
remember being somewhat taken
aback by the thought of cancer being
a gift to him and the church. This
terrible disease nearly took this
friend of mine and deprived the
church of his focus and strength.
How could that be a gift?
In his book, David shares honestly
about the many unexpected issues
that his illness forced upon himself,
his family and the church. One
major issue, which is not new to
even those of us that do not have
cancer, is fear.
Here are some things that he has
learned about it. First fear, when it becomes ourmaster is an enemy but when wemaster fear, it is our friend. It pushes
us to discern the will of God in our
lives and forces us to consider
mortality and the meaning of life
that we try so hard to avoid or make
academic.
The opposite of fear is faith not
courage. Faith is trusting our
relationship with God. This
relationship doesn’t mean we will
dodge the hard stuff of life but it
reminds us that no matter what, God
loves us and will never leave us.
Fear can make us cling to people,
things, ruts and or rules. In clinging
we may assume we are still in
control. In clinging we may lash out
at anyone or anything that threatens
the way things have been.
As I age I know how futile
clinging to anything really is in life.
Fear is about the future. We do not
fear the past or the present. It is the
“what is to come” that frightens us.
Or more accurately it is in ourimagination of what is to come thatfear may reign. Yet it is ‘our’imagination and ‘we’
have the power to imagine the best,
the most wonderful of possibilities
that we did not see because we had
been clinging to something else.
Finally fear means that God has
something new in mind. Time and
time again the angels came with the
message, “Do not be afraid.”
And each time something only
dreamed of was being brought into
our world.
Perhaps that is the greatest gift of
fear. It gives birth to the good news
of hope. Hope resides in that same
place of imagination. It whispers to
us about all that is possible in spite
of illness, job loss or even death.
David writes “Good news heals all
manner of sickness among the
people. It is a breathtaking
responsibility and an honour to offer
that promise to our neighbours and
friends. It begins with taking that
good news into our souls and
beginning to live the hope it stirs in
us. It changes nothing and yet it
changes everything. (p.63)
So here is David using the curse ofcancer to inspire and invite people offaith to be a people of hope. ThisHoly hope was never intended for
“personal salvation” it is a gift given
to the many though the suffering of
the few. It is through their discerning
of the wisdom of God that we learn
how to face the fears in our lives.
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009. PAGE 9.
The Huron County Health Unit is
exploring a partnership with
researchers from a world renowned
university to conduct public health
research in Huron County.
Health unit director Omid Pour-
ahmadi is excited about the potential
partnership with the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health
in Baltimore. “There is so little
research about public health in rural
areas. We don’t have a research unit
at our health unit. We need good
research to understand how best to
meet the public health needs of
Huron County residents.”
Pour-ahmadi met last week with
Dr. Robert Lawrence, a researcher
known internationally for his work
and professor at Johns Hopkins
University. They discussed how the
university and the Huron County
Health Unit could work together.
Pour-ahmadi says they discussed
three potential areas of research:
drinking water safety, beach water
safety and food safety in regards to
agricultural practices.
While there is much work to be
done to formalize a partnership,
Pour-ahmadi says there are financial
grants that would be accessed to
cover research costs. He says he is
excited about the initiative because it
will be research specific to the
health of Huron County residents.
Dr. Lawrence founded the Centre
for a Livable Future and is a
Professor at the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health
and Professor of Medicine at the
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Dr. Lawrence is a graduate of
Harvard College and Harvard
Medical School.
From the Minister’s Study‘Holy hope not intended for salvation’
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
Welcomes you to come
and worship with us
Parish of New Beginnings
February 22
Eucharist - the Service of Holy Thanksgiving
with Bishop Robert Bennett
Trinity, Blyth 9:15 am
519-523-9595
Ordination of Sandra Clark with Bishop Robert Bennett
St. John’s, Brussels 3:00 pm
519-887-6862
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, February 22
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
Please join us for worship
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00am
Evening Service 7:30pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
Pastor John Kuperus
Hwy. 4, Blyth
Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street
Blyth United Church
Office: 519-523-4224
Rev. Gary Clark
All Welcome
Sunday, February 22
Morning Worship Service
and Sunday School
11:00 a.m.
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 Bible Study
1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm - Women at the Well
Fridays 7:30 pm - Youth Group (at the school)
Evangelical Missionary Church
February 22 - 1 Samuel 3:1-10
What Does
“God’s Calling”
Mean?
This Sunday:
Guess Who’s
Coming to Dinner!
308 Blyth Rd. E. ~ Pastor Les Cook 519-523-4590
B l y t h C o m m u n ity Church of God
C H U R C H O F G O D ,ANDERS
O
N
,
I
N
D
I
A
N
A
“The Church
is not a building,
it is people
touching people
Sunday School 9:45 a.m.
- Christian Education
for all ages
11:00 a.m. - Worship Service
Mid-week Bible Studies
See you
Sunday!
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
519-887-9831
11:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
9:30 am - Sunday Belgrave Service
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Sandra Cable, Worship Leader
Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wightman.ca
Sunday, February 22
Ethel United Church
Worship Service - 9:30 a.m.
Brussels United Church
Worship Service - 11:00 a.m.
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
PASTOR DAVID WOOD
119 John’s Ave.,Auburn
519-526-1131
www.huronchapel.org
9:30 a.m.
Sunday School & Small Groups
10:30 a.m.
Morning Worship Services
Evening Services are cancelled
for the winter months.
Men’s Saturday Morning Small Group
Saturday, February 21
7:45 - 9:00 a.m.
We are continuing on in the
series
“What In The World Is Going On?”
with Lesson 2: The Crude
Awakening.
All men are welcome!
Health unit hopes to partner
with renowned researchers