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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1967-12-21, Page 4DRAWN BY JIM SHARROW — GRAND BEND PUBLIC SCHOOL DRAWN BY RUTHANN HA1ST GRAND BEND PUBLIC SCHOOL OMBINE HEMES BY THE REV. DOUGLAS WARREN Main St. United Church Within a little over a week we shall come to the end of an experience which shall never again be repeat- ed in our lifetime. The Centennial Year will be History! The year 1967 has had a host of different mean- ings for so many people. For some it has been a period of great excitement, following every incident across the country with breath-taking interest; scrapbooks have been filled with pictures and articles of our 100th birth- day. The climax for this group of people was the trip to the World's Fair in Montreal with the anticipation of the young in search of adventure and they were not disap- pointed. But for others this has merely been another year and the Centennial celebrations have had little or no sig- nificance, Let us ask ourselves the question. Which group has suffered the greatest loss? Which group has gained the joy and challenge of an expanding world of ideas and life? The theme of Expo, "Man and His World", has summed up and brought home only too vividly that the world of 1967 is vastly different from the world of a cen- tury ago. The emphasis of life then centred primarily around "God and His World". Life revolved around the activity and outreach of the Church. Many of the large edifices are still standing as monuments of this fact. Today this is no longer true. New churches being built are no longer at the centre of the cities and towns, but are often out on the fringes as just part of the com- munity life of the vast subdivisions springing up all across the land. Christians are sometimes accused of being so heavenly-minded that they are no earthly good. Their hope and trust is in God and His World. But for so many the shift of emphasis to "Man and His World" has brought a distortion of values, a chaos of thought, of morality and trends in the educational and spiritual realms which seems to threaten the foundations upon which our society was built. It is true that through the vast means of com- munication and travel in the 20th century, the world has, almost overnight, become everyone's back door step. We can no longer shut our eyes or our ears to the cry of the hungry in India, the orphans of Korea, Vietnam, and the Near-East, the victims of the ravages of war, disease and famine. Yet the emphasis of Man and His World too often does close our eyes and ears, for it has created a god that has succeeded to an extent that many are not yet ready to face squarely or honestly — the god of the dollar or material sign. It is not summed up in the catch phrase in one of the local newspapers — "What's in it for Me?" A world centred around self, "r, "Me", "Mine", is a dis- A t home for Christmas self in hock for six months. Christmas wouldn't be the same if it didn't make you a little reckless. But perhaps the best things about Christmas are the sim- ple ones. There's the wonder- ful moment of peace and quiet on Christmas Eve, when every- thing is done, and the stockings are hung and the fire murmurs and the tree glows, and you talk warmly and lazily of Christ- mas Past and Christmas Pres- ent. Then there's the church ser- vice, with its ancient, simple story, so familiar, so real be- cause you've known it all your life. And the gastric juices churn- ing in your stomach. And the post-church salutations of "Merry Christmas," really meaning it. And the opening of the pre- sents, after church. There's love in them. You realize this daughter of yours tried to get something really special for her Dad. And this son of yours spent his last five bucks on a gift. Even though he'll beat you for ten before the day is over. And nothing fits your wife, as usual. And, of course, dinner. But the time you enjoy this is when you are 14, and have an elastic stomach, not when you are 44, and have a dyspeptic one. After the dishes, which are a real pain in the posterior, be- cause all you want to do Is sleep, some carol singing re- stores the spirit. And the old carols sound like new. This year, we're having a quiet family Christmas, after many years of having a large, fairly noisy one. Hugh said he was coming home for Christmas, even if he was In Australia. It may be a mess, because we fight a lot in our family. But not at Christmas time. May you all have the Christmas I hope we'll have. torted world, a world that can only bring bitterness, jealousy, hatred, resentment, moral decay and spiritual and mental breakdown. Is there an alternative? Surely the real message of Christmas in all its fullness is the only alternative which really brings man to his wholeness. This message has been summed up in one word, "Love", not man's idea of love, but God's pattern. It is the kind of love which reaches out in com- passion to those in need regardless of their status, col- our or creed — a love that reaches out not only in words but in action. Such a love does not and cannot originate from the old "I" of self, but comes only from a life surrend- ered to Christ who was and is the fullness of that Love of God. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" — II Car. 5:17. How vividly this truth was driven home to me recently in hearing a young lad tell of how his own life of frustration, rebellion and riotous living was trans- formed by this drawing power of Christ's love. As we enter into our second century as a nation, surely only if we combine the themes "God and His World" and "Man and His World" together through the power of the Living God, the power of His Holy Spirit living in our lives and filling us daily with His Love and with the message of this season, "Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace and good will to men" — will our nation under God be a great nation. As some brilliant clod once pointed out, Christmas comes but once a year. And it's a jolly good thing it does. Think of what we'd be like if we didn't have the glory of Christmas to pull us out of the bleak, little lives of selfishness, misery and loneliness. Especially in these bracing northern climes is Christmas a necessity. It is cold, the nights are long, and the festival pro- vides a splash of color, warmth and love that enables us to face the dreaded long winter ahead. Oh, I'll admit it is a bit of a drag, in some ways. The gentle day of joy has become the f o- cus for a multitude of irrele- vancies. There's the dam' tree to put up, the ridiculous cards to be sent to neighbors you saw yes- terday, the horrows of gift shop- ping, and the stupid bird to be stuffed, trussed, cooked and eaten. In addition to these trappings, which make perfect ladies swear and strong men weep, there is the incredible commercialization of the event, in every possible as- pect, But don't blame that on others. You .don't have to take part unless you want to. Admitting all this, there is a magic in Christmas, in the very word, that still holds up. There's a vast satisfaction, for example, when you finally get the tree to stand up with no more than a 45-degree list, and it's all dec- orated, and you realize that, despite what your wife said, it's the best tree in town. When you sit down to write those cards, you discover that you still have a great affection for old friends you haven't seen for so long, and you wax quite lyrical, and ask them to visit you. Sometimes, alas, they do. And you must admit you feel as though you'd climbed Ever- est when you get that last pack- age wrapped and sit back admir- ing your good taste in gifts, paper and ribbons. Then there's the turk. For a number of years, this has been my baby, at our house, And when I've made the dressing, trussed the brute and stuck it in the oven, I feel something akin to the pure pride and joy of a woman who has produced a real baby. There's the fun of spoiling your kids rotten and putting your- 50 YEARS AGO Mr. and Mrs. George Lawson and two children of Artland, Sask. are visiting relatives in the neighborhood. Mr. Andrew Dougall of London N., while in the woods chopping on Monday. had his leg broken,. Mr. N. D. Hurdon, after spend- ing the summer at port Franks, has returned to town for the winter. Many of Mr. Hurdon's old friends received the gift of a chick that had fallen prey to his gun, Mr. J. J. Merner, the Union- ist candidate, was elected over Mr. Thos. McMillan by a majority of 47. McDonald, Gnr Sydney West are all home on a five-dayChristmas leave. They return to Petawawa Tuesday. 15 YEARS AGO Tenders for the construction of a $50,000 addition to Grand Bend public school will be con- sidered by the board early in 1953. W. R. Goulding, organist of Empress Ave. United Church, London, drove through fog fol- lowing Sunday evening service at his own church to lead carol singing at Caven Presbyterian Church. It was the secondSunday evening concert sponsored by the Recreation Council and Sorority. 10 YEARS AGO Elizabeth Knox, whose Christ- mas letter last year brought gifts from "Another Elizabeth", this year received $110 for Christmas presents. Elizabeth donated $100 of it to a leper colony in India. The Ladies Auxiliary to the Canadian Legion has donated $250 to furnish a room in the new nurses' residence, 25 YEARS AGO Pte Percy Noels returned to Camp Borden Monday after spending a five-day leave with Mrs. Noels at the home of E. C, Appleton. Dr. J. W. Browning, who has been continuously in practice in Exeter for over 75 years, died at his home in his 100th year, Spr. Eugene Beaver, Gnr Reg OlbitieMr MK:?i4SINMOSIMUNKMZEMENIOONe r Times Established 1873 Advocate EstabliShed 1881 Amalgamated 1924 SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C,W.N.A., 0.W.N.A., CLASS 'A' and ABC Publishers: J. M. Southcott, R. M, Southcott Editor: Bill Batten Advertising Manager: Howie Wright Phone 235-1331 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, dnfario Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Deis% Ottawa, and for Payment of Postage in Cash Paid in Advance Circulaticin, September 30, 1067, 4,338 4., SUBSCRIPT,LOLIA,aiATESi.1 Canada $5,00 Per Year; USA $7.00 ... ... .