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Home My WebLink AboutThe Brussels Post, 1976-03-24, Page 2WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 1976 OPNITARI: Serving Brussels and the surrounding community. Published each Wednesday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario by McLean Bros. Publishers, Limited. Evelyn Kennedy - Editor Dave Robb - Advertising Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $6.00 a year. Others $8.00 a year, Single Copies 15 cents each. 40,11.11.1.1.11NOTABLIIIHED • 1072 gBrussels rost We're lucky We're lucky. When heavy flooding hits as close to us as Wingham, without doing much damage at all in our own village, it's time to say we're lucky. It's not time to gloat on the misfortunes of our neighbours, biat to simply pause and realize "there but for the grace of God go I:"1 Brussels could have been badly hit by spring flooding, but it wasn't. The reasons range from geography to foresight to just plain kick. The floods on the weekend, like the ice storms south of here a couple .of weeks ago have shown us that we're not all powerful, that our gadget filled electricity consuming world is really very fragile. Nature has also shown us that, when we have to, we can get along quite well on a lot less than the many luxuries that we normally think we need. We're not of the "a depression would be good for us" school, but we're all for self reliance. Let's enjoy the beautiful spring days that are bound to come tumbling one after the other from now on. Get outside and treat yourself....because you're lucky, we all are, to live in this part .of the world. Half a council? It's been suggested before and ignored before, but we think it's an idea worth hammering away at. That's the suggestion, made most recently by Hibbert Reeve Ross McPhail, that county councils have too many members. Reeve McPhail was talking specifically about Perth County Council, wh.ichhas28 members, two from most municipalities. Perth county Council could be halved, Reeve McPhail says, and 14 representatives could give tax payers cheaper, more efficient government. "To be fair to the taxpayer" the reeve is quoted as saying, "we ought to take an honest look. We're not here because we choose to be here, we're here because the people allow us to be here." Truer, more common sense words were never spoken. And if Perth could be more efficient and save a bit if they had to make per meeting payments to only half as many county councillors, Huron County Council could blossom as never before with its membership cut in half. For Huron's county council has 45 members two representatives from each municipality except the five villages. We don't think each municipality needs two representatives. We think 45 member county councils are luxuries left over from the $1 a.day era. And as anyone who has ever worked on a committee can see, a deliberative body with 45 members is bound to be inefficient. What if (Heaven forbid) they each decided, to say something at each meeting? Even a county council of 22 and a half members Would be a better idea. What about it, county coundllors? To the editor • Amen by Karl Schuesster I was telling ,you about all , those V.I.P. preachers I couldn't get near. There was one though that broke all the rules. He answere his own telephone. He wasn't travelling all over the country. He could see me within a few days. He didn't put me off. Well then maybe I'm not talking to much of a V.I.P., if a fellow's acting this way. Or maybe 'this is a V.I.P. has-been. Now some people may say that. Some may think that Charles Templeton was a great preacher in his day, one of the best. The best. Nightly he'd preach to crowds from seven to 30 thousand. But that was almost twenty years ago when he left his ministry with Billy Graham. He said then, and now, he couldn't carry on in the work of fundamentalistic Christianity. His doubts and his questionings mocked the faith he was preaching. It take s atnan -- a really great man-- a V.I.P. -- to come to terms with himself. To be honest. Despite the consequences, despite the disappointment of thousands of believers,.. Charles Templeton stepped down and at 33 cut a whole new direction in life. Here was a man who Billy Graham credited in .his biography. Graham said that Charles Temple-ten more than any other man -- bar one early exception -- influenced his preaching style. The two were close friends. They still are. But in those early days they brought their ev angelistic crusades across Canada and North America to thousands. What's wrong with preaching today I asked Charles Templeton. Why aren't there many great preachers today? ' I've had all sorts of answers to this question. It's the times. T.V. Instant entertainment. The car, Instant access to highways of vacationers and weekends. It's the people.. Faithless.Roottess. Indif- ferent. They won't sit still very long. They want everything fast and' condensed. Brevity is the soul of the preaching wit. It takes great congregations to make great preachers 'said one man. Or some others say it's the temper of the tirries. Talk is too cheap. The church needs action. Social action. Do your faith. Don't sit on it in a pew. Now Charles Templeton may have agreed with some of this, But he puts much of the blame ' on the, preachers them selves. If preaching is really impel-taut, then you have to spend lots of time at it. You don't go up to a concert pianist and ask her* how she plays so 1 IE it beautifully . Or to an Olympic athlete and wonder how he managed to win a gold medal. You know,. why they're so good. They practice. Practice. Practice. He admitted that today's preachers get only about a once-a-week practice on Sunday . Years ago they preached at least three times a week. On Sunday morning and evening. And midweek too. • But that's no excuse,. Templeton says a man can always preach to the empty pews. He can practice to a silent church into all hours of the night. He can perfect his, art in frotit of all those vacant pews. Restless shufflers and noisy whisperers won't bother one bit. Charles Templeton knew that kind of practice and he learned his preaching well. And as I sat and li stened to him, I wanted him to be a preacher again. I wanted him to put his wordsmithing back into the churches again. But that can never be. Charles is too honest and honorable for that. Yet his voice rises cleir. It speaks out in radjo programs like Dialogue with Pierre-Berton. He writes books, Recently he put out a book called simply "Jesus". It's a telling of the life of Jesus from the combined four Gospels. He gives many speeches and lectufes, still in the same intense and direct way he always has. But there's no preaching. "There •ought to be a moritorium on all preaching' for a full year", cIeclares Charles Templeton. The church silent for a whole year? If that were sb, at least for the Protestant church, you might as well lock up the building and go home. Because the sermon is worship. It's the Main part of the service. The sermon, the Word, in church. Now I know what you're trying to say, Charles 'Templeton, The. Word is actually Jesus. We sttbstitute words, the written words, the Word, for the real Word. But one year without a sermon? Stop up the preachers for a year? That's strong medicine. A violent antidote. There goes thy two hout docutnentary on preaching, I'M still reeling from that stiggestion, Charles Templeton. But I keep on insisting. You're a in my book, Maitland is high Charles answers his own phone Students helped helped --Lung Association. :director says Mt. Robert tiomuth, Principal, • Secondary School, Clinton. The 1975 Christmas Seal Campaign is over and, of course, did have a small decrease in tettiftW., However, we are sure- aineete appreciation Of this reffeit thud! interest the decteage would have been greater had i§, said 'ahOliit the negative action of We not enlisted the aid of the students in students today and so little of the positive, Out school re the hou§oholdet mailing. tlint we are going to publidite this action in Would you. please convey them-our the local papers Thank you again' fOt your' and concern for Our problem. Sincerely; ' Mrs, Beryl dtnsinlei tiutietired" ilurdnPerth Lung Assoeiatiol, oei&