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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1990-04-11, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1990. The Minister's Study We need to suffer says minister BY REV. BONNIE COLE ARNAL WALTON-BLUEVALE PASTORAL CHARGE Today we are at the midpoint of Holy Week. The journey through Lent that we started six weeks ago on Ash Wednesday is drawing towards a close. We may be eagerly anticipating Easter with plans to attend worship and have a family celebration. But I wonder if we jump too quickly from the Hosanna’s of Palm Sunday to the Halleluia's of Easter and gloss over the suffering Christ on the cross. Suffering is obscene in our society. We are encouraged not to suffer. A popular song reminds us, “Don't worry, be happy”. The ad slogans echo the same sentiments. “Why suffer from .... (you name it), take our pills, chew our breath mints, wear our shoes, sleep on our mattresses, etc., etc. and you will live in comfort. But life isn’t always comfortable. There are times in our lives when we suffer and our faith needs to address this. Imagine what Good Friday must have been like for the friends and followers of Jesus. They loved him dearly. With his simple yet com­ pelling Messages, Jesus had taught them so much about life and love and God. With his healing touch he had restored many who were sick to good health. The power of God seemed to rest upon him. Surely he was the Promised One sent by God. Yet on Good Friday all their hopes were dashed. Jesus was nailed to a cross to die between two common criminals. In his suffering he was desolate and forlorn, “My God, my God, why hast though forsaken me?” And in that state of abandonment, he died. And his friends and followers must have felt abandoned as well. Why did Jesus have to leave them, especially in this painful and humiliating way? Where was God in all this? Sooner or later in our sufferings we know that sense of abandon­ ment. Where is God? “Why hast though forsaken me?” And in that pain we cannot suddenly jump to a resurrection. The pain must be borne. Jesus' friends and followers had to wait and live with their grief and pain until the third day. It was not until then that they encounter­ ed the risen Lord. So we too must live in the darkness following our God Fridays. Sometimes, when our pain is intense, it may seem that there is no way the dawn of Easter will ever come. But this is one of the mysteries of our faith. When we suffer, God suffers with us. And even though we can do nothing, God is never idle. In the midst of the pain and darkness and death, God is ever at work. In time - God’s time — there will be new life and the shadows of Good Friday will vanish with the brillance of Easter light. HURON CHAPEL MISSIONARY CHURCH AUBURN PASTOR JAMES H. CARNE 526-7515 Good Friday Service - 10:30 a.m. Sunday School - 10:00 a.m. Evening Service - 8:00 p.m. [Helen Baumbach singing in both services on Sunday] Wednesday night - Discipleship Training Saturday - 10:30 a.m. - Kids’ Klub Melville Presbyterian Church BRUSSELS Rev. Carolyn McAvoy 11:00-Morning Service SundaySchool 9:30 a.m.-Belgrave Service We welcome you to come and worship with us! Please join us between 9-10:30 a.m. for an Easter Breakfast. All Welcome A Letter from Continued from Page 5 guy’s rules, well there isn’t any choice. We pay more and more taxes but the deficit just gets worse. The whole mess of the Meech Lake Accord has been another negative feeling for the country. Again we’re told that this may not be the greatest deal but we have to accept it or the country may fall apart. If we do accept it, it means accepting a country where the rules are changed in ways we may not want. It really means accepting too, the death of the vision of a country where English and French-speaking people could live together, side by side. The message from the accord seems to be that the French will huddle together in Quebec and the English will huddle together elsewhere and they’ll have as little contact with each other as possible. It’s a long way from the hopeful dream we once had that Canadians could show an example to the world that people of different languages could live together in harmony. The sum total of all the recent pressures seems to be that we have no choice to accept things we don’t really like or believe in, that we can dream as much as we want but dreams don’t count for much in the real world. The feeling for many people is: “what the heck, why not just stop trying and sit back and wait for the inevitable” the editor whether the inevitable is disolution of the country or the inevitable swallowing up of rural life by a few big cities. This is a country that has been built on dreams. Successive waves of immigrants, from those that struggled through endless ocean journeys in the holds of sailing ships to Vietnamese boat people who escaped the Communists and evaded the deadly pirates of the South China Sea have come to Canada with the dream of a better life. Generations of parents have dreamed of a better life for their children than they had themselves. Now, however, for the first in history we’re faced with a time when things look bleaker for our children than they did for us. The environment’s in a mess, the economy’s in a mess, the future of the country seems to be in a mess. People feel helpless and hopeless. We need leadership in this country to rekindle the sense of hope, the sense that we can be in control of our own destiny. We need to feel that we as individuals can do something, that the problems aren’t too big to solve. Unfortunately we aren’t getting that leadership, either federally or provincially. If we don’t soon get a leader who can instill in us a sense of hope, a sense of mission that we can build a better Canada, it may be too late. BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMEDCHURCH HIGHWAY4, BLYTH Rev. W.H. Lammers Sunday at10a.m.and7:30p.m. Sunday School 11:00 a. m. The Church of the ‘ ‘ Back to God Hour’ ’ and “ Faith 20’ ’ Back to God Hour 10:30a.m. CKNX, Sunday Faith 205:00 a.m. weekdays, Global T .V. ALL VISITORS WELCOME BRUSSELS MENNONITE FELLOWSHIP EASTER SERVICES Friday,April 13,7:30p.m. HYMN SING Come and sing your favourite songs. Easter Sunday-7:30a.m.-SUNRISESERVICE Light breakfast to follow. 9:30a.m.-REGULAR SERVICE 10:30a.m. - Christian Education Hour Phone:887-9017 or 357-3557 VISITORS EXPECTED BRUSSELS UNITED CHURCH King Street 887-9313 Rev. Cameron McMillan Good Friday - April 13th 9:30 a.m. - Worship Service Chancel Drama “Two Thieves on a Cross” Conservation tillage needs thought says advisor BY KEITH REID, P. AG. SOIL CONSERVATION ADVISOR Most of us, when we want to adopt conservation tillage, imme­ diately head off to the equipment dealer and start kicking tires. The only problem with this approach is that it usually doesn’t work! So, where do we start? The first place to look is at the soil. Excess moisture will defeat the best conservation tillage tool, so we had better make sure the ground is well drained. For very 'Wet fields, tile drainage may be i required. Soil fertility should also be assessed. Conservation tillage does not allow as many opportunities to incorporate fertilizers, so it is best to correct any deficiencies before you retire the plow. And while you are out taking soil samples, be on the lookout for compaction pro­ blems. If these are not controlled, they can make the best system unworkable. The next place to look is at your cropping system. A good rotation is essential to making reduced tillage work, plus it has many soil-saving benefits of its own. Cover crops can plug the holes in a rotation, keeping the ground covered and providing nutrients and organic matter to the soil. Weeds should be brought under control before start­ ing into a conservation system. Most weeds could be controlled under conservation tillage, but it’s probably easier under the system you’re used to, and it’s nice to eliminate some worries for the transition period. The third thing to do is step back and look at your total farming operation. Do you have livestock? Do you grow specialty crops? Is manure part of your fertility pro­ gram? These questions will influ­ ence what type of conservation system will suit your farm. The fourth place to look is at your neighbours who have already adop­ ted a conservation system. They have probably made some mistakes along the way; you may as well profit from them by not making the same errors. When you have completed this whole process, then you can think about going to kick some tires. When you get there, though, don’t forget the equipment back at home. Replacing the plow with a soilsaver may mean you have to change your cultivator, or add trashwhippers to your planter. These may not be big things, but they can mean the difference between success and failure. EASTERDAY-APRIL15TH 11:00 a.m. - Morning Worship ** Family Service ) Holy Communion 10:45 a.m. - Music by the Intermediate Choir -Care provided for babies and pre-schoolers Christ is Risen- He is Risen indeed Blyth 9:30 a.m. ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA REV. DAVID FULLER, B. A., M. DIV. April 15,1990 Easter HOLY COMMUNION Brussels 11:15 a.m. SPECIAL HOLY WEEK INTER-CHURCH WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES for Brusselsand surrounding community Maundy Thursday, April 12th 7:30 p.m. at Melville Presbyterian Church, Brussels -service of music, story and Holy Communion Good Friday, April 13th, 9:30 a.m. at Brussels United Church -service of worship with dramatic message Saturday, April 14th 7:30 p.m. at Walton United Church -an Easter vidual, remembrance of God’s grace to us Easter Sunday, April 15th 9-10:30 a.m. at Melville Presbyterian Church, Brussels -Easter Breakfast sponsored by Melville Sunday School We welcome any to join us in these meaningful opportunities of worship and fellowship at this most important season in our Christian year.