HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-11-17, Page 16By Randy Banks
Walton-Bluevale Pastoral Charge
A few years ago, while on a
mission of personal curiosity, I
found what was left of the
Manitoba settlement near where my
grandfather worked during a 1922
harvest excursion. The school and
the church were marked by cairns
and tarnished plaques. Several
dilapidated buildings and sheds
were the only other memorials of
better days gone by.
I was overcome with a feeling of
melancholy and wistfulness as I
imagined this bustling place on a
Saturday morning in its heyday. I
visualized fanners buying supplies
and feed and chewing the rag about
what else — farming, women
purchasing groceries, homesick
excursion workers such as my
grandfather mailing letters back
east. Perhaps the school was being
transformed into a dance hall for
that evening. This truly was truly a
ghost town,' I mused, as I poked
my foot at the weathered town sign
which lay broken in two on the
ground.
The village that I grew up in is a
mere dot on the map, but in the mid
1850s, it boasted a brand new
Methodist church, several general
stores, hotels, and liveries, and grist
mills. Then the railway ssung south
and, in short order, the village with
a bright and promising future
became a hamlet of broken dreams.
Today the population has
increased owing to a subdivision,
but there has been no attendant
restoration of community spirit ork
commitment. Just as the folks who
struggle to maintain the
aforementioned church's 143-year-
old presence.
There are likewise many small
communities in Huron County
which were once thriving centres
with cheese factories, mills, a
railway station, a school, and more
than one church. Many of them
have disappeared from the map and
others are teetering on the brink of
extinction.
People are clearly not committed
to the community in the same way
as our pioneers. Social life for them
centred around the church and the
school. Now our freedom, mobility,
and financial resources allow us to
find community wherever we want
it to be. We are, by choice,
becoming disconnected islands of
self-interest. People in small
communities are not different in
this respect from those who reside
in large urban or suburban settings.
One of the most important
questions asked of Jesus was:
"Who is my neighbour?" The
answer came back that anyone who
is in need and anyone who helps is
our neighbour.
On Sunday, Nov. 14, members
and guests of the Blyth Christian
Reformed Church were greeted by
Ken and Judy Shortreed. This
Sunday was designated as "World
Hunger" Sunday.
Last week, each family received
a small booklet of daily
meditations, focusing on the
problem of starvation throughout
the world. Members were asked to
pray for those people and do what
they could to help provide food.
Rev. Heersink led the congrega-
tion with a responsive reading
which also focused on world
hunger. The message for the
sermon was based on James 2: 14-
26. The sermon was entitled,
"Canned Faith". Rev. Heersink
opened his message by talking
about how fresh garden vegetables
are processed so they can be stored
in cans or freezers. He then went on
to explain how Christians run the
risk of "canning" their faith,
making promises and commitments
such as going to church, or daily
devotions, then putting them away
in storage for later use.
Vegetables taste best when they
are fresh, he said. When they
remain in storage for a long time
they become stale, and eventually
spoil. So it is with faith. If people
do not use it and put it to work, it
becomes stale, and eventually dies.
Faith must produce good, works in
the name of Christ. It includes
BRUSSELS UNITED CHURCH
Rev. Cameron McMillan
Church Office 887-6259 Manse 887-9313
11:00 a.m. - Morning Worship
- 'Christian Way of Life'
- Church School - Nursery
9:30 a.m. - Ethel United Church
- Church School
-Take my life and let it be"
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Carolyn McAvoy
11:00 a.m. - Morning Service
- Sunday School
9:30 a.m. - Beigrave Service
We welcome you to come and worship with us.
Tor the wages of sin is death. but the gift of God
is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23
Elder
Linda Campbell
357-1648
Saturday, Nov. 20 "Community Praise" 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 21 WORSHIP SERVICE 9:25 a.m.
Guest Speaker: Rev. Phil Bender from Zurich Mennonite
Sunday School For All Ages - 10:30 a.m.
BRUSSELS MENNONITE
FELLOWSHIP
Pastor
Tom Warner
887-6388
..4111maa.
A lot of choices
The Brussels ACW annual craft and bake sale, held on Nov. 13 provided a wide selection of
goods for the Christmas shopper. Checking out some of the merchandise are Marg Smith,
left, of Listowel and Judy Hahn of Brussels.
Shortreeds greet at Blyth CRC
PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1993.
From the Minister's Study
Community commitment not as it once was
The early church banded into a
communal fellowship in which all
things were held in common and
"they would sell all their
possessions and distribute the
proceeds as they had need." (Acts
2.44, 45). Although there are
isolated pockets of such communal
living (Hutterite colonies in
Western Canada, for example), this
kind of societal arrangement holds
little appeal for this individualistic,
materialistic age. In fact, it proved
too utopian and unworkable even
for the church_
Christ-like neighbourliness is not
extinct. My heart was warmed to
hear about a man in Nova Scotia
who has sent a $300 cheque to the
woman in Toronto who lost her eye
in a scuffle related to Blue Jays
World Series celebrations.
I think we all know how to be
neighbours and would like to value
and promote greater community
cohesiveness. We have gotten out
of practice and wearied ourselves
by spreading ourselves too thin
with involvements that draw us
away from both community and
family.
These are my ruminations as I
look out my window and imagine a
train grinding to a stop at the
Walton train station to have one of
its boxcars filled with locally-
produced cheese one busy morning
long, long ago.
repentance, struggle to live holy
lives as well as helping neighbours.
Take a look at your faith, he said. Is
it "canned" or is it alive? Have you
put your Christian sensitivity on the
shelf, or is your faith growing and
bearing fruit? Pass God's riches
onto others!
Trudy Passchier favoured the
congregation with a solo, "In
Heaven's Eyes". Fred VanderSterre
informed the congregation of the
results of the "Food Grains"
projects and thanked those of the
congregation as well as those in the
community for their participation to
help feed the hungry of this world.
The second service was held at
2:30 p.m.
HURON CHAPEL MISSIONARY
CHURCH
PASTOR JAMES H. CARNE AUBURN 526-7515
Sunday - 10 a.m. — Family Bible Hour
11 a.m. — Morning Service
8 p.m. — Evening Service
Wednesday - 8 p.m. — Prayer & Bible Study
Friday - 7:30 p.m. — Youth - Pastor Bob Lewis, 526-7441
You are Welcome at
the
BLYTH CHURCH OF GOD
9:45 a.m. - Sunday School for Children and Adults
11 - 12:15 - Morning Worship
Bible Studies - Wednesday 10 a.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Phone 523-4590 McConnell St., Blyth
zits.
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
HIGHWAY 4, BLYTH--523-9233
Guest Pastor: Rev. G. Heersink
Sunday 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
The Church of the "Back to God Hour" and "Faith 20"
Back to God Hour 10:30 a.m. CKNX Sunday
Faith 20 5:30 a.m. Weekdays, Global T.V.
Aff Visitors Welcome Wheelchair accessible
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
You are welcome this Sunday
November 21 - The Reign of Christ
Holy Eucharist
7 p.m. - Evensong in Brussels
Trinity, Blyth St. John's, Brussels
9:30 a.m. 11:15 a.m.
Rector, The Rev. E. Paul Acton, 887-9273