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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1995-10-11, Page 16MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS Rev. Cathrine Campbell 11:00 a.m. - Morning Service - Sunday School 9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service We welcome you to come and worship with us. 887-9831 Wheelchair Accessible BRUSSELS UNITED CHURCH Rev. Cameron McMillan Church Office 887-6259 Manse 887-9313 11:00 a.m. Morning Worship Sacrament of Baptism Church School - Nursery 9:30 a.m. Ethel Morning Worship Church School Church Membership Class Commences 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 18 Official Board Meeting , Brussels Lower Hall All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above. A warm welcome to all 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 THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA You are welcome this Sunday October 15 - Pentecost 19 HOLY EUCHARIST - BAS Rev. Nancy Beale Trinity, Blyth St. John's, Brussels 9:30 a.m. 11:15 a.m. 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 4e-hi BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH HIGHWAY 4, BLYTH--523-9233 Sunday 10:00 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. Rev. Adrian A. Van Geest 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. Aft Visitors `Welcome Wheekiwir accessibfe PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1995. From the Minister's Study Lay pastor asks, 'In whom do we trust?' By E. Garland A short while ago, I asked some friends if they trusted me to do something for them. The reply of one was that I had never given cause not to be trusted. That reply started me thinking about the idea of trust. The thinking began with two questions, "Who do I trust?" and "Why do I trust them?" We have perhaps heard all too often the question, "Well, who can you trust?" The question in itself is not profound or debatable. Instead, it seems to me to be asked in the voice of uncertainty and as a plea for a right answer. It may be more often a question that is a product of the times in which we live, yet not alone to this period of history. It is a question that many Hebrews must have asked when Moses led them out of bondage in Egypt and into a wilderness experience in Sinai. How could they trust a murderer or this unseen God Moses spoke of? More recent events in world affairs place questioning faith in the ability of present governments and international agencies to control or manage that which has been entrusted to them as stewards be it power, money or people. Stewards not just to the people who empowered them to act on their behalf but more at heart to the God from which all being and power comes. Lately, as I watched the world track and field championships, I was once again reminded of the fact that because of past breaches in ethics, athletes must be subjected to drug tests to prove the legitimacy of their win. I wonder if we have arrived at the state of being where incredibility is believed before trustworthiness and trustworthiness must always be validated before trust is given. More locally, I am aware of the questioning trust some people have in the current direction the educational system is headed and those who control it. If, however, we lived south of the border then our money would remind us in whom should we trust for we would need only flip a coin to see inscribe] the words, "In God we trust". Alas, most of us v_re not good leaners, either on each other or on God. As North Americans we have evolved into a society with a strong ethic of self-reliance and rugged individualism. Indeed much of what we hear or view in the media continues to foster arid breed this me-ism. Visually we can picture me-ism as a stone which when thrown into water causes concentric circles to be created whose center point is the stone. It is therefore very difficult, indeed nigh on impossible, for some people to go beyond this individualism and privatism to think of community and reliance on God. This ethic or outlook is found in churched and unchurched alike where there may be detected an over emphasis upon our private relationship to God. While I believe in Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through him (God) who strengthens me." I also believe that there is something beyond this and that this passage should be read for more depth. Granted there are some things that can only be done alone or are best done alone, yet there are also things best done together with a friend or in a greater community. Trust is an example of communal affair in- volving not only oneself but others. As I learn to trust myself and as I develop beyond only my own self trust, I-can learn to trust others. As a believer, seeking to grow closer to God in relationship through Christ, I learn to trust God more and more as our relationship deepens. It is not that I lose my identity or individualism by doing that, but that they become fuller and richer in character. In relationship with Christ and trusting him, I become much more than I was or ever could be on my own. The Psalmist knew this and testified to it so many different times throughout the Psalms as for example in Psalm 28:7. "The Lord is my strength and my' shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped." The Psalmist knew that we do not need to do everything on our own and that it is no insult to ask for help especially from God. The writer of Psalms knew that God is not remote and seemingly uncaring but close at hand always available, trustworthy and kind. Indeed the whole Bible is a living history of God's desire for relation- ship with people and expression of his love for them even if we as humans fail to know that story. It is the story of God's yearning for us to trust him. It is a mutual relation- ship based upon love and trust. Trust does not exist in a vacuum. It is relational. Our self-trust, our Thanksgiving Sunday was observed at Blyth United Church, Oct. 8. The church was beautifully decorated in the harvest home theme. Included in the decorations were two lovely potted mums from Marg Caldwell's 80th birthday at home. Greeters were Albert and Nancy Wasson, while ushers were Mary Walden and Bill and Marion Young. Phyllis Boak, director of music was organist and Erica Clark, pianist. Rev. Ian Diamond opened with Thanksgiving greetings, Prayers of Praise. The hymn For the Beauty of The Earth followed. Rev. Diamond's message to the children was about the special day it was. He commented on the colourful autumn decorations. He cut the top off a pumpkin showing the children all the seeds inside. He said, "This is to remind us there is something new about to come; new vines, new pumpkins, new food and new hope". The choir anthem was Come Ye Thankful People Come with Rev. Diamond taking the solo and Phyllis Boak playing the piano. Rev. Diamond delivered an inspiring Thanksgiving sermon entitled, "Old Faith, Forgiveness and Thanksgiving go together!" He said, "Here we are at Thanksgiving weekend! It is a great time for me and my family to be here joining in the celebrations with you. Of course I've noticed the appearance of pumpkins, corn stalks and otlher decorations around the village and at first we wondered, why? Now I know, it is trust in God and our trust of others weaves us together to be a cloth of human and holy connected to creation and all created. Take marriage as but one example of this connectedness and trust. It is a trust when nourished by love connects each individual and both to something beyond that which they are - the Holy. That growing trust allows each partner in the marriage to lean on the other. As we lean and let go of our me- ism, our self-trust intertwines with our trust of others and God to open up new vistas of life to us. It is a sacred trust whether we choose to acknowledge that or not. Once that sacred trust has been broken it is very difficult to form again but not impossible. It will however, require God's help to have that trust re-established. But what of the times when we cannot trust? Times when we are so overcome by our own pain, brokenness, alienation or betrayal that we simply are not able to trust. At these times I must lean upon my community of faith. That may be the congregation to which I belong or it may not for whatever reason. My faith community may be composed of friends and relatives near and far who serve as my supporters and intercessors with God. They may also be God's defenders with me. Thus, when we are unable to trust, the faith community on which we lean holds us when we let go, in Thanksgiving and Halloween is just around the corner." "You may be surprised to know that Australians don't celebrate Thanksgiving or Halloween. It is just not part of their history or culture." The first Europeans to settle in Australia at Sydney were a mix of convicts, soldiers and a few settlers, few of whom were glad to be there, he said. "So there was no thought of Thanksgiving, not then or in the years following." "So what we are celebrating is a season which reminds us of the constancy of God's grace and that even in times of struggle, He does provide for our needs in every way." He said that one of the sadder aspects of his work as a minister is to discover people who are living with hurtful experiences of the past, focusing on the rebuke, rather than 'forgiveness' and restoration. "Jesus moves on to teach that faith is not something that a person can hold on to and increase his/her own efforts. The fact is, we either have it or we don't. Whatever faith we have, God can use it to bring new life and hope." "So it is today, that 'Faith', 'Forgiveness' and 'Thanksgiving' go together." The service concluded with singing the hymn Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee and Go Now In Peace. The Blyth United Variety Concert will be held on Friday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Hall. Kay Diamond, wife of Rev. Diamond will be speaker at the UCW meeting Thursday at 2 p.m. its faith, prayer and hope. The community of faith through its covenant with God keeps alive the possibility of trust and hope. The faith community assures us that trust still exists and does not depend upon our own ability or inability to trust at that moment. In Proverbs 29: 25 I am again reminded that whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Always the opportunity to trust is there and always we have the choice whether we want to take the risk of trusting. To trust in God frees us to be all that God calls us to be in this world. Trust empowers us to be God's person for others. Thanksgiving celebration new to visitor pastor