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The Citizen, 1997-05-14, Page 15THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 14,1997 PAGE 15. From the Minister's Study Is the internet a friendly place? By Rev. James Murray Walton-Bluevale Pastoral Charge The United Church Of Canada RR 3, Walton When the early astronomers peered out into the night sky, their telescopes gave them an unprece­ dented look into the universe. The belief that the earth was the centre of the solar system was quickly found to be false. With the collapse of that idea, came a whole raft of new ques­ tions. It has taken centuries for astronomers, physicists and cos­ mologists to begin to understand how this larger universe works. Thanks to the work of the Hubble Space Telescope, we now know that our universe is 13 to 15 billion light years old. Our universe contains 50 billion galaxies. The work of Albert Einstein made many of these discoveries possible. When Einstein started to look at the workings of the universe, he first asked the same question of faith those first astronomers asked many centuries ago. He asked, "Is the universe a friendly place?" Since Einstein was a Jew, who believed God had created the universe, he assumed the universe was an orderly, and friendly place. And just as we can come to know the will of God through worship and prayer, Einstein believed we could come to understand God's greatest creation through disciplined study and research. The fruits of his work is our modern understanding of the universe. It is always a little frightening and unsettling when we see our world change, and are confronted with a new reality. The internet is perhaps one of the greatest changes we have ever seen in the wav we communicate, for the internet is not limited by any border or government in the world. It is a free and uninhibited flow of information. To listen to the television and to read the newspaper, one gets a frightening picture of what the internet is all about. We have daily reports of pornography and hate literature being distributed by computers all over. The police seem helpless to control or stop this new crime wave. I will not deny that pornography and hate literature are available on the internet. It is there if you want to go looking for it. I haven't. Someone commented recently that the complaints about the internet sound a lot like the complaints about TV in its early days. To give a more balanced picture of what the internet is about, I would like to share with you the way the internet had enriched my work as a pastoral minister. I use the internet every day. I belong to a discussion group of preachers. There are about 150 of us, from a number of denomina­ tions, spread out across Canada, U.S.A. England, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. We share ideas and illustrations for the coming Sunday service. We give examples of children's sermons which have worked well. We question sermon ideas which don't make sense. We offer support to one another when things get difficult in both our professional and personal lives. We pray for one another, and for each other's congregations. I used to have a face-to-face group of ministers which did this each week over lunch. Because of the distances involved, I haven't been able to find such a group here in Huron County. But thanks to the internet, I have a world-wide group of ministers who support and help one another. We have all noted how this sharing has strengthened our preaching. I also belong to a discussion group of people who are interested in how faith, politics, culture and social justice causes relate to each other. We discuss current events, government policies, personal happenings and theological issues from a variety of perspectives. We have all kinds of people participating: movie actors, lawyers, academics, housewives, preachers, social workers and engineers. There are no set topics or formal rules - people contribute as they wish. It is a free-for-all discussion which works, which challenges us, which uplifts and enriches us. One of the most popular parts of the internet is the e-mail. Thanks to this instant form of letter writing, I am able to keep in touch with my parents in Kingston on an almost daily basis, without suffering long distance charges. I was able to send a number of notes to my aunt during her recent illness. I write regularly to friends who are scattered across the country, from Alberta to Newfoundland. There are many churches which have a presence on the world-wide web part of the internet. This combines written text with colourful pictures and images. Time Magazine did a cover story on the religious presence on the web last year. They estimated there were 50,000 religious groups who had web sites. And that number continues to grow. The Roman Catholic Church has a wonderful site based at the Vatican. The Canadian Anglican Church site has helpful connections with the many members of the Worldwide Anglican Church. The United Church of Canada has a good site at www.uccan.org. These sites are mostly designed for everyday people who wish to leam more about religion, churches, and faith. If there is a topic you wish to leam about, odds are you can find information somewhere on the internet, from model railroads to quilting, and everything in between. Yes, there is pornography on the internet. But there is also pornography at the comer store. Does that stop us from entering the comer store? Like any tool of communicating, like the television, radio and the printing press, we must choose how we shall use it. The internet does have the capacity to be a great help, and even can be used to support and spread the Christian faith. Perhaps it is not as scary a place after all. James Murray can be reached online at jmurray@wcj.on.ca. THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA are welcome this Sunday MAY 18 - PENTECOST HOLY EUCHARIST Rev. Nancy Beale Trinity, Blyth St. John's, 9:30 a.m. ~ Sunday Brussels Wheelchair Accessible 11:15 a.m. ~ Sunday Jou are ‘WeCcome at the BLYTH COMMUNITY CHURCH OF GOD 9:45 a.m. - Sunday School for Children and Adults 11:00 a.m. - Morning Worship Bible Studies - Wednesday 10 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. Phone 523-4590 McConnell St., Blyth HURON CHAPEL MISSIONARY CHURCH PASTOR JAMES H. CARNE AUBURN 526-7515 YOUTH PASTOR - JEREMY SHUART 523-9788 Sunday 10 a.m. Monday 11 a.m. 8 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday 7:30 p.m. Friday 7:30 p.m. Family Bible Hour Morning Service Evening Service Addictions Support Group Prayer & Bible Study Youth S. Howson greets at United For the May 11 service at Blyth United Church, the greeter was Susan Howson. Ushers were Lori Brooks, Lois van Vliet and Faye Bolger. Lynda Lentz provided the beautiful music for Mother's Day. Rev. Stephen Huntley opened the service with the Call to Worship. Prayers were said for Lila Radford who is in the hospital. Bill Howson, the clerk of session, reported. Beginning June 1 the Sunday services will begin at 10 a.m. June 8, Rev. Jeff Hawkins will be guest speaker. During the summer the congregations of Blyth United Church and Church of God will exchange, while the clergy are on holidays. July services will be at Blyth United and August services at Church of God. The first hymn was Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee was sung. The choir sang Where Are You Going? The Baptismal hymn was A Little Child, the Saviour Came. The Sacrament of Baptism was performed for«two infants, Holly Marie Howson, daughter of Steve and Cathy; and Chadwick Wayne Wheeler, son of Wayne and Julie. Psalm reading as #618, Happy Indeed Is the Man. Donna Moore read the New Testament lesson, I John 5: 9-13. Gospel Lesson, John 17: 6-19, was read by Rev. Huntley. The sermon was entitled "We Thank Thee God for Mothers". Rev. Huntley said that through the years he has observed mothers and found there are three things that make a good mother. A good mother learns to walk in her sleep or sleeps while attending to a child that has woken through the night. A good mother learns to eat other people's food, because she can survive by eating what is left on a small child's plate. A good mother loses her memory, as she always repeats herself. She will tell a child to 'pick up those clothes' then five minutes later she will tell that same child to pick up the clothes. Or when the child is given something she will say to the child, "Did you say thank you? Say thanks. Did you thank him for that?" Be sure, he said, to say thank you to the mothers today and every day. Like the readings from John, mothers prepare their children to leave (grow to adulthood). Pain and joy is something mothers experience when they prepare their children as they grow, Rev. Huntley said. Pain and joy is one of the first experiences a mother endures. Baptism is an experience of pain and joy, the spiritual birth of new life through Jesus. "God's Great Gift to us is Mothers," said Rev. Huntley. To celebrate and honour mothers the Sunday School children presented a carnation to the mothers in the congregation. Tell Me the Old, Old Story was the closing hymn. Catholic women fight harassment Sexual harassment and human rights were on the table at the 77th Annual Convention of the Catholic Women's League of Canada, held in Chatham, April 28-30. Judy Van Beers, Mary Sanders and Joan Middegaal of Blyth’s St. Michael's parish attended the con­ ference of the London Diocesan Council. It represents 15,000 mem­ bers from Windsor to Wingham and Brantford. A resolution was passed lobbying the provincial government to require that employers post sexual harassment policies in visible workplace locations. Included in the resolution was a recommendation that the govern­ ment re-allocate funds to the Ontario Human Rights Commis­ sion to alleviate the backlog of cases and provide monies for edu­ cation programs. MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS 11:00 a.m. - Morning Service - Sunday School 9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service Wheelchair Accessible We welcome you to come and worship with us. Rev. Cathrine Campbell 887-9831 BRUSSELS UNITED CHURCH Rev. Christine Johnson - Minister Church Office 887-6259 Home 887-6540 Pentecost Sunday 11:00 a.m. Intergenerational Worship/Communion Nursery 9:30 a.m. Ethel Morning Worship/Communion 88888 Immediately following the Worship in Brussels a short congregational meeting will be held. ALL ARE WELCOME Please join us for worship this Sunday Sunday Morning Service -10 a.m. Rev. Adrian A. Van Geest will lead the morning service Evening Worship Service - 7:30 p.m. Rev. Ron Luchies will lead the evening service flor it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Rev. Adrian A. Van Geest Hwy. 4, Blyth 523-9233 Wheelchair accessible 'Philippians 2:i