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The Citizen, 2003-07-02, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2003. From the Minister’s Study Wedding season here St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church By Rev. Cathrine Campbell Melville Brussels, Knox Belgrave Presbyterian Churches It is official - the wedding season is here. How I know this is because the notice board at Brussels Variety has been covered with posters for Buck and Does and, in my experience, that is the truest sign that THE WEDDING is going to happen. I enjoy weddings - some of my colleagues don’t - and I enjoy the fact that each is unique to the couple and that these are occasions for joy and celebration. This is all firmly rooted in history and tradition and we know that even our Lord attended a wedding in Cana. Weddings, of all our celebratory times, are perhaps the most heavily ordered by tradition - some thousands of years old - such as wedding feasts; some of a more recent vintage such as unity candles; but the core of commitment is as the freshness of the new day and full of hopes for the future. Queen Victoria had an enormous influence on weddings and their customs - she was the first royal bride to wear a white dress, she felt May was an unlucky month for marriage and so forbade her children to marry in that month, her bouquet set the standard for years to come. In fact, all royal brides have in their bouquets a piece of myrtle that originated from Queen Victoria’s bouquet. In the Victorian era there was much attention paid to the language of flowers and a bouquet would likely have been roses or carnations with baby’s breath, ivy, lily of the valley, myrtle and stephanotis - this would translate as: love, bonds of love, pure heart, wedded love, joy, and wedding, Today the bride’s bouquets, by and large are still some combination of the above. A bouquet of snapdragon, day lily, foxglove, marigold, and impatiens would send a different message, dangerous, flirt, insincerity jealousy and impatience! So we have a time that is steeped in tradition but is actually about the future. It is the time when solemn vows are taken by a man and a woman to love, honour and cherish one another through all the times of life together, both good and bad. We all rejoice when these vows are kept and we celebrate Anniversaries - 25th, 50th, 60th and 70th have been my experience . We also come to know that even for those who are parted by death that the vows taken on that day still have resonance in their lives as they remember with affection and gratitude the time that they shared and the good that has come from that union, be it long or short. At the end of most marriage services that I conduct we have a prayer of blessing which I offer to all who have or will have entered the bonds of matrimony. Gracious God we pray for ___________ and__________and give thanks that you have brought them together in marriage. We thank you for the love and care which, through their parents, has guided them to maturity and prepared them for this commitment. Help them to grow together in faithfulness and honesty, in mutual support and patience. May their life together be a sign of your love in a broken world, may forgiveness heal injury and joy triumph over sorrow. Be with them in their work and renew them in their leisure. May they welcome into their home both friends and strangers and so reflect Christ’s love for all people. In all their future together may they enjoy each other’s lives and grow through the love they share. AMEN £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £imng IVater^ Cfuidian Tdlcii^up 3July 6: Visitation Sunday No service at LWCF July 13: Speaker Jim Came Location Change: ARENA HALL "Evangelical Missionary Church" The Faith Mission Presents ionBMe School II’T 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Far more Information call. 887-6665 887-8621 or 887-6123 St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church invites you to attend a celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the construction of the present stone church Sunday, July 6 Mass at 10:30 am Followed by prayers at the cemetery Lunch will be served at 12:30 pm $8 for adults and $4 for children (free for those under 5) Visiting and entertainment to follow If planning on attending the lunch please call asap 524-4795 or 357-4171 or 529-7870 254 Drummond St. E., Blyth Sunday Mass 9:00 a.m. Father Lance Magdziak, Pastor 519-527-0142 email: stjames@rcec.london.on.ca THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA "Wefctwied if&cc to eum tuict cwtddift caitd ccd Sunday, July 6 4TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST MORNING PRAYER rrn Trinity, Blyth St. John's, Brussels I 9:30 a.m. 11:15 a.m. Th© Rev. Tom Wilson, B.A., MDiv. 887-9273 ‘PteaAe. join ecc cwruAcfr Sunday, July 6 Morning Worship Service -10 a.m. Evening Worship Service - 7:30 p.m. 3 3 3 10:30 a.m. ~ Contemporary Worship — Pastor: Ernest Dow - 523-4848 t www.tcc.on.ca/~dowfam HURON CHAPEL EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH Auburn - 526-1131 PASTOR DAVE WOOD - 523-4941 Sunday 9:30 a.m. - Family Bible Hour 10:30 a.m. - Morning Worship Service 7:30 p.m. - Evening Worship Servie Wednesday 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.- Youth 7:15 p.m. - Adult Bible Study BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA Joan Golden - Diaconal Student Minister Church Office 887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wcl.on.ca July 6 Ethel United Church Worship & Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Brussels United Church 11:00 a.m. Worship Service We welcome our neighbours from Melville Presbyterian Church Come to worship and share in the Good News! BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Pastor John Kuperus Hwy. 4, Blyth 523-9233 Wheelchair accessible MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS 11:00 a.m. - Morning Service - Sunday School 9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service Wheelchair accessible Nursery care available Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 887-9831 Blyth United Church Comer of Dinsley & Mill Street Sunday, July 6 Worship Service & Sunday School 11:00 a.m. Service lead by Lorna Fraser Minister: Rev. Dr. Eugen Bannerman Office: 523-4224 Blyth United Church is a welcoming community of faith. We celebrate God's presence through worship and study, and through responding to the needs and gifts of each other. Churc]] "The Church is not a Building, It is People Touching People" Sunday - 10:00 a.m. - Sunday School for all ages 11:00 a.m. - Morning Worship 7:30 p.m. - Evening Worship Wednesday - 10:00 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. - Bible Studies Phone 523-4875 308 Blyth Rd. E. Pastor Les Cook 523-4590 3Mclu.de. (#o.d in y-c-us, Aamme* plans! You are invited to Worship at Brussels Mennonite Fellowship Summer Worship Time 10:00 am Fellowship Time 11:15 am Welcome Pastor Brent Kipfer 887-6388 Bible Cornerstone Fellowship^ Ethel Communion - 9:45 - 10:30 Family Biole Hour and Sunday School ~ 11:00 - 12:00 Prayer & Bible Study ~ Tuesday 8 p.m. Ladies' Time Out - The last Thursday of each month 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. Vacation Bible School ~ July 7-11 ~ 9:30-11:30 am Ages 4-12 welcome (see ad) John 14:6 - Jesus said, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE, no one comes to the Father, but through Me.“ Everyone Welcome Call Pastor Andrew Thursdays or Fridays at 887-6123