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The Citizen, 2006-01-12, Page 12January 15: Mark 12:28ff "Loving etAti, God V Totally" *041 Evangelical NI issionar3 Church ctter Oriatialt 10:30 a.m. - Contemporary Worship at Blyth Public School, corner of King & Mill Mondays 6:45 pm Junior Girls Mondays & Tuesdays 7:00 pm Small Group Fridays (Jan. 13) 7:00 pm Youth Group Pastor. Ernest Dow - 523-4848) www.getlivingwater.org 6,1 MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS Sunday, January 15 11:00 a.m. - Sunday Morning Worship - Sunday School 9:30 a.m. - Sunday Belgrave Service Wheelchair accessible Nursery care available Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 887-9831 cotolaWlitY ClH ch of GO$ cp) ANDEks, "The Church is not a •k•04 , A °I, Building, z It is People Touching O. a People" Sunday 9:45 a.m. - Power Hour Circus (Ring of Relationships) 11:00 a.m. - Worship Service Mid-week Bible Studies Phone 440-8379 308 Blyth Rd. E. — Pastor Les Cook 523-4590 Enrolled Riverside District commissioner Janet Mitchell, right, enrolled Brussels Guider Mady Deitner as a Senior Branches member. (Photo submitted) ti HURON CHAPEL EVANGELICAL t MISSIONARY CHURCH Auburn - 526-1131 PASTOR DAVE WOOD 9:30 a.m. - Family Bible Hour 10:30 a.m. - Morning Worship Service 7:30 p.m. - Evening Worship Service 7:15 p.m. - Jr. & Sr. Youth Bible Study 6:30 p.m. - Olympians 7:00 p.m. - Adult Bible Study Sunday Tuesday Wednesday Fcio THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA 'Velum:fed y,ou to come coofudift eat% ad MYTH UNITED CHURCH Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street Sunday, January 15 Worship Service, Sunday School & Nursery 11:00 a.m. Minister: Rev. Robin McGauley Velzowie 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. Sanctuary Recute loia cid jai evaldeft Sunday, January 15 Morning Worship Service - 10 a.m. Evening Worship Service - 7:30 p.m. BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Pastor John Kuperus Hwy. 4, Blyth 523-9233 Wheelchair accessible SUNDAY, JANUARY 15 Trinity, Blyth 9:30 a.m. St. John's, Brussels 11:15 a.m. The Rev. Tom Wilson, B.A., MDiv. 887-9273 BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA Sandra Cable, Worship Leader Church Office 887-6259 E-mall - bepc@wightman.ca SUnday, January 15 Ethel United Church 9:30 a.m. Brussels United Church 11:00 a.m. Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship BRUSSELS MENNONITE FELLOWSHIP weicome/3, you Sunday, January 15 9:30 a.m. 10:45 a.m. 11:00 a.m. Worship Service Coffee Break Sunday School for all ages Pastor Brent Kipfer 887-6388 In 2006 walk with the Lord — See where He takes you! 1,0 PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2006. From the Minister's Study Life a jumble of the holy and the ordinary By Rev. Theresa McDonald-Lee Knox Presbyterian Church, Cranbrook On the 12th day of Christmas, I was packing up all of our decorations for another year. First it was the decorations from the tree, most of them given to us by congregation members for our first Christmas tree. Then it was time for the lights to come down, always a tricky task. The Christmas tea towels and oven mitts were put into the washing machine. All the special candles and stockings were boxed away. After I thought I had it all, I noticed a snowman on a sleigh by the front door. I am sure I will still be finding decorations next week! The last decorations to be put away were our most special Christmas treasures. First in the box was a nativity set that we bought on our journey to Ghana in West Africa earlier this year. We had been looking for a set since Johnathon and I were married five years ago. Now we have a beautiful nativity from a country we love and a trip we will always remember. All of the characters, magi and shepherds, Mary and Joseph, camels and sheep, and the baby Jesus, were lovingly wrapped up in tissue, ready to be taken out again next Advent. When the nativity set was all packed away, there was room at the top of the box for another precious decoration, our Father Christmas. Made by a member of the Cranbrook congregation, our Father Christmas is richly dressed in a beautiful golden brocade coat and hood. With his long beard and knowing eyes, it is easy to see the wisdom of the first generous St. Nicholas in our Father Christmas. Children are always delighted by this beautiful doll. As I was closing the box up, I had to laugh. There I was, packing up a nativity set and Father Christmas in the same box. Some would say I was mixing the secular and the sacred. However, I believe that everything I packed away in that last box of Christmas decorations was holy. The nativity set reminds me of the story of Christmas and the Father Christmas reminds me of a man who lived out his Christian faith with sincerity and generosity. Both sets of decorations allow me to enter into the meaning and mystery of the holiday. This year the debates and arguments about the meaning of Christmas have been particularly intense in the media. Many in the church feel that the commercial aspects of the season have eclipsed the sacred traditions of Christmas. They believe that the holiness of the celebration of Christmas has been taken over by Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman. Some might say that nativities and Father Christmas do not belong together. The arguments over the secularization of Christmas point to a larger issue though. The debate over Christmas really highlights the difficulty that all of us face trying to be faithful in a world where we are offered many choices. It is not just a Christmas debate, but one we face all year round. Each of us negotiates a world of secular and sacred all the time. At Christmas time, the issues of how we spend our money, who we spend time with, and whether we attend worship seem more acute, but they are always present. It is not up to the stores and the malls and the radio stations to remind us about the meaning of Christmas, but it is our own practices that contribute to the sacredness of the season. We must make these same choices every day. Now that the holiday season and debates are over for another year, the real work of living out the Christmas story begins. All of us live our days in a jumble of the holy and ordinary. We need to learn to see God in the ordinary and infuse everyday with the holy.