Loading...
Huron Expositor, 2000-01-12, Page 5News St. Patrick's begins Centennial celebrations Sy Tim Cumming Mitchell Advocate Staff The parish of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Dublin kicked off its Centennial Year celebrations on Sunday afternoon with a Levee- featuring multicultural music and food, slides and family displays. About three quarters of parishioners prepared - displays of family history.. said Pauline Hartficl. Co - Chair of the Centennial con lace. "I ink people had a lot of fun doing it," she said. "Il was a lot- of work but it's. very rewarding work." The- downstairs hall was filled with people -at Sunday's Centennial kick- off. "It .was substantial turn- out. we were just overwhelmed," said Hartfiel. Some of thc historical displays featured antique christening gowns, including one worn by four generations of the O'Rourke family. . Father ' Maurice Charbonneau- noted the displays includedfamily religious artifacts. such as baptismal ,Forms and century -old prayer books, which reflected how parishioners lived out their faith in Jesus Christ daily. Governmen To the Editor: Ontario has a tradition of strong communities;• which has provided us with a peaceful society in the past. The cornerstones of community are -local government. the school. the church. the co-op etc. Take away one and the structure starts -to lean, take away two or more ,and the structure collapses: We are, allowed to play at local government, but Queens Park tells us what we' can decide and will overrule. if it doesn't like what we do. In the 60s, the Ontario government .decided to take away our community schools. and ' there was nothing we could do about it. The churches have lost much of their influence. We do not have the, sense of community that we 'had 'earlier in this century. Since thc early 60s the Ontario government • has mounted a strong effort to concentrate all' power at in opening remarks West Perth Mayor John Van Bakel also mentioned the efforts families made to record their histories. "It's -great to see so many displays and people here." he said. "It shows interest and respect for our history is alive and well." One of the highlights of the afternoon was a display of more :than 200 slides of parish life. dating hack to 1957, from George Gocttler's'collection. His daughter, Pauline Hartfiel, sorted through 1,200 slides to find the slides featuring St. Patrick's. " The.,historical displays also reflected the contributions of families from countries including - Ireland and the Netherlands. Ten -year-old Kathleen Goetticr. of Dublin, said -she thought Sunday's event was great. "When 1 heard it was today I was ,very excited," she said. " I'swanted to seeall the families and pictures." On May. 27. 1900- the. Bishop of London came to Dublin to lay the corner- stone of St.- Patrick's Church. Thc church was c sccratcd on Nov. 25. -190 the Archbishop of Toronto. THE HURON EXPOSITOR, January 12, 2000-5 ' Tim Cumming photos. Father Maurice Charbonnegu plays somelively songs for the children who offended the St."Patrick's. Church Centennial levee in Dublin on Sunday. Fronk Flanagan and son Nicholas, 5, .of Dublin, look at some of the historical family displays which were shown at Sunday's Centennial levee to kick off. Year 2000. 100th. anniversary celebrations .at. St• Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Dublin t tells what we can decide for ourselves Queens Park. No one • has gone further in. this direction than Mike Harris. who has taken complete control • of education in the education ministry. Power wants more power pr power corrupts, as Lord Acton said. I sympathize with the people of Seaforth, who want to keep their school. and to that end I would like to inform your readers what would happen in a small town in my native Denmark in a similar situation. Perhaps some might be inspired to pressure Queens Park for • a similar arrangement. although that might be a long shot. Also in the early,60s, municipalities.,who according to thDanish constitution arc independent. tried to close small village and rural schools. But there was already a voucher system, that obligated the municipalities to pay 90'>Tr of the cost of keeping a student in thepublic system to any private school. be it religious or non -denominational. • There was also •a simple system• for setting ' up a foundation to own the school. The school would then be managed by an elected board of parent. who set basic. education policy. and who hired acid could fire teachers. As a rule these schools would •not hire. teachers certified • for the .public system due to philosophical differences. , There is no legal requirement for certification.' therefore there. is not the powerful union monopoly that we have in Ontario. Existing schools arc transferred to the new entity at no cost, and where a new building is needed. grants of 2/3 of the cost arc available. Parent groups across the country decided to vote on taking their school private. From five per cent in 1960, these schools nowaccount If expectations aren't right disappointment is likely From Pogo 4 Yes, they are wrong when they rule our lives and hearts. T h - e question is, how do you respond • when , your expectations are not met? . Can you continue to live life productnel,. or do.your dashed hopes leave you feeling that Christmas is a writc off' Expectations can often times bring with them great joy. or incredible disappointment. 1 guess as l think about Christmas, I would like to . have expectations that the holiday intends for me to have. And in order to have right expectations, we rred to consider what Christmas is really all about. Christmas is the incarnation of God, in the person of Jesus Chtist. It is about God becoming a man. All of the emotional. material and relational cxpcctatOns we put on the holiday arc our doing. So with God becoming a man. with Jesus being born in a manger, with the very person of God coming to dwell with us, what kind of expectations should we have? Well in Luke 2, the Christmas- story we find some of these things. Here we see the things that Simeon was looking and waiting for. • First. Simeon expected that God would bring comfort to his people. This hope was a part of every Jewish person's life: Things had not' been right in the nation. and with the coming of the Messiah, there was the • expectation of comfort. God's people need to look for comfort from God in the coming of His Son to dwell with them. Is Christmas a time when you look for comfort from God? Secondly,. Simeon saw Christmas as a time when people outside of God's family would hear the great message of God's desire to extend His family. You see Christmas is a Christian holiday. but it is not just for Christians. It is a time when atl.peopte need to hear that the baby • in the manger (Jesus) came to live and to die for them. It is a time when people need to understand that in' a relationship with Christ there is hope. 1t is a time when they need to know that Jesus is the answer to living a life full of hope and meaning. Simeon knew that the Chnst child would bring with him light and life. for all those who would follow him in their lives. Is Jesus a part of your expectation in Christmas? You see. the meaning of the holiday is wrapped up in the. Biblical account of that first Christmas. So our •expectations should also be built around the Biblical expectation of Christmas. From God's perspective. it is " a time when His people can find great comfort knowing that Jesus came to dwell with them and understand them. And also it is a time when others need to hear that Jesus came as a.haby, but died as a • man for the forgiveness of their sins. We can't leave the baby in the manger, that was the first step on the road to the cross,. • Please don't miss the meaning of it all. So,: as you look backon this Christmas (and maybe look forward to the next ones rem. mher •that if )1,111 expectations for the holiday ate not quite right, then disappointment is probably not far behind. "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on Him while he is near. "(Is. 55:6) for 35 pre cent of Danish students. and the prove., ongoing.. • indeed some'municipalittes are ••; encouraging the changeover. The` are- happ}:: • to. pay.-: the ' oucher. `and. otherwise wash .their hands of education. - • In Ontario: parents have • basically nosay over how their kids are taught: What they are taught and who is teaching them. ' The government in its arrogance 'does not betide that u% ordinary folks know what i, best for us and our kids. . What happens in. a situation where parents: ha e power is that they takea much greater interest in the eduCation of their children, Isn't it ironic .that the gmcrnment of Denmark calls itself Social Democrat. where as the Ontari,, government .calls itself conservative.' Peter Simonsen. R.R.1, Hastings PLANO TUNING • REPAIRS • REBUILDING • KEYS RECOVERED • DAMPP CHASERS • REGULATING • BENCHES McMaster Siemon ♦' M,INSURANCE BROKERS INC. •AUTO •HOME •FARM •TRAVEL •COMMERCIAL •LIFE INSURANCE BROKERS: Bill Siemon Vidu Siemon Anette McTaggart Ken Hutchison Paul Wettlaufei' 68 Ontario Rd. 348-9150 Mitchell 1-800-561-0/83 Christa Leonhardt Registered Insurance Broker (Ont.) Seaforth- Insurance welcomes Christa to their staff. She is a graduate of the Seaforth High School. and .resides in Seaforth. Please contact Christa for all your personal insurance needs. • Seaforth Insurance Broker Ltd. 41 Main St., Seaforth 527-1610 A Thank You from SEAFORTH MANOR NURSING & 1 RETIREMENT HOME We would like to thank all of our friends in the community for helping us to ensure the continued care for our residents during the Y2K transition period. Your time and -dedication is truly appreciated. We wish you and your family all the best in the Millennium. • Lynne Lawson, Admin`f�trator ' Ed & Carolyn Ozimek & Family In particular we would like to thank:. Mayor David Scott and Councillors Clerk.Treasurer Jack McLachlan • Seaforth Hospital District Health Council Seaforth Fire Department Ontario Provincial Police London Ambulance Services