HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-01-08, Page 6s
Christmas is over
ut love remains
the last of the- the 're net be nor the sig sales ainspeaAragbinges.
deceratk* s are dot*, U* turkey bas A week Were, a sad
turned into soup, the left over young man aatoae hit*** house,
Christmas cake is stored Lir the depressed about cir-
freezer, and we're all getting back to cumstences and about what
normal after the holidays. A lot of the ftrture night- mold. "I hate
people will be relieved because we Christmas," he exclaimed vehement
WeU, Y Po ,
It Seems to me...
by Gwyn Whilsmith
Neither 141st fist o�Ice . nor alt
the otter lights
more than it in the fake Santa C1atnes
with their too hearty cheeriness:
While there's really nothing wrong
with any of those things, they do not
constitute ' Christmas. • What
Christmas is, I told him, is Love, the
kind experienced by one small, poor
family almost 8000 yes ago.
There wasn't much hipe, that first
Christmas. What there was was bone -
tired weariness, and, very likely,
worry, discouragement and
loneliness. There was pain in the birth
of a child, and distress at it having to
be born in cold, drafty stable instead
of a warm, comfortable room. (So, if
'tittles werepresent ut at the flat
why do some of us insist
1 net he present at our
now?) What overcame
all those heartaches was the love of
GO, and the love that existed in that
little family. Christmas is a celebra-
tion of that love.
Turning to the young man sitting
across the kit 1p n table, I asked, "Do
you love your family?"
"I do, very much."
"Do they love you?"
Yes,
"Then why don't you just concen-
trate on that? Forget all ;the other
nonsense which has -very little to do
with thereal Christmas. If you have
the love and support of your family
•
and a few good friends, you have a lot
to be thankful for this .".
"Maybe you're right," he said, as
he rose to leave.
Well, I don't know di helped him,
but I hope he was able to enjoy the
holidays with his family. In any case,
I expect he, like many others, is glad
Christmas is over so everyone can get
down from their emotional high
horses and get on with their lives
whether they be good, or not so good.
Still, 1 continue to believe that it's
the love we receive, first frotn God,
and then from our family and friends
that puts meaning into our lives. And,
it seems tome, we need to receive it
and give it every day of the year, and
not just at Christmas.
•
MR. AND MRS. DAVID KERR
Christina Dianne, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Elliott, Hen-
saH and David Franklin Kerr, son
of Mrs. Velma Kerr, Owen Sound
and the late William Kerr were
married November 16, 1985 at
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's
Witnesses in Exeter with Norman
Clegg of Kitchener officiating.
The matron of honour was Jenny
Campbell; sister of the bride.
Bridesmaids were Cindy Plater
and Amy Elliott. Flowergirl was
Lisa Elliott and ringbearer was
Tavis Kerr. The bestman was Ian
Riley, Kitchener and ushers were
Glen Campbell and Steven Elliott.
The couple are residing in Kit-
chener, Ontario. 2nc
know that, for many, Christmas is not
the happy time of the year we'd all
like to pretend it is. Too bad we've
turned it into such a frenzied time of
superficial cheer and false good will,
a frivolous time when we don't want
anyone to have the audacity to admit
MR. AND MRS. MARK SHEELER
Diana Mary Kints and Mark
Douglas Sheeler were united in
marraige on September 28, 1985
at Precious Blood Mission in Ex-
eter. The bride is the d9ughter of.
Michel and Georgette Kints, ftR 3
Exeter and the groom's parents
are Roger and Barbara Sheeler,
Kingsville. The best man was An-
drew Brown, Agincourt, and the
maid of honour was Darlene
Vandesompele, Langton. The
ushers were Mark Heimrich,
Zurich; David Kints, Brian Kints,
and Steven Kints, Exeter.
Bridesmaids were Karen Hodge,
Credition; Kathy Love, Zurich;
Nancy Van Ooteghem, Clear
Creek, and Lisa Sheeler,
Kingsville. The flowergirl was
Amanda Cadotte, Wallaceburg
and the ringbearer was -David
Cadotte, Tecumseh. Ryan Sheeler
was the reader and Dean Sheeler
was the altar server. The soloist
was Kelly Livingstone, Exeter and
the organist was Christine
Eagleson, Zurich. Diana and
Mark are now residing in the
Peterborough area at RR 1
Baltimore.
Photo by Bart DeVries
Youth get high
at conference
Eight hundred youth, aged 14-22,
high on life, notdrugs, jammed the
courtyard of Toronto's Inn On The
Park Hotel today to release 1000 blue
balloons into the sky. The young peo-
ple, who cable primarily from across
Ontario, included`several this year
from other parts of Canada and two
from Wales. They were celebrating
the close of the 29th annual TOC
ALPHA Christmas Cpnference and
the close of International Youth Year.
The four-day conference (held an-
nually between December 27 and 30)
was planned and administered by the
youth themselves. A staff of 75 youth,
trained by the TOC ALPHA ex-
ecutive, administered the conference
which ran without incident. Early in
1985, several major hotels bid to host
the conference which enjoys a reputa-
tion of responsible behaviour.
Over 30 tvorkshops addressing the
major concerns of youth, i.e. sexuali-
ty, world peace, pornography, drink-
ing and driving, and peer pressure
were offered. Attendance at the con-
ference was high this year. In many
cases the $140.00 registration fee was
subsidized by local church or com-
munity groups.
TOC ALPHA (Taking on Concerns
About Life, People and Human
Achievement) is a youth program of
Alcohol and Drug Concerns, Inc. The
organization promotes a healthy,
drug-free lifestyle.
New report
is discussed
ly. "I'm sick and tired of all the hipe
and all the pretending. Most of all,
I'm sick of people telling me to cheer
up, to put on a happy face just
because it's Christmas. They couldn't
care less about bow I'm really feeling.
Christmas is nothing but alot of
phoney baloney and I can't wait for
it to be over!"
Hard words from one so young, but
I think I understood something of
what he was feeling. Psychologists
have told us, for years, that for the
troubled and the unloved, Christmas
is the worst time of the year, when,
for some reason or other, they feel
more deeply that they should be hap-
py, and that they should be loved.
Somehow, they can get through the
rest of the year, but Christmas should
be different, and for a day or two
they'd like someone to wave a magic
wand so they could be as happy and
as lovable as they believe everyone
else is. But it doesn't work that way.
Looking at my depressed young
friend, I wondered what to say. All I
could tell him was that Christmas is
not the hipe he was decrying. It is not
the loud speakers blaring out carols,
137 Thames Rd. East, Exeter
Phone: Bus. 235-1298 9:00 - 5:00
Res. 235-0949 after business hours
Book Your
Wedding NOW 1!!
Bart DeVries
PHOTOGRAPHY
on location or studio
The monthly meeting of the Strat-
ford and District Right to Life was
held at St. James Church, Stratford.
The new "Report of the Parliamen-
tary Committee on Equality Rights
(October 1985)", prepared by a
federal committee, was discussed
together with the recommendations to
Parliament. Stratford and District
Right to Life's input was recognized
in previous correspondence from the
chairman of the committee, Partrick
Boyer, M.P.
A new Pro -Life group "Teachers
for Life" has started in British Colum-
bia; now a "Teachers for Life" group
has been started in Toronto.
A course entitled "Teen Aid" was
discussed and further decisions will
be made relative to its use.
Plans will be finalized at the
January meeting for the Annual Pro -
Life art contest which is held in all the
elementary schools, from
kindergarten to grade eight.
JOIN WEIGHT WATCHERS!
January 2nd - January 24th
and attend your first meeting for only $10.001
$8 00 weekly thereafter
Seniortand students pay only $6.00!
A 00 weekly thereafter
THE NEW
_ L
QUICK START
PROGRAM.
•
EXETER
Old Town Hall
322 Main St.
Mon 6 450m
4