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Zurich Citizens News, 1981-01-08, Page 4Page 4 Citizens News January •, 1981 • westemommessistmelli Mlaeellaueous Rumblings By TOM CREECH Thanks • Here's looking at your for the Inst time unnu�uuununu�inn�uuuiniuuninnuuiuniiniin���uuminuutnn�iu�uti�mt�tttti��tit�tti���nu����+nuns�niu+�nn�uniunmt►n�inui+m�++���n�m�iiunuN�unu�_ Z.C.N. Viewpoint 11unnni11uunuu1uuuniuiiu1uu1ninu1uuniiinnnninunui1tnun11111m iunnuuiuiinniniiiiiiinunn11nniuiiiuuiiin11u1nuuiiniuunini1nunuu1iunuuit Those who have ears to hear If it is any consolation, the average Canadian consumer is not alone in his battle of the budget. People raising a family at a time when expenses are rising faster than the income, are finding the -sled- ding is getting tough. Older folks on a fixed income are discovering that it is becoming harder and harder to maintain a standard of living on a fixed in- come as the purchasing power of the dollar shrinks weekly. It is bad enough that inflation raises hob with our material things such as food, fuel and clothing; but now it isworming it's way into our spiritual life. Churches of all denominations are finding that the spectre of inflation is affecting them also. It strikes in two ways: the money coming in, and the money going out. At a time when the need for a strong church is greatest because of the emotional strain on the peo- ple, the money to expand the works of the churches is becoming more difficult to obtain. Church buildings, especially the older ones, are by their very nature, difficult and costly to heat and main- tain. Salaries, despite a heavy contribution in volun- tary labour, still remain a large share of a church's budget. And supplies are not sold to churches any cheaper than they are to any consumer. While costs go up, receipts, in most cases, go down. Family incomes now show less disposable in- come, so the easiest way for many families to trim the budget is to reduce their givings to their church. Even those families who have regimented themselves to tithing a percentage of of their in- come, are finding it increasingly difficult to main- tain their self-imposed quotas. There are also families who have been forced by unemployment to curtail church contributions altogether. It is difficult to retain sufficient cash flow for necessities of the body, let alone those for the soul. If it becomes a tossup between rations and religion, the outcome is no contest. Pressure is ,placed upon the churches from another direction. Most congregations budget a large part of their income to missions, and the mis- sion work is truly important. Unfortunately, in a world that sees more need each day for the mission dollar because of deteriorating conditions, donations for the missions are being reduced. Every denomination, at annual meetings and national synods hears the cry to raise more mission dollars as the need enlarges. The constant plea is for a larger share of each church budget to be turn- ed over to missions. And, at the same time church financiers are working harder to keep the church treasury solvent. As each householder must decide how to dis- burse the shrinking family purchasingpower,so also musteach congregation decide how much of their funds is to be spent locally, and how much is to go to mission work. The decisions of the church officials is no less difficult than that of the householders. The average householder can draw little solace in the fact that the churches are suffering as well as themselves. But each group can console themselves with the fact that they are caught up in one of the laws of nature that is inescapable: As the need for service is extended, the finances for that service become more unavailable . The Wheatley Journal Inflation hits the churches Truth is sometimes camouflaged by a haircut. Or rather, we sometimes refuse to hear truth because of who it is that speaks. In the '60s long-haired youths clad in their un- iform of blue jeans, beads and sandals had difficulty getting a hearing. Their message of social concern and protest against an unjust war was often lost because their rhetoric and garb was notcut from the approved cloth. The likes of Haldeman, Ehrlichman and Nixon received a better hearing since they appeared to be standard issue. When Fidel Castro stood before the UN, his message to the U.S. and other developed countries was almost lost because it was not packaged in the proper rhetoric. Castro urged the wealthy im- perialists to put up $300 billion over 10 years to help the poor countries. Western observers quickly ran a cost /benefit analysis through their pocket calculators and deemed the scheme impractical. The great disparity between those countries which have and those which have not has long been known. Countless agencies and churches have appealed in the name of justice and love for something to be done. Heart -wrenching scenes of famine, disaster and deprivation have flashed across the television screen, briefly disturbing our Bread and Circus Night in Canada. But still the tragedy persists. The bearded Cuban put a cattle prod to those lethargic from overindulgence. Perhaps an appeal to self-preservation will penetrate our force -field of affluent indifference; pleas based on moral and ethical ideals often seem impotent, although cor- rect. As we sit behind this typewriter for one of the last times in the writer's capacity as editor of this newspaper, there are literally thousands of incidents both pleasant and otherwise -which come to mind. Without a doupi many of these memories were triggered by the initial offer to head over to Mitchell and the process of making a decision on the matter. Before this column carries on too far, the writer would like to say thank you to everyone in Zurich and surrounding environs. Your co-operation and patience has been very much appreciated especially in the writer's early days when he wasn't exactly sure about the spelling of last names and when he experienced difficulty in getting that damn old Yashica-Mat camera to operate properly. The writer has made many friends in this communi- ty and a few enemies but all have facilitated the development of one very green journalist who while not yet quite covered with moss has managed to reach a certain level of proficiency. Returning to those earlier years i.e. the fall of 1977 the writer can recall running out of the old Citizens' News office one morning in hot pursuit of a picture. The only problem was you can't take much of a photo if your camera is sitting on a desk while you are three miles eastof Zurich. Running back to the office the writer remarked to office manager Betty O'Brien "You can't take a very good picture with a clip board." How about the time when the Lions Club were mak- ing some sort of presentation and the stupid camera wouldn't work again. Coming to the rescue was former publisher Herb Turkheim who exposed the writer to his first 35millimeter camera. Surprise, sur- prise thanks to Herb's instructions a couple of photos actually turned out. A few years later, the writer had a "great idea" to capture the spirit of the 1979 bean festival. Set up in the now abandoned offices was a mini photo studio complete with quartz lights and an off- white background. Volunteering for duty was 1978 bean queen Carol Fisher who was talked into holding a paper plate -full of Libby's finest. There was only one problem: the beans began to soak through the paper plate and there was a good chance that our paper plate would be no more. Luckily, the writer got his act together and came out with a reasonable photo. Without a doubt the highlight in terms of spot news coverage took place last summer with the search for Jamie Suplat. The community should be very proud of the way it reacted to the situation. Talking about events which the writer has covered, the morning travels in the spring and winter of 1978 to Fleck Manufacturing at Huron park will never be removed from the cranial cavity. There's nothing like a media event; Global TV rolls up in their super - deluxe mobile home, technicians from the CBC are running all over the place and the Ontario Provincial Police photograph the media and strikers from the roof of a building adjacent to Fleck. It was a fun place to be especially when the boy§ from Budd Automotive in Kitchener rolled in and when the OPP rolled them out. In closing, the writer will be keeping an eye on what will be taking place in Zurich due to the fact that the Mitchell Advocate has a subscription to the Citizens' News. You can bet the writer will be dropping in during the anniversary celebrations and he might just drop in on Hay and Zurich councils. Please turn to pages Published Each Wednesday Sy J. W . Eddy Publications Ltd. Member: Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association °Wirie Weekly Newspapers Association News Editor - Tom Creech Second Class Mall Registration Number 1385 Subscription Rates: $8.50 per year in advanc4 in Canada $19.30 per year outside Canada Single copies 25t