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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1969-03-13, Page 13MESSAGES FROM THE WORD By Rev. -G. L. Royal Knox Presbyterian Church Straight from the shoulder The "generation gap" is a pppular subject today. Hours are ._ given over to its study. Apparently there are some who believe that integration of a sorts can take place between the .0- 'teens and the 'sixties!, Does history present any situation., where such a thing happened? Has there not always been a gap and is it not meant, in the ordering of things,,, to be so? Is. not time itself ample testimony that there can never be any true detante between age groups? Flow can a ^Mari who is 45 . years of age, with 25 or 30 years of experience and hard -gained wisdom behind him, ` dialogue with someone 17 or, 18, with no launching. pad of experiential life in his kitbag? Does it not amount almost to the foolishness of asking a 5 year 4 boy to play with 25 year old men? In the days of the writer's youth--Lawrence—of Arabia w as headed, up by a white-haired missionary secretary in his. mid -sixties! The Canadian government • itself •relies tremendously 6n this same man "for information in this area. In this same area that the writer has called generalization and oversimplification has reared' an ugly head and distorted just .the way. the world is. Where you have, human beings coming into contct andatonflict with human beings, especially when the mass of mankind 'remains in an untedee:med condition; there will continue to be wars and rumours of war. It is a hard thing to say, granted, hut, after all, are we not called upon to face up to reality'? Where youth best exemplifies a . forward philosophy in our world is in the realm of vision, enthusiasm and energy. There is a trembling beauty about youth recognized _ in every era and no person • would. wish it. to .be otherwise. What must bo - controlled is the headway this exuberance takes! It cannot be allowed to run off the tracks! Unless disciplined it can lead to anarchy; irresponsibility and violence. The minute this occurs the ears..of older people close. There is -a demand for the police,. the national guard, the army! At that., point much of. what might have been gained is lost --- possibly for many centuries! 'T. S. Eliot, in "Portrait Of A Lady," penned these words for posterity, "211n1 youth is cruel, and has no ti . Yc Il l r )rSC' .117(.1 sni les at SItltatiotls f/iu'IR it cannot ! Smile, otivirse, r1 ticg'( l'tl' f./ri11ki1lg tea.'" This is exactly what happens — unless we beware. The 'cry of youth for justice, a fair shake and tolerance will be --1461; Ory Vitra grimacer and another' cup of tea. What does it come down to? Well, one thing that strikes this writer is the problem of authority. We' -•still live in a post -World War II world, despite • Korea and Vietnam. During the dreadful days of 1939.45, with . its Rotterdams, Coventrys, Iliroshim'as and Nagasakis, we who lived through those days were conditioned to a discipline., authority and obedience that nourished in our breasts a rebellion. This must never:atre again!• we said. The whole process had been distasteful and, as a result, authority itself' becan,ie a pro-blem to those who,, had come through the war years. Soldiers had marched, ships had sailed, planes had hovered overhead all of it within the ' confines of a sharp discipline. Afterwards the aftermath was - chaotic! The minute the peace was declared discipline within the armed forces became a problem — men wished to go home, officers were disobeyed and sometimes slaughtered, the populations - of nations raised... strong voice against the powers. in .control. It spelled out a time of reorientation.• Men had to, come to grips wit�r themselves and diffe,repces of deep agony necessitated reconciliation. •' Durirlg this process, sti•hich undoubtedly is still going on, tt_clay hc'carzre.probaem The foregoing statement is meant to express what one man has better expressed: , the problem today lies with the - older age groups, rather than with youth. Youth is youth! wherever it is found, and in whatever century. But, older °folk- have come through dynamic times and there has been • a , change in them. As they possess , the problem of authority so this uncertainty is passed along, in class, home and 'church and can' any doubt remain unrecognized that this has its effect upon the yourr, '? Of course ,.not! if we posst�;�s What; is 'termed the "permissive society" it` is so because of the older folk, not because ()Nile younger. Society is permissive because the _older people allow it to be permissive. Therein lies the problem of authority. What to believe'? What to honor? What to-rc?spe'ct?.Andy as always, the age -Old- questions haunt us, Who am l? What am I doing here'? 'Where am I going? We -are swept up in a quand.ry of questions that despoil our talents and lead us down the gardenpath,,, of nihilism. We become - the non -thinking gc neration and allow everything to happen because we have no concept of authority. Our taws become objects of doubt and those'wh.o must administer that law objects of disrespect. ' It is a privilege to write that '11wre7 is -.an-autli-brity 'that remains unchanged and can still hold the esteem of man. It is the ajisolute authority of Jesus ('hrist.' It was He Who said, in St. John 11:6, "I am the way, the truth, and, the life: no man cometh"tanto the Father, but by i\le." The alvatian of this world, our world, remains encompassed in our relationship to Ilim. If we seek the true direction of life then we will find it in Him for Ile enunciated it so clearly in $C W602:2941, "Near, 0 f sraql; the Lord our ,0Q4 is one Lord And thou shalt love the Lord thy Clod with all thy heart, and', with .11 thy soul, and with all thy d, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely, this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. '1'he3x •- is none- other commandment greater than these. Since you and I. seek solution to the problem of authority in our day\to day existence is it not time we ,all turned to the Christ of God and found our solace there? In Christ, youth and age will find detante and rapporte; in Christ, youth and age will find respect (mutual) and honor; in Chris4,,3 youth and age will find love and compassion. This.w world's salvation depends on Him! 0000 tiO SI NA .STA URSO x MARC , - zf R -A ivaNO- TItE Bt:1.111D-_� .. Last year, 1,796 blind Canadians received training in crafts, Braille reading and writing, typing, cooking and white cane travel. They were taught by 40 b1ii'd , Rome Teachers . from The Canadian National Institute for .the Blind. Many in, this area received this service, made possible by ,your donation to the CNIB. one of the great heroes. `Phis was 4 ��e��s��'��♦�� -"way, way back" in the 1930s! ' He had written a book. that swept the so-called modern world called, "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom." In it he recalled, "We lived many liressin those whirlitng campaigns, . never„ sparing ourselves any ,good or evil,. :yet %r'lien we bacl achieved,. and the new world dawned, the old Coen cat);tc ou,t again; and took from us our victors' and; remade it in t/u likeness of the `� jnrtncr world theyknew. Youth.' could win,. _hut had not learned to keep, and -was pitiable' -weak agaius1 age.' Ile stammered that, <, we had vvorked for a next' heaven and a new earth, and they • thanked us kind/i', and inade their peace. When we are their• age, no doubt rc'e shall.serve our children so." Somuch for Lawrence of Arabia and his thoughts. At least he recognized the great gulf fixed •between youth and age! And it is a truth: Immanuel Kant, if he were living today, would probably say that this was indeed a categorical' imperative of life itself: that youth was meant to be youth, and each age • is an inescapable truth that we all move from cradle to coffin • and that each decade brings with' 'it, for a person, educational ability for his/her present age. In .. • youth we note exhuberance,• energy, hysteria, exaggeration, generalization, ' oversimplifiea- tion, revolt, immaturity. With the passing of years comes a wisdom that all is not the, color it. is painted. How, then,. can there be a complete integration, ' of varying age . groupings? This writer maintains it -cannot -be sol The above does not mean, however, that no rapporte can .. exist_ There has to be some communication, or our world is o trAh* like army \\\\\C*444\ a co-, ke Thi st ;be +rri n�\ pe ;r 'and a Spirit \, of co-op r ion. There must be a recognition of the trials and problems of others. The kindly spirit must exist where an 18 year student can come into some sort of dialogue with a 60 year old businessman. We must be prepared to hear the other -out, • , participate ill criticism as well as ,. adulation. Right is not - completely an either side! It would be - insane, for example, ' for a 16 year old girl to imagine that she can dictate and instruct a 50 year old housewife in the ways of- the female world. By the same token, it would be ludicrous to think that a 65 year mtm�s,au�'G�r��a��a�ucs�mau and.sense how exactly a 1.9 year old young 'woman finds life in, +� 1969! There must be some rapporte in which the two .can talk and discuss and arrive at conclusions. What better area than mutual respect ' exists for such a confrontation? One notes an exasperation in +r youth today over :the seeming elf -satisfaction of parents. eighton Ford tells us_,iha•Ltbe... , modern go-go folk are encompas,sed with the war in • Vietnam, the strife in Biafra, the rad questions try America- and • . _ where; whereas , parentage is still in the grasp of the great depression and World War It. Is the division that stringent? Are we to say that a roan in his 50s today- iS„ not concerned with the upset in Biafra and the rather inexplicable war in Vietnam? Ts this not oversimplifying and generalizing the *hole,. gap that supposedly exists? After all, the abundance o - n oney Po leve the--Biatrans is coming from people largely in `their years of decline. The Canairelief itself is hr str UNITED HOLT CH CU' �.. ti2 .CAMBRIA STREET NORTH SVNDAY, MARCH.1eth 9:50 a m SUN47AY SCHOOL. .. 11:00 a.m. WORSHIP $ERvice. 7:00 p.m. — EVANGELISTIC SERVS-CA. Prayery Meeting --- WEDNESDAY EVENI°NP, 7:30 O'CLOCK "A WELCOME AWAITS YOU" . . Pastor: REV. A: JOHNSON, B.A. ''°PHONE 524.6387 CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH BAYFIELD ROAD AT BLAKE STREET The Record,. The,' Redeemer,, The Rebirth ;,1h Return BiB.LE SCHOOL CLASSES FOR EACH'AQE GROUP, 10 a.m. NEED A RIDE? CALL FOR BUS TO STQP PHONE: 524-6445 or 524-9229 11:00 a.m. —' Morning Worship EVENING SERVICE — 7:30 P.M. PASTOR REV. KENNETH J. KNIGHT "COME WHERE YOU ARE NEVER A STRANGER TWICE" SPECIAL ANDDEN ,SL1QHT IMPERFECTIONS IN CABINETS WESLEY MEMORIAL CHURCH THE FREE METHODIST CHURCH Park Street at Victoria H. Ross Nicholls, Pastor Sunday School — 10:00 a.m. Worship — 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m Midweek -Service-- ' Tues., 8:00—p.m; FIRST BAPTIST -CHURCH - (BAPTIST CONVENTION OF ONTARIO AND QUEBEC) MONTREAL STREET NEAR THE SQUARE 11:00 a.m. — MORNING WORSHIP ---- ''Minister: REV. ARTHUR MAYBURY,- B.A., B.D. Adult Bible Class, 10 a.m. — Sunday School, 10 a.m. -- A WELCOME TO ALL — THE HOOVER WASHER/SPIN DRYER .IS THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SELLING WASHING MACHINE 16 ONLY Fourth Surnday , in Lent SUNDAY, MARCH 16th • 8:30 a.m. — HOLY COMMU.NION.- 11:00 a.m. HOLY COMMUNION - AND SERMON.' Church School and Nursery at _ 10:00 a..m. and 11:00 a.m. Holy Communion Wednesdays in Lent at 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. Rector: REV. G. G. RUSSELL, B.A., B.D. , Organist- Choirmaster'— Miss Marion Aldous, A.Mus.. Mus..Bac. Knox Presbyt�rian Church THE REV. G. LOCKHART ROYAL, B.A., Minister WILLIAM CAMERON, Director of Praise . SUNDAY, MARCH 16th •10:00 a.m. — CHURCH SCHOOL. .11.:00 a.m. =- DIVINE WORSHIP. Sermon:. , "The Fragmentation of Authority" (Nursery and Junior Congregation) No P.Y.P.S. Meeting ' ENTER TO WORSHIP DEPART ,TO SERVE. -SUNDAY, MARCH 16th 10:00 a.m. ' SENIOR SCHOOL. 11:00 a.m. JUNIOR DEPARTMENT. • — a.m. 00 : 1 1r w WORSHIP. Sdrmon: Easter Challenges Us. F E AT I' 3;N \\ ' \ Supervise Nursery — WELCOME -- Rev. J. Donald- MacDonald, B.Sc., B.D., Minister Rev. William J. Maines, I3..A., Assistant Minister Mrs. Eleanor Hetherington, A.T.C.M., Organist and Choir 4 -ea -der ----- Bethel Pentecostal Tabernacle CORNER OF ELGIN AND WATERLOO STS. REV. ROBERT CLARK, Pastor EFFICIENT!. SUNDAY; -MARCH 16th 1'1:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. immtroonzarantrituramstamnawarturammummsguscrtakumutrazzannimm,. Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. — PRAYER AND BIBLE STUDY. Washes and spin drys 6 pounds • in 8 minutes. Spin dry one load while another washes. Victoria Street United Church • The House of Friendship Rev. Leonard Warr 10:00°a.m. —'BIBLE SCHOOL FOR ALL GRADES 11:00 a.m. — WORSHIP -SERVICE sermon: ''CHRIST AS THE LAMB OF GOD" 1:30 p.m. — BENMILLER WORSHIP 'SERVICE AVD BIBLE OL. Mrs. Mrs. J. Snider — W-E-L•C-O-M-E — Miss Patricia Durst Victoria St. Organist & Choir Leader Betltniller Pianist stays together ''� '�♦ 40.40-41,••••••••••••••41404•••••••44•40.4110-40-404044****