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The Times Advocate, 2008-03-05, Page 66 Times -Advocate Wednesday, March 5, 2008 Opinion Forum News LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR • LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Re: the Lord's Prayer Since Dalton McGuinty announced the removal of the Lord's Prayer from the Ontario Legislature, people have wanted me to write a letter about it. Here it is. But those people might be disappointed about the contents. I'm in favour of God's influence in our daily lives, but I'm not in favour of ritual prayers. I'm old enough to remember the Lord's Prayer in school before it was taken out. Am I a better person for having done that? No. Am I a better person for having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and for studying God's word? Yes. Lives are transformed by Jesus, by faith, not by ritual. Jesus regularly confronted religious leaders who insisted on rituals. The Lord's Prayer is a model for "how" to pray, not "what" to pray. Yet we often look at it as some kind of magic cure-all. As long as we have it, we think our world is still OK. But there's no mystical power in reciting the Lord's Prayer, or the Prayer of Jabez or Hail Mary for that matter. Such belief smacks of superstition. By the way, what I remember of the Lord's Prayer in school was a lot of words I didn't understand. No one explained what we were reciting, or why; we just had to recite it. That's not faith, it's empty ritual. We need the influence of God in our schools and our government. But recita- tion isn't enough. How about prayers for wisdom and protection? Perhaps daily Bible readings? Perhaps a quiet time for meditation and prayer? We could pray for them ourselves! Better yet, let's introduce them to Jesus Christ, and let Him transform their lives. I watched a movie about one of the planes hijacked on 9/11. As they were about to crash, many "prayed." The terrorists repeated "Allah u Akbar" over and over. Several passengers recited the Lord's Prayer. It was as if that was all they could think of because that had been the best our culture had to offer in the way of spiritual teaching. A recitation. We love to blame the absence of such rituals for moral decline in our world. Perhaps this decline would be less if we offered up more than a few rituals and recitations. THOMAS BAILEY, Grand Bend Hospital campaign update Imagine the hospital you would like for you, your fami- ly and friends ... Imagine a hospital with state-of-the- art equipment, with sufficient space to meet patient vol- umes, now and into the future, and designed to meet the needs of patients and staff ... A facility that would attract and retain the finest medical and professional staff— a key to a healthy community. The campaign is critical for the health of patients in South Huron, Bluewater, Lambton Shores and Northern Middlesex. The campaign is Lettees focused on raising funds for two distinct to projects. The first is a totally new X -Ray the department which is now up and running. Editor The second is an upgrade with an increase in the number of treatment rooms. The ER is now under construction and is planned to be complete by May - June 2008. The campaign has been an overwhelming success as you can tell by our weekly updates in the Times - Advocate. Our goal of $ 1.6 million has been reached and we have decided to finish our campaign at the end of March. The projects which were in the planning stage March is EpilepsyAwareness Month HURON — This year, 90 people within Huron, Perth and Bruce counties will be diagnosed with epilepsy. One out of 10 people will have a seizure at some point in their life. After migraine headaches, epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder. This is Christina May's story: "Hi. My name is Christina May. When I was five years old, I experienced my first seizures. Throughout my school days, most teachers did not understand what epilepsy was and would yell at me to pay atten- tion. I remember coming out of a seizure and finding my fellow stu- dents staring down at me, some con- cerned, some laughing, some mak- ing fun. "I also experienced `auras,' small seizures that didn't cause me to lose D consciousness; they were often a warning sign that a bigger seizure was coming. When I had an aura, I learned to run to the bathroom — I didn't want anyone to see my seizure. "Unfortunately, sometimes I would fall and hit the toilet or sink. I would end up with black eyes, broken teeth and even broken limbs. Epilepsy But, you know what? It was better than waking Yltaric] up to the teasing and O intolerance. My physi- cal wounds would heal but the sadness I felt from the insults, name calling and derogatory comments will always be with me. "Today, I am 46 years old and con- tinue to have uncontrolled seizures. I live in the country and cannot drive because of my seizures. The staff at Epilepsy Huron Perth Bruce has been instrumental in helping me to live a mostly normal life. They visit me because it is lonely where I live. They help me talk to my doctor because I can't always understand what he means. They hold events for people with epilepsy. "During these events, I see that I am not alone; there are others just like me. Epilepsy Huron Perth Bruce even got me started on Internet banking so I would not have to wait until someone is going into town. The people at Epilepsy Huron Perth Bruce are important to me." March is Epilepsy Awareness Month. Please be aware — it can happen to anyone. For more information, call 482- 5527 or toll free 1 -866 -EPILEPSY. Epilepsy Huron -Perth -Bruce is a member agency of Huron United Way, United Way of Perth County, and United Way Bruce Grey, and thanks each organization for their continued support. almost two years ago will be fully funded by the gen- erosity of local residents, local businesses and local ser- vice clubs and a $1 million grant provided by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. Of course, these types of long term planned projects always have small cost overages and the need to exceed our goal is on the right track. We are at the hospital at the beginning of our lives, throughout accidents, pre -surgeries and tests and then near the end of our lives. We all need to work together for the generations to come. As one of our donors said to me early in the campaign, heath care and our local hos- pital is unrivaled in its importance to the community. "I'm doing this donation for my kids, my grandchildren, my family and the community." The campaign team is a dedicated group of volunteers. Their hard work has paid off! Our donors have been the critical component in ensuring we met our goals. South Huron Hospital staff and physicians are dedicated to providing quality health care and services to our com- munity and are proud to work in a community so sup- portive of its hospital. I would like to thank all our campaign team members, donors, staff and anyone who took the time to talk and discuss the campaign and what it means for our com- munity. Please consider making a donation to help us exceed our goal. Please remember if you wish to be rec- ognized as a supporter of this campaign you have until the end of March to make a donation. Remember that every donation, no matter how large, is welcome and every donor is priceless. So don't delay, please drop your donation off at the hospital or send to the South Huron Hospital Foundation, 24 Huron St., Exeter, Ont., NOM 1S2. Again, thanks to all the community. This has truly been a life -shaping experience for myself and my family. BOB GEHAN, Capital Campaign Team Local girl's "MVP" episode airs next week CLANDEBOYE — A Clandeboye girl's appearance in the CBC soap "MVP" will air Tues., March 11 at 9 p.m. Featured in the Times -Advocate in January, two- year-old Alyssa Langendyk filmed her scenes for "MVP" at London's Grosvenor Lodge Sept. 27. The show is billed as "Hockey's Desperate Housewives," and details the off -ice lives of the ficti- tious Mustangs hockey team. Alyssa lives in Clandeboye with her twin brother, Owen, and their parents, Tammy and Jeremy. February's euchre at Malibu Feb. 4 White Card Hi Verna Burnley, White Lone Helen Wasnidge, White Low Donelda Lewis, Blue Card Hi Murray Looby, Blue Lone Audrey MacGregor, Blue Low Bob Latta Feb. 11 -cancelled Feb. 18 White Card Hi Linda Webber, White Lone Doreen Anderson White Low Hazel Oberlin, Blue Card Hi Eugene Webber, Blue Lone Art Oberlin, Blue Low John Cooper Feb. 25 White Card Hi Rose Piper White Lone Theresa McCann, White Low Helen Wasnidge, Blue Card Hi, Murray Louby, Blue Lone, Marie Broom, Blue Low Art Oberlin Principal's message EXETER — Last week we held our second annual PAWS (Panther Active Winter Sports) Day, and we really couldn't have asked for better weather. Although it was a little on the chilly side, we had bright sunshine and clear skies, giving us excellent conditions for some fun outdoors in the snow. Period Two classes competed against one another in each grade level, with points awarded for participation, enthusiasm, and, of course, for winning the events. The students and staff involved had a great time, and I would like to thank the PAWS Day Committee and the Students' Council leaders for organizing and running the events. I am disappointed, however, in one aspect of PAWS Day, and that is the level of attendance and involvement by the student body, with fewer than half of the students present. In recent years schools have been encouraged to do more to get students active and to encourage healthy active living. While we can provide the opportunities for activity, we can't force the stu- dents to take advantage of them: PAWS Day is an example of that. We shortened classes so that the events could be run during school time, and the games were designed for maximum participation and fun, requiring little athletic ability. So, it was disappointing that so many stu- dents opted not to take part, many with the support of their parents. I'm sure that there were some who were absent for legitimate reasons, but that would not be the case for many of them. In spite of the poor turn -out, it was a great day, and as I have told our staff, there are many ways to measure success, with the numbers in attendance being only one. The levels of enthusiasm, fun, and school spirit demonstrated by those who were involved are perhaps better indicators of the success of this event. Student engagement and involvement are challenges on the academic side of things as well. Outside of school most students are engaged in a world of technology that keeps them entertained and inter -connected in ways that are somewhat for- eign to parents and teachers alike. Although television is still a big part of their lives, computers and video games have surpassed it in importance in the lives of many teens, and the cell phone and text messaging occupy much of their time as well. And, of course, I can't overlook the MP3 player: the iPod is firmly established in the lives of our young people. But there is more than entertainment happening through this technology. Students are connected to one another through MSN, Facebook, e-mail, and text messaging in ways that we may find hard to understand, and a whole new language of acronyms has developed. News - good and bad - gossip, and cyber -bullying happen at an astonishing rate, adding to the challenges and pressures of growing up. So, in the classroom we face an enormous challenge in trying to engage students in learning, even in trying to get them disengaged from the technol- ogy that dominates their lives outside of school. Is technology the answer? It may be part of the solution, but it does cost a great deal of money. Mobile computer labs and SmartBoards do seem to be improving levels of student engagement, but is this due to the novelty of the equipment, or will the effect be long lasting? Only time will tell. Instead of competing with the technolo- gies that already have our students engaged, should we be trying to find ways to incorporate them into our teaching? Clearly we have more questions than answers but one thing is certain: as technology advances, it will become more and more of a challenge to get and keep students engaged in school work. JEFF REABURN PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE