The Citizen, 2010-12-09, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010.By Pastor Ernest Dow,
Living Water Christian
Fellowship (EMC), Blyth
At time of writing, it’s Dec. 6, also
known as the feast day of Saint
Nicholas. You are probably more
familiar with the popular modern-
day corruption of him known as
Santa Claus. But the original St.
Nicholas was Bishop of Myra on the
southern coast of Asia Minor
(modern Demre, Turkey) up to about
345 A.D.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of
the Christian Church cautions,
“Practically nothing about him is
certain.” Traditions and legends
abound, some more probable than
others. stnicholascenter.org reports
that, though he was born wealthy,
“Nicholas used his whole
inheritance to assist the needy, the
sick, and the suffering.” World Book
Encyclopaedia refers to “the legend
that St. Nicholas gave gold to each
of three girls who did not have
dowries and so could not get
married.” This kindness is supposed
to have spared them from the
unsavoury prospect of having to earn
their livelihood by immoral means.
Wikipedia offers variants of this
story: “...being too modest to help
the man in public (or to save the man
the humiliation of accepting
charity), [Nicholas] went to his
house under the cover of night and
threw three purses (one for each
daughter) filled with gold coins
through the window opening into the
man’s house. One version... has him
throw the purses over a period of
three years, each time the night
before one of the daughters comes
‘of age’. Invariably, the third time
the father lies in wait, trying to
discover the identity of their
benefactor. In one version the father
confronts the saint, only to have
Saint Nicholas say it is not him he
should thank, but God alone.”
While the truthfulness of this
account cannot be guaranteed, it
would certainly seem in character
with someone who modestly
devoted their life to helping the poor.
If this version is correct, St. Nicholas
practised ‘giving on the sly’,
covertly, discreetly, trying to
preserve the anonymity of the
giver.
Unfortunately, much of our
current attitude towards Christmas,
and view of Santa Claus, miss out on
this aspect of giving-on-the-sly. Our
Christmas shopping is carefully
planned so we make sure we’ve
gotten gifts for everyone who may
be giving us a gift; how
embarrassing it would be to receive
one from someone if we weren’t
prepared to reciprocate! We even try
to estimate the value of any gifts we
might receive, calculating an
appropriate amount to offset this,
lest there be any imbalance in the
transaction.
Children are groomed to prepare
‘wish lists’ to send to Santa – here
the emphasis is on what I want, not
what I can give. The original accent
on generosity and kindness may be
perverted into selfishness and
possessiveness.
It’s time we recovered the jollies
the original St. Nicholas would have
experienced through giving-on-the-
sly. There is a certain thrill and
satisfaction that comes from doing a
good turn for someone without them
knowing the source. Jesus (for
whom the season of Christmas is
named) said, “It is more blessed to
give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
Anonymous giving rejoices in the
blessing of being privileged to help
out.
In our era, young women no
longer require dowries in order to
procure a husband. But there are
many other opportunities to assist
those in the community, and around
the world, who are less well-off than
ourselves. A recent letter from the
North Huron Community Food
Share in Wingham reports nearly a
quadrupling in the number of clients
accessing their service, from 884 in
2006-07 to 2,761 in 2009-10. The
Christmas Bureau has distributed
brown paper bags for contributions,
and the Salvation Army, envelopes
for its Christmas Cheer appeal.
Every year hundreds of people in our
area benefit from and appreciate
such endeavours. These are our
neighbours.
Let’s recover the practice of
generous, anonymous giving, St.
Nicholas-style. In a very
materialistic culture, it’s a much-
needed antidote to greed and envy.
Christ’s advice in the Sermon on the
Mount may have inspired St.
Nicholas: “Watch out! Don’t do your
good deeds publicly, to be admired
by others, for you will lose the
reward from your Father in heaven...
When you give to someone in need,
don’t let your left hand know what
your right hand is doing. Give your
gifts in private, and your Father, who
sees everything, will reward you.”
(Matthew 6:1ff NLT)
Come celebrate the
Advent of Jesus Christ
at
Brussels Mennonite Fellowship
Sunday, December 12
9:30 a.m. Together for Worship
(includes Communion)
10:45 a.m. Coffee Break
11:00 a.m. Sunday School
Noon Fellowship Potluck Meal
------------------------
7:30 pm Brussels Community Chorale
Concert at Melville
Presbyterian Church
Pastor Brent Kipfer 519-887-6388
God loves people ~ He sent His Son to be one!
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, December 12
Brussels Public School
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
6:30 pm - DVD series on the Book of
Revelation by James MacDonald
Sunday School for children
4 to 11 years of age (mornings only)
Childcare provided for infants and toddlers
Coffee & cookies after the morning service
For additional details please contact:
Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
Chris McMichael 519.482.1644
Please join us for worship
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00 am
Evening Service 7:30 pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
Hwy. 4, Blyth
519-523-4743
www.blythcrc.ca
BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
Sandra Cable, Worship Leader
Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - beunitedchurch@gmail.com
Sunday, December 12
Ethel United Church
Worship Service and Sunday School - 9:30 a.m.
Brussels United Church
Worship Service and Sunday School - 11:00 a.m.
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
Worship Service & Sunday School at 11 a.m.
CORNER OF DINSLEY & MILL STREETS
MINISTER
Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M. Div.
All Welcome
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.OFFICE: 519-523-4224
December 12th - “12 Shopping Bills ’Til Jesus’ Birth”
December 19th - “Sunday School Christmas Pageant”
YOU ARE WELCOME
9:45 a.m. Sunday School for all ages
10:30 a.m. - Sunday Morning Worship
Mid-week Bible Study
C H U R C H O F G O D ,ANDERS
O
N
,
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N
D
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A
Timeless Truths
For Today
308 Blyth Rd. E., Blyth
Pastor Les Cook ~ 519-523-4590
Blyth Community Church of God
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
Welcomes you to come and worship with us
Trinity, Blyth
9:15 a.m.
Church Office: 519-317-4883
St. John's, Brussels
11:15 a.m.
519-887-6862
Sunday, December 12
Rev. Perry Chuipka
www.nabcom.ca/church
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Elwin Garland
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
519-887-2664
10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
119 John’s Ave., Auburn
519-526-1131
www.huronchapel.org
9:30 a.m.
Sunday School
10:30 a.m.
Morning Worship Service
Guest Speaker:
Rev. Eugene Neudorf
7:00 p.m.
Everyone is welcome to
attend this
traditional evening
of special music by
candlelight.
getlivingwater.org
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School
at Blyth Public School,
corner of King & Mill
Tuesdays 7:30 pm - Wingham Small Group
1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm - Women’s Ministry
Fridays 7:00 pm - Youth Group
Christ-centred, Bible-believing,
Fellowship-friendly, Growth-geared
Dec. 12: Isaiah 61
Joy in
What
God’s Doing”
From the Minister’s StudyGive at Christmas without the admiration
See histories and historic
photographs on the
Huron History section
of our website
www.northhuron.on.ca
The Citizen