The Citizen, 1995-12-13, Page 16THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
You are wet -come this Sunday
December 17 - Advent 3
Rev. Nancy Beale
Trinity, Blyth
St. John's, Brussels
7:30 p.m. 11:15 a.m.
Carols & Decorating Lessons & Carols
BRUSSELS UNITED CHURCH
Rev. Cameron McMillan
Church Office 887-6259 Manse 887-9313
11:00 a.m. Morning Worship
"Finding Joy in Dfficulties"
Church School/Nursery
9:30 a.m. Ethel Morning Worship
0 happy times this Advent, we mark each day away
Welcome
HURON CHAPEL MISSIONARY
CHURCH
PASTOR JAMES H. CARNE AUBURN 526-7515
Sunday 10 a.m. - Family Bible Hour
11 a.m. - Morning Service
8 p.m. - Evening Service
Wednesday 8 p.m. - Prayer & Bible Study
Friday 7:30 p.m. - Youth
Myth United Church
Christmas Eve Service
Communion at 11:00 a.m. Service
Special Christmas Eve Service 7 p.m.
Rev. Ian Diamond
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Cathrine Campbell
11:00 a.m. - Morning Service
- Sunday School
9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service
We welcome you to come and worship with us.
887-9831 Wheelchair Accessible
Canada is a wildlife haven.
Join us today to help
keep it that way .
Canadian
m.aa Wildlife
It" Federation
You are WeCcome at
the
BLYTH CHURCH OF GOD
9:45 a.m. - Sunday School for Children and Adults
11 - 12:15 - Morning Worship
BibleStudies - Wednesday 10 a.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Phone 523-4590 McConnell St., Blyth
Sea Otter
Endangered
PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1995.
From the Minister's Study
Lighting up a dark world
By Randy Banks
Walton-Bluevale Pastoral
Charge
'The people who walked in
darkness have seen a great light."
(Isaiah 9.2)
In the village of Mt. Pleasant,
Ontario just south of Brantford,
there is to be found during the
Christmas season, a light display
that must bring a 100 kilowatt glow
to radiate from the face of Thomas
Edison when he views it from that
great power plant in the sky.
This particular homeowner • creates a glimmering oasis of light
consisting of thousands of bulbs
and hundreds of extension cords.
His January power bill must be an
eagerly-awaited post-Christmas gift
for Ontario Hydro, but he certainly
knows how to dispel winter
darkness in grandiose fashion.
People come from miles around to
be dazzled by what has become an
area tourist attraction of sorts.
We hard (foolhardy?) denizens of
the northern hemisphere find
ourselves enveloped in darkness at
the approach of the winter solstice.
In southern Ontario, that means that
we made do with a skimpy eight or
so hours a daylight which is often
devoid of sunlight as evidenced by
our dreary November. In the Arctic
regions, the sun virtually
disappears for a couple of months.
Many Canadians suffer from
seasonal affective disorder
(S.A.D.), now recognized as
genuine medical condition
characterized by prolonged bouts of
depression from mid-October to the
end of March.
I am convinced that we set out
Christmas lights not only to mark
Christmas, but to fight back against
the darkness of this time of year.
When Christmas began to be
This past Sunday Blyth United
Church held its service of readings
and carols. It was also White Gift
Sunday.
Greeters were Michelle
McNichol and Ashley Howson.
Ushers were Jackie Falconer,
Michelle Cook, Devon Shannon
and Heather Elliott.
Orie Falconer entered the church
with Rev. Diamond and placed the
Bible on the pulpit. The service
opened with lighting of the Second
Advent Candle by the Root family,
Debbie, Tammy, Lisa and
Stephanie.
Rev. Ian Diamond, exchange
minister from Australia, opened
with Call to Worship, announce-
ments and welcoming everyone for
coming out on such a snowy, cold
morning. During the White Gift
segment, Rev. Diamond explained
to the children why the gifts are
wrapped in white with the origin
dating back to around 1903.
The Service of the Word
followed with readings and carols.
Following readings by Lenora
Davidson, Brenda Brooks, Les
Rutledge, David Sparling, Brenda
Edgar and Mary Thompson
Christmas carols were sung with
the choir rendering anthems, An
English Christmas and Christmas
Day, accompanied by Phyllis Boak.
The Christmas carol, Joy to the
World concluded the service.
observed as a holy day in the fourth
century A.D., the exact birth date
of Jesus was unknown and
unknowable. Most pagan cultures
already celebrated some festival of
light on or about the shortest day of
the year in order to symbolize that
the annual conquest of light over
darkness had commenced. In order
to overshadow these pagan
observances, the church designated
Dec. 25`'sas the day to celebrate the
coming of the light of Christ. In
stringing out Christmas lights, we
therefore participate in a primordial
ritual to beat back the inner and
outer darkness of our world. After
all, why struggle with hopelessly
twisted electrical cords and burned-
out bulbs in the freezing cold which
is obviously not as easy as, say,
wandering undetected into 24
Sussex Drive for a tour of the
Prime Minister's digs.
Christmas lights are symbolic of
the truth that Christ is 'the true light
which enlightens everyone who has
come into the world.' (John 1.19)
The gospel writer of John declares
that the light of Christ shines in the
darkness and the darkness has not
overcome it (John 1.5).
In each of our lives, Christmas
notwithstanding, darkness looms.
The lights of Christmas may be
dim for us because of personal ill
health or the sickness of family
members or friends. This may be
your first Christmas without a
certain loved one. You may have
experienced marriage or family
breakdown. Perhaps you have lost a
job and are fearing that you may
have to access the ever-shrinking
income assistance pie or even visit
a food bank or the Christmas
Bureau. And even if all else is fine,
we can worry ourselves into deep
distress about the desperate
The church is beautifully
decorated for the Christmas season.
Thanks go to Earl and Shirley Fyfe
for donating the tree and to Christa
Cameron, Susan Howson, Laurie
Sparling and Shirley Fyfe for
decorating.
Several poinsettias and mums
were placed in memory of loved
ones: Jack Stewart, Robert Adams,
Mary Gillespie, Amanda Wilson,
Murray Gillespie, David Bowes,
Russell Wilson, Earl Caldwell, and
Karl Ulch.
circumstances of the less privileged
people in various parts of the
world.
Whatever your darkness is, there
can be no denying its reality. So,
what good, then, is Christmas? Is
all the joy more than just a little
artificial and vacuous?
I doubt that there has been a time
in the last 2,000 years of human
history when it did not seem as
though the darkness were closing in
for good. Nevertheless, each
Advent/Christmas, the Christian
church insists on stubbornly
proclaiming the good news of great
joy to all people: "For unto you is
born this day a Saviour." We do so
because we believe that everyone
possesses a few watts to contribute
to the light of Christ. Your wattage
may be in the form of a warm,
friendly smile; a kind word; a
sincere Christmas greeting; the
remembering of someone in your
prayers; or the -more traditional
giving of a gift to someone whom
you know needs to receive some
light in his/her darkness.
A shepherd in a certain nativity
play must have understood the
symbolism of the Christ child as
God's light in a darkened world.
The newborn saviour in the manger
was being portrayed by an electric
light bulbs. The stagehand in
charge of the lighting became
confused and put out the light in
the manger. This shepherd said, in
a loud whisper: "Hey! You
switched off Jesus!"
Do not switch off the light of
Christ that shines forth from you.
The world needs all the light it can
get.
By the way, thank you to all
those who are helping to light up
our dark winter world with your
store and home displays.
Rev. lan Diamond will be
preaching at the combined churches
Christmas service at Londesboro
United Church Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
At Blyth United Church, Dec. 24,
the Christmas service with Holy
Communion will be at 11 a.m. The
Candlelight Christmas Eve Service
will be at 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 4, Rev. Ian Diamond, Kay
and family will depart Blyth for
Australia. The same day, Rev.
Stephen Huntley, Kate and family
return to Blyth.
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
HIGHWAY 4, BLYTH--523-9233
Sunday 10:00 a.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Rev. Adrian A. Van Geest
The Church of the "Back to God Hour" and "Faith 20"
Back to God Hour 10:30 a.m. CKNX Sunday
Faith 20 5:30 a.m. Weekdays, Global T.V.
Aft Visitors 'Welcome rWheefchair accessidre
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Brussels Mennonite Fellowship
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WELCOMES
Sunday, December
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Blyth UC has White Gift Sunday