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The Citizen, 1999-09-22, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1999. ^WaltonThie nevys from Compiled by Patty Banks Phone 887-6156 Walton students have busy week By volunteer hands The Mennonite Central Committee challenged Brussels churches to surpass the Vacation Bible School’s 60 education kits, which were made this summer. And they did it. Accompanying those kits will be 60 health kits coming from Melville Presbyterian Church, with support from all other Brussels congregations to help the underprivilged and impoverished. Organizers say the assistance was outstanding with countless volunteer hours coming from an “army” of church members. With the kits, which are packed up and ready to leave the Melville basement, are from left: Wendy Kessel, Sheana Campbell and Janna Speers-Dodds. Rev. Murray gives last sermon Crystal Gibbons and her friend, Nikki greeted worshippers at Duff’s United Church on Sept. 19. Rev. Murray’s last service at that church. He welcomed everyone and announced that there would be no service in Walton next week as it is Bluevale’s anniversary service. The following Sunday, Oct. 3, Melissa Whitmore will be the guest speaker. He also announced that the church is in need of a cleaner to clean for three hours a week. Anyone interested is to call Barb Durrell. The choir sang one of Rev. Murray’s favourite songs from the new hymn book. Here I am Lord. The children were called forward and Patty Banks asked Sunday School teachers, Jim Campbell, Shelly McGavin and Shannon Gibbons to come forward. Rev. Murray said a prayer, blessing them in their ministry and prayed for the children that they will learn about God's love for them and that they would all have a wonderful year. Patty, on behalf of the Sunday School, presented Gloria Wilbee with a gift upon her retirement from teaching Sunday School for many years. Rev. Murray began his sermon by telling what he learned at all his pastorates. In Walton-Bluevale he learned about the strength of community and the need to nurture and strengthen it. He learned the importance of laughing together, whether as the butt of one of Neil McGavin’s jokes or after being bonked on the back of the head by the Bluevale choir because he forgot the anthem. He learned not all country roads are quiet, and not all traffic jams happen in the city. He learned going to the dump is a great social outing, as you never know who you’ll meet there and you never know what neat stuff you might pick up there. He learned you have to drive really fast just to keep up to the police cars. He learned church suppers are more than a fundraiser, they are the only time people around here will willingly line up and wait for a table and be happy about it. He used to laugh at the newspaper articles, which said, “Mrs. JoneS poured tea at the UCW function.” Now he knows that means that Mrs. Jones got to visit with everyone and had a great time doing it. He also now knows he has to read all these articles every week, just to see if they quoted him right and to see how his sermon compared with what the other ministers were saying. He learned that funeral services held in the church have the power to heal, that when people walk through the valley of the shadow' of death together, week by week, they do get through it and they do come out on the other side. For the lessons he has learned here he thanked everyone. He went on to say that although people have all these wonderful things in their lives they still often think it is not enough, letting ‘if only’, take over. “If you wait for happiness to come it will never arrive,” he said. “If you can’t be happy in your life as it is right now, imperfections and flaws and all, you won’t be happy when all those self-imposed conditions are met. Because you will still find one more thing you need, one more thing which is lacking in your life before you are truly content.” Happiness is a conscious choice people make given their present set of circumstances. They choose to be happy and to be fulfilled, by things as they are, not by how they one day might be. God gives each person everything they need, as individuals and as a community of faith. On behalf of the Walton community we wish Rev. Murray the best of luck at his new charge in Montreal. Thanks for sharing your life with us these past three years. Wingham complex to move Wingham council has approved a plan to save as much as $100,000 on construction costs for the pro­ posed Huron Bruce Community Complex. At an early September meeting council had approved, in principle, the plan to move the complex to • 12-treed acres recently purchased by the town. Several members of the complex and building committee had attend­ ed the session to present a proposal which would see the complex Continued on page 18 It has been a fun week at Walton Public Schobl with the Brussels Fair on Wednesday and “Meet the Teacher Night” on Thursday, plus the Terry Fox Run on Friday. The children walked in the parade and carried the school banner. It was a perfect day for the children to do their Terry Fox Run. Money was raised and the students were all given drinks and a certificate for participating. The kindergartens have begun to learn the alphabet and S was the letter they began with. They made scarecrows, did an S letter search and finished their bus safety booklets. In Grade 1/2 social studies the Be Involved in Measuring the State of Environment in Huron County PUBLIC FORUM Thursday, September 30, 1999 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Central Huron Secondary School (Clinton) in the Library Residents of Huron County value a healthy environment. This public forum will refine the environmental features and issues to be monitored, determine key indicators to be measured or tracked, and develop action plans. Your participation will help influence environmental monitoring and reporting in Huron County. More information is available from the Huron County Planning and Development Department, Court House, Goderich ON N7A 1M2, phone (519) 524-2188. Inspecting the produce Peggy and son Lucas Keffer spent some time checking out the vegetable displays at the Brussels Fall Fair, Sept 14. children created personal time lines. They brought photos of themselves as babies as well as current photos. They then illustrated and recorded two important life events that had happened to them between the time of their photos. The Grade 3s are reading several Steven Kellogg books called, Can I Keep Him? and Mysterious Tadpole. The reading groups are now being set up. The Grade 4s have been reviewing Old MacDonald for presentation at the Plowing Match on Wednesday. They also made some ‘Apple-tizing Art’ by making tissue paper apples and a glue called, Prit.