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The Citizen, 1998-02-11, Page 16A big lift Brussels United Church's Operation Uplift got a big boost last week when the UCW treasurer Isobel Wheeler presented a cheque for $2,500 to project chairman Ralph Watson. Project Uplift gets boost You are Welcome at the BLYTH COMMUNITY CHURCH OF GOD 9:45 a.m. - Sunday School for Children and Adults 11:00 a.m. - Morning Worship Bible Studies - Wednesday 10 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. Phone 523-4590 McConnell St., Blyth THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA You are welcome this Sunday Rev. Nancy Beale FEBRUARY 15 - EPIPHANY 6 HOLY EUCHARIST Trinity, Blyth St. John's, 9:30 a.m. Brussels Wheelchair accessible 11:15 a.m. 0 BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA Rev. Christine Johnson - Minister Church Office 887-6259 Home 887-6540 February 15, 1998 9:30 a.m. Morning Worship Ethel 11:00 a.m. Morning Worship Brussels Monday, Feb. 16 - 7 p.m - "Exploring Rural Theology" Study This course is open to the entire community. Led by Betty Graber and Rev. Chris Johnson, we will be exploring our faith from a rural perspective. Special Guest: Rev. Paul Ross of Londesborough COME AND TRY US OUTI Gsod's Love Is Fre: We Welcome You at Brussels Mennonite Fellowship 9:30 a.m. Worship Service 10:45 a.m. Christian Education Pastor Ben Wiebe 887-6388 "Lei us love one another because Love comes from God." 1 John 4:7 MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS 11:00 a.m. - Morning Service - Sunday School 9:30 a.m. - Belgrave Service 7:30 p.m. - Tuesday Bible Study 2:00 p.m. - Wednesday Bible Study Wheelchair accessible Nursery care available We welcome you to come and worship with us. Rev. Cathrine Cam • bell - 887-9831 HURON CHAPEL EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH _ PASTOR JAMES H. CARNE AUBURN 526-7515 ASSOCIATE PASTOR - YOUTH - JEREMY SHUART 523-9788 Sunday 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. - Monday 7:30 p.m. - Wednesday 7:30 p.m. - Friday 7:30 p.m. - Morning Worship Service Family Bible Hour Morning Worship Service Evening Service New Hope Support Group Prayer & Bible Study Youth Please join us for worship this Sunday Sunday Morning Service - 10 a.m. Evening Service - 7:30 p.m. "put you are a chosen people a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises ofJ-Iirri who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." I Peter 2:9 BLYTH . CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH Rev. Adrian A. Van Geest Hwy. 4, Blyth 523-9233 Wheelchair accessible PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1998. From the Minister's Study Dream about love's possibilities By Rev. Christine Johnson Brussels and Ethel United Churches A couple of weeks ago, I was able to preach on the text from I Corinthians 13. It's one of the most well known passages from the Bible. Verse 4 - 7 goes like this: "Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." With Valentine's Day coming up on Saturday, Feb. 14, we hear a lot about that word "love". And yet, why do we have so much trouble being truly loving? The apostle Paul offers us a vision of love which is sometimes pretty hard to live up to. How many of us are always patient, or always kind, or never envious or boastful or arrogant or rude? How many of us never insist on our own way? "Project Uplift" received a boost with a cheque for $2,500 presented to chairman Ralph Watson by UCW treasurer Isobel Wheeler, proceeds from the beef dinner. "The UCW was so pleased with the help and enthusiasm shown by young and old to set up and serve our fundraising church dinner," said UCW President Rene Richmond. The funds will help pay for a lift for the United Church. "Appreciation is felt and goes to our community for buying tickets and attending, making our dinner and program a success. Brussels and area have such great people that support the numerous community endeavours," said Richmond. The monies for "Project Uplift" have reached approximately the half-way mark and finances will improve when the church hosts a silent auction and cooking demos How many of us are never irritable or resentful? How many of us bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things? Paul says that love never ends. But how many of us have experienced broken relationships which have never been healed? We all want to think of ourselves as loving. Yet we know that we are not loving to everyone. And we've experienced rejection and hate. It is all too familiar in this world. How many times have we heard the words of Paul's letter to the Corinthians at weddings? How many times have we seen starry- eyed lovers full of the hope for the future, for the possibility which is contained in that love? Perhaps we shouldn't read it. We all know the divorce rate. Perhaps, this image of love is too ideal. Perhaps, it's too unrealistic. Perhaps, it is too hard to live up to and when we don't we immediately give up. Perhaps we need a different perspective. Rather than assume that our love will prevail in exactly in the coming months. The plan is to start construction this summer. the same way as Paul writes, we should celebrate commitment first. At her 40th wedding anniversary, a woman raises her glass in toast and says to her husband, "In spite of everything." Yet, even in the midst of our failure, the only way of striving for harmony among all people, for justice and love among all people, is to dream that it is possible. Paul gives us a vision of love that inspires us to always strive to put love ahead of knowledge or power. If we never dream and strive for the possibility that love can be patient and kind and not envious and not arrogant, how can we ever be patient or kind? Even though we're not perfect, we can always try to get it right. If we did not have the vision of Paul's love for each other, we would not know how to treat each other, how to get our priorities straight. I mean, why do we read this reading over and over and over again? Why can't we get it right the first time? Hope, sermon topic Pastor Ben Wiebe brought the message at Brussels Mennonite Fellowship on Sunday, Feb. 8. His sermon was entitled "Living with Hope". Ben, Nathan and Andra Dettweiler read the first scripture passage, John 5: 1-11. Romans 8: 12-25 was also used as a basis for the message. Bev Brown led her Sunday School class in a drama presentation of the story of the Good Samaritan. Ashley Keffer, Heather Hiepel, Jamie Horst and Luke Steinman took part. Kathy Procter was the worship leader; Tim Procter was pianist and Thelma Steinman led the congregational singing. Margy Wiegersma played for the offertory. Following the Christian Education Hour, food and fellowship were enjoyed in the gymnasium. Some of the congregation then visited Huronlea where they led a worship service. The women will meet at Garlands' - on Tuesday, Feb. 17 for their monthly fellowship meeting. Paul had an answer for that too. He recognized that humans do not know all the answers. He knew that sin often separates us from God. He knew that we need to be constantly reminded of God's abiding presence for us, and to hear the story of Jesus Christ, God's love incarnate on earth. We don't have all the answers, so we dream of the possibilities of a human existence based on loving rather than on hate and oppression. "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the great of these is love." On a day such as Valentine's Day, I Corinthians 13 inspires us with its vision of love. These words help us to dream about the possibilities of love, so that through their power, we may be inspired and strengthened to offer love to those around us.