Weekly News (Page 10)

Weekly News (Page 10)

Sept. 18, 2024

The Power God Gives Us to Comfort Others

Pablo Diaz

When you encounter someone whose heart is broken, here’s what your faith calls you to do.When you are hurting and broken-hearted, so many memories can stir up the pain—places, images, even clothing and household items. As a pastor, I see this with some couples going through divorce. The person still at home wants everything out that

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Sept. 11, 2024

I am not a fan of violent, heavy rainstorms. There is something about water damage both inside the home and outside that scares me. Since I moved into this house in Markland Circle, I have dreaded heavy rain because the eavestroughs would fill up and overflow to the point that my poor gardens under the eaves got more than they bargained for. The soil would be washed away. I have been known to open large umbrellas and place them over my poor plants to

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Sept. 4, 2024
The Fall season is symbolic of change. From the leaves evolving to beautiful warm hues to chunky knit sweaters making their way into our daily attire, Fall brings change—but with a sense of comfort and ease. To admire the changes orchestrated by Mother Nature is to be humbled by nature’s power and its influence over our environment, routines, and even our moods.
Studies show that some…

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Aug. 28, 2024

Well, here we are in the last days of August, and Fall is right around the corner. The CNE is on, and that is a surefire sign that summer is waning and will soon be gone. Thankfully, as I write this, the sun is shining, my lawn is being mowed and I have this glorious day to myself to get tasks completed and to enjoy some outdoor time. We have a busy month…

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Susan B. Anthony Paves the Way

Susan B. Anthony Paves the Way  Adapted from an essay by Joanna Strong and Tom B. Leonard  Kathy Twynam  It has been rumoured that sometime within the next year,  Ontarians will be facing an election – perhaps provincial,  perhaps federal, perhaps both, if our politicians can ever get over themselves and decide what to do. And many of us followed the recent compelling US election with great interest, knowing that the repercussions were bound to spill over into Canada no matter who won. …

Choir Notes

The year was 1970, and Grace Church was struggling. Its minister, Rev. Bill Mitchell, retired on December 31 that year,  leaving the pulpit vacant until the arrival in September 1971  of Rev. R. Campbell “Cam” Taylor. Cam served as Grace’s beloved minister for almost five years, until May 1976, and after retirement in 2001 returned with his wife Sandy to the newly amalgamated Graceview as Minister in Association and later Minister Emeritus.   We tend to think of churches as thriving in those days fifty years ago,…

The Past Life of Maureen Screen 

The Past Life of Maureen Screen           by Parkland Resident Don Kerr  Maureen Screen awoke on a morning in 1954 to find that  Hurricane Hazel flooding had washed away fourteen homes on her street and killed thirty-two residents, including the five-year-old neighbour she walked to school every day.  The first thing she heard that day was a voice on a loudspeaker from a helicopter whirring overhead. It was warning residents who had sought refuge on the roofs of their houses to remain there to be rescued…

The Mysterious St. ValentineJanuary 2025

In mid-February we will celebrate the Feast of St. Valentine,  a day on which, traditionally, people express their love for each other, sending Valentine’s cards or giving gifts, often of candy or flowers. In schools, children send greetings to their classmates, and often an entire week is devoted to Valentine activities such as the decorating of special bags to hold one’s messages of friendship. Sometimes, there is a classroom party, with special treats such as cinnamon hearts or pink iced cupcakes. Oddly enough, although in many public…

Traditional Christmas Pudding – butter recipe

Christmas pudding (à la Dickens) is a tradition in our house, a legacy from Bob’s family tradition when he was growing up. For years, I had been buying it ready-made, first from Hot Oven  Bakery at Cloverdale, and for the past couple of years at A Bit Of  Home on Dundas street. It isn’t cheap – about $60 for two puddings, which is what I needed. I still have my mother-in-law’s pudding bowls, and her recipe, so last year I decided…

My Journey to Canada – Iraida Cherniak 

It was September 1947, almost two years after the end of the war.  The days were still warm but one could smell autumn in the air.  During one of these warm days our small family, my husband and two-year-old daughter Natalia, woke up early in the morning to get ready to leave our transition camp in Bremenhaven, Germany to sail to Canada. Awaiting us at the pier was a ship by the name of  ‘General Stuart Hainzelman’. It was an old vessel but…

Guest Preacher Tim Connor – Sunday, October 29

Tim was born in Caledonia, Ontario, where he attended the local Anglican Church with his family.  From a young age, his passion for music blossomed, leading him to pursue his musical interests at  McMaster University, culminating in the attainment of his bachelor degree.  Tim’s life took a transformative turn when he felt a profound calling to dedicate himself to ministry. After deep introspection and soul-searching, he embarked on this path by enrolling at  Knox College, where he is currently on the journey toward ordination within the Presbyterian Church in Canada.  In 2023,…

Reflections on Christmas

As many of you know, I am fond of Victorian children’s literature, owning in hard cover such volumes as Little  Women (1868 – Louisa May Alcott), the entire Little House series (1932 – Laura Ingalls Wilder) and the entire Anne of  Green Gables series (1905 – Lucy Maud Montgomery). I first read all of these as a pre-teen, and have re-read every one many times since. They have places of honour on my bookshelf.   Little Women and Anne of Green Gables are fictional; The …

Hymn Stories: Angels from the Realms of Glory

Hymn Stories: Angels from the Realms of Glory Adapted from 101 Hymn Stories – Kenneth W. Osbeck Author: James Montgomery 1771-1854  Composer: Henry Smart 1813-1879  Angels from the realms of glory  Wing your flight o’er all the earth;  Ye who sang creation’s story  Now proclaim Messiah’s birth:  Come and worship, come and worship,  Worship Christ, the newborn king.  James Montgomery’s parents were Moravian missionaries to the  West Indies. While attending a Moravian seminary in England,  young James received word of…

Nabucco and The Bible

Are there any opera fans out there? I was very interested to see that the Canadian Opera Company was staging  Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco this year, which has never been performed by the COC. Reading the article in the Star, I was intrigued enough to look up the Biblical passages on which parts of this opera are based. One thing led to another, and I  found myself researching Nebuchadnezzar in sources other than the bible.  Nebuchadnezzar is the 6th century BCE King of Babylon who was responsible for…

Getting to Know Beth Smith

(Those of you who have gotten to know Beth may be  interested to know that) Beth spent twenty years as a volunteer in a federal prison, providing programs for the inmates and their children.  Initially, Beth’s husband Bob began going into Beaver Creek Institution, which houses over 700 inmates in both minimum- and maximum security settings, to offer Christian spiritual services. Later, Beth joined the small group of volunteers from the nearby Gravenhurst community.   She continued after Bob died to attend weekly meetings with twelve to fifteen inmates.  The volunteers knew…

In the Footsteps of Heroes – September, 2016

The beaches of  Juno Beach, Normandy stretch for many kilometres across the northern coast of France. Miles away, across the  Channel, is the southern coast of  England. The beaches are calm and quiet on these cool September mornings, glassy seas lapping on seaweed-littered sand.   Standing on those quiet beaches, thinking back to what it must have been like for the thousands of soldiers, sailors,  and airmen who had trained for many months in 1943/44 for  D-Day – the invasion of Europe by the Allied forces – was a very moving…