FALL EDITION welcome back! welcome back! welcome back! Upcoming Events What’s Inside Sat. Sept 13: -A Note From Paul Church Picnic - Ken -Carl’s Story Reid Conservation -Erwin’s Musical Area - 4:30 pm Note Sun. Sept 28: -Bob May’s Bio Hike at Ken Reid Cons. -Committee Reports Area/ Potluck at Church -Lou’s Golf Rant 3:00 pm -Some Cambridge Mon. Sept. 29: Hockey History Fall Colour Tour -A Moe & Me Review 1:30 pm -Upcoming Events Thurs. Oct. 2: -Event Reports Fall Rummage Sale -Milestones 9 am-7pm -Pam’s Batty Report Frid. Oct.3: -Pictures Fall Rummage Bag - Funstuff! & more Day Thanks Walt! Sale 9:00-11:00 am Cambridge Street United 61 Cambridge St. North Canada Lindsay, IN K9V 4C9 Mailing Address Space 705-324-3547 Post [email protected] www.theunitedchurch.com UPCOMING EVENTS: A WORD FROM PAUL WHY WE DO IT Sun. Oct. 5: Worldwide Commu- A mid June family expedition down the Petawawa River proved to be one nion & Stewardship of the more challenging canoe trips we had taken together. The 89 kilometers of Sunday river and the 1.4 kilometer portage trails were easy enough to take in stride. It was Wed. Oct. 8: the 30 hours of pouring rain, feasting mosquitoes and tormenting black flies which UCW General Meeting threatened figuratively, if not literally, to suck the life blood from us. We slipped & Tea 1:30pm and stumbled on wet portage trails and in poor visibility were bounced and beaten Sun.Oct. 12: in the rapids and we asked ourselves, “why do we do this?” Thanksgiving Family The evening of the second day, on the shores of a lake, a bug- Worship Service clearing breeze blowing through the camp, we watched a glori- Fri. Oct. 17: ous sunset as the bannock browned on the hot rocks beside the Rebekah evening fire, smiles on faces; this is why we do it. Meeting 7:30pm Fri-Sun. Oct. 17-19: In the turbulence of a rapid, when a canoe is tossed and turned, Used Book Sale the instinct of a novice is to grip the gunwales and hang on various times - see tight. Watch the inexperienced paddler and any unexpected newsletter ad movement is likely to bring that result. Grip the gunwales and hang on tight. Sun. Oct. 19: DAMLUKES Concert I watch the same in congregational life: the instinct to grasp and hold tight. Some 3 pm grasp a scriptural interpretation or doctrinal statement and hold it absolute and Fri. Oct. 24: unchanging. They can change structure, building, technology or liturgy with rela- Family Fun Night tive ease but challenge what they think and they grasp and hold on tight. Others Sun. Oct. 26: are open to the questions, the big questions without answers, the evidence of 182nd Anniversary science, and reasoned arguments and like to think, but challenge the way things Service - New Mem- have always been done and they grab hold and hang on tight. bers Service Tues. Oct. 28 For those less familiar with the canoe, let me be clear, it is the absolute wrong Walter Auld Fellowship thing to do! Only with the paddle in the water can the canoe be braced, only with Luncheon 12 noon movement against the current can control be maintained. Sun. Nov. 2: Outreach Mission & Jesus challenged the way things were being done and what people believed. It is Service Fund/Stinson no wonder he met resistance. He mocked the piety of the Pharisees and rebelled Lecture - guest against the temple money changers; he ate with whom he pleased and chal- speaker John Siebert lenged the rules and laws at every turn, and he offered a close and familial rela- Fri.. Nov. 7: tionship with God who he called on occasion, Abba (Daddy) as an alternative to a Theology at the god to be feared like a Lord or King might be feared. Many responded, grasping Movies 7:00 pm and hanging on tight, but a few followed. They let their minds be opened to new Sun. Nov. 15: thinking and they let go of home and possessions to embrace a new way. The Joys of Christmas 10 am-2 pm Like leaning hard from the canoe and digging deep with the paddle to balance and propel through the large standing waves, it is important that the church resist grasping and holding tight. The way forward can only be achieved by driven purpose. Out of the wilderness, Jesus emerged to begin a public ministry in Galilee. He, and those who would follow him, would walk the troubled waters and battle the storms driven by purpose proclaiming the good news, “the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is near”. 2 That is why we do it. We are called to open our minds, to open our hearts; to “let go and let God”; to take up the yoke (or paddle); to let our sails be filled, “to seek the seas at his bequest, and brave another cruise.” That is why we do it. WHEN A FENCE IS NOT A BARRIER? - Carl Kimmett A few years ago I built a cedar rail fence across our backyard. The point of this fence was to separate our home from the tree nursery which I operated further out in the field. The backyard was to be organized but the nursery shed, quonset house and garden shed could be messy. In truth, it was a virtual barrier only, but provided a visual point of separation between the two activities. Over the years the fence became landscaped and is now covered in fruiting shrubs, grapevines and a bench or two. Several shovels and rakes are lost in the tangle. Today, the tree nursery is retired but the rail fence has come to life. Small birds twitter and hide in the shrubs, squirrels run along the rails to raid my grapes before I find them. Our neighbour’s cat hides there to jump out at the winter birds at the feeder, woodpeck- ers drill away noisily and the chipmunks have a nest somewhere. Our grandchildren play hide and seek in and out of the shrub cover that has grown. Clearly my rail fence is not a barrier but has energy of its own. The takeaway question from my fence is “do we build barriers around our Christian faith”? We have all heard church members say, “ I can’t accept the teachings of that denomination, or that trans- lation of the Bible is not for me”. We are often jealous of denominations that fill their Sunday school with eager children and are even building new church buildings. Most of us feel comfortable in our faith upbringing; perhaps we are too comfortable to recognize the changes around us. CSUC provides several opportunities to learn new approaches to Christianity and to fine tune our own beliefs and biases. Our Faith Development group challenges us to be seekers of the new Jesus and to tear down barriers that we have built ourselves. Our library has many up-to-date books on Christianity. These are opportunities to step outside these virtual barriers and we may even find there is new hope for our current concerns. Look over the fence; Jesus may be on the other side. 19th Annual Roast Beef Dinner Friday, October 17, 2014 Continuous seating from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, plus an option of take-out. Tickets: $15.00 adults -- $8.00 children (5 to 12 years) available at the church office during the week OR before and after services on Sundays. There are sign-up sheets on the Bond St. entrance bulletin board requesting kitchen help and pie donations. Please join us for a wonderful meal. 3 NOTES ON MUSIC - Erwin Stroobach At the time of writing this, I have been thoroughly enjoying watching the World Cup and seeing our two Canadians make it to the semi-finals at Wimbledon (a first for Canadians). Almost all the games in Brazil have been entertaining, exciting and on the edge of the seat finishes. What I find fascinating, soccer (or football as most of the world call it), the most played and watched sport in the world, transcends social, economic and ethnic lines. Watching Columbia take Brazil to penalty shots in the knock out stage, Algeria making it to the knock out stage and giving Germany a scare, Mexico being within minutes of eliminating the Dutch, before allowing two goals in the dying minutes, teams from every part of the globe belong. Brazil, being such a powerhouse, comes from the fact that almost every child plays. Where there is a patch of dirt, there will be kids kicking a ball around. All they need is a ball, no shoes required. It truly is a sport for everyone. Our national sport, hockey, has some of the same cultural effects, although there are some differences. I remember as a youngster (a few years ago), playing road hockey and when the ice was frozen, pond hockey, almost daily throughout the winter. But my parents always insisted that organized hockey was too expensive and therefore never an option. I guesstimate less than 10% of the world’s population even has the option of ice hockey, and many of those with arenas in their neighborhoods, can’t afford the equip- ment and costs of playing. Canada is presently ranked 110 in soccer, tied with Bahrain! In hockey, we are num- ber one! However, there are not even ten countries on the men’s side that can put together a competitive team. In women’s hockey, teams really play for bronze after they go through the formality of a tournament that invariably will have Canada and the USA play for gold.