28 / COMMUNITY
T H E
N A PA N E E
B E AV E R
Thursday, March 21, 2013
National United Church moderator visits Grace Faith leaders weighs in on challenges facing church BY ASHLEY FOLEY Staff Reporter
United Church of Canada Moderator Right Rev. Gary Paterson met with dairy farmers in Greater Napanee to discuss the environment as well as to address struggles within the church. “(The visit) was partly just to have a sense of what makes this area tick… and partly as a recognition that this past year was really hard on this area with the drought. So I was just wanting to hear that first-hand,” he said. Paterson, who grew up on a dairy farm, said he appreciates Canada’s rural communities just as much as the urban ones. “We all depend on farming for our food and it’s farm and the country that feed the cities and sometimes I think city folk forget that reality,” said Paterson. “Our church has a responsibility to make people aware of climate change and care for the environment,” he added. He said environment, science and theology are all elements of the United Church’s faith and are aspects the church will work to strengthen in the future. “Whatever we say about our faith needs to make sense with science and cul-
ture and the knowledge that we have about the world around us. And I think they’re not in contradiction at all, they’re complimentary. One might be how the world works with theology and then the faith might talk about the meaning of it, or the why. So they need each other, as sister disciplines,” he said. Paterson said membership has become a huge struggle, and while some say the United Church’s stands on controversial topics and issues such as sexuality and homosexuality has been a large factor in membership, Paterson disagrees. “I look at other Christian denominations, they didn’t make those statements and they are struggling just like we are with the same statistics like age and shrinking finances. I don’t think people are leaving because of the political stance,” he said. He said today, many people claim to be spiritual, or have faith, but are not religious or do not buy into going to church on Sunday. Determining the best way to accommodate these individuals has been one of the United Church’s largest struggles lately. “Part of the time we get caught on crying about the good old days and saying, ‘Why can’t it be the same? … we should look at it as how
ADOPT A NEW BEST FRIEND
Ashley Foley-Staff
United Church of Canada Moderator Right Rev. Gary Paterson (left) and Grace United Church’s Rev. Frank Hamper at the church last Friday. we can do church in a new way.” Much of his time has been spent coming up with new ways to engage people and get them thinking about their faith, not just on Sunday morning but all the time. Paterson gave the example of a friend of his who led
a sermon on 50 Shades of Grey. The minister informed the media he would be doing so and the church was packed. “If everybody is really reading that, rather than saying, ‘Tut, tut, tut,’ say, ‘Let’s talk about it,’” he said. “(The church needs to) address issues that are really important to people but
LOST & FOUND
For adoption info, please call 354-2492 or stop in at 156 Richmond Blvd. Napanee, The L&A Branch of the Humane Society. Visit our web site at www.lennoxaddington_ontariospca.ca
If you know the owner of these animals, please contact (613) 354-2492 or stop in at 156 Richmond Blvd. Open Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 4pm
SPRING FLOWER SALE March 22, 23 & 24, 2013 Contact: Nancy Clark or Karen Hannah 613-354-2492 or 613-539-1740 email: lennoxadington@ospca.on.ca Tulips, daffodils & hyacinths to brighten your day and bring a breath of spring to us all!
ALICE
LEVI
OREO
Just a few of the many cats that need a new home this Spring! URGENTLY NEEDED...
IAMS food, bleach, dish soap, XL garbage bags, non latex gloves (M&L), To View Our Pets, visit our website www.lennoxaddington.ontariospca.ca
Advertisement sponsored by:
Exclusively Felines Holiday Cat Facilities
For your convenience we can pick up and return your cat!
GOING AWAY? Give your feline a vacation as well! Your loved one will enjoy their own room with a window.
613-386-5957
RR1 #6103 Odessa, Ontario
They can be added to your garden once planting season appears. Lovely healthy blooms in 4” pots will be on sale for $5.00 each at Giant Tiger and No Frills in Napanee, March 22nd, 10-5. Also, on Saturday the 23rd at the Indoor Spring Market at the Strathcona Paper Centre.
Visit our website www.lennoxaddington.ontariospca.ca
Advertisement sponsored by:
Faye Whyte DVM
Heather DeMille DVM
203 Richmond Blvd. Napanee, Ont. K7R 3Z9 Tel: (613) 354-2330
Email: rvc@richmondvetclinic.ca Web: www.richmondvetclinic.ca
Providing Pet Care in Napanee & Area since 1988
do it in a way that people will find their imagination caught in a way that they will listen and address things that are really happening.” Other ministers have talked of popular culture and movies as ways to discuss justice, temptation and sin. Others use virtual meetings and flash churches through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and online faith sites, to engage Christians. “We’re a very busy culture. I think nobody is to blame but it’s a culture of distraction so we can keep ourselves preoccupied with gizmos and film and sport and there’s less time, maybe, to ponder just the questions
of life. I think people need some space to think, ‘Why am I here? What’s my life all about?’” he said. Paterson argued that people should take more time to “ponder life,” whether it’s about faith, theology, science or creation. His home church in Vancouver has implemented yoga and Buddhism to provide more opportunities for self-reflection. “(It’s about) how you understand the movement of body as a way of encountering the spirit,” he said. “I think we’re called to really savour life and I think faith is a way to do that… I think half the time we live life, almost asleep at the wheel. And I want people to wake up.”
COMMUNITY PULSE DESERONTO MEALS ON WHEELS Community Care for South Hastings in Deseronto is offering hot Meals on Wheels made by L&A S.O.S. If you are a Senior or an Adult with a Physical Disability, this service can help you stay in your own home longer, ensure a wellbalanced diet and promote independence. Hot meals are delivered on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays of each week. Have you been recently discharged from the hospital? Are you a caregiver needing a break from cooking for your loved one? Do you live alone? Would you like to refer a family member, friend or neighbour? Each meal includes an entrée with two sides, a soup and a dessert. With meal choices including macaroni and cheese, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, cheese perogies, poached salmon and shepherd’s pie, you will always have something new to eat. Please contact Carolyn or Trina if you have any questions today at (613) 396-6591. ONTARIO ADVENTURE CAMP The Napanee Salvation Army Community and Family Services office is now accepting application for children ages 7-17 to attend camp for a week from July 22-27. Cost for the camp is $225 per child, subsidies available upon request. Camp locations are Jackson Point Camp (ages 7-10), 25 minutes north of Newmarket; and Newport Adventure Camp (ages 11-17) located on Skeleton Lake in Muskoka. Located 25 minutes from Huntsville. The overall purpose of any Salvation Army camp is to serve the total personality and health needs of the camper; spiritual, educational, social, and recreational through a creative, healthful experience, in co-operative group living in outdoor settings. For information or to register, contact Dana at the Napanee Salvation Army office at 613-354-7633.