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1 1 I HE HERALD Thursday December SANTAS MAILBAG Letters end answers pages B6 and B7 and throughout Section Built In IBM the Acton Baptist Church Mill and Elgin Street In Acton Costing about the church was opened debt free a most unusual circumstance In itury A canvass of church members and contribution from community paid lor building Herald photo by New pastor is a lady at 140year old Baptist church Herald SlallHrUcr Being young and female Isn t a handicap for the new pastor at the Acton Baptist Church on Mill Street East Leading membership of about Sunday mornings Jean Stairs is confident and enthusiastic about her first job as full time pastor Sometimes it can be to your advantage available to you because you re young or female she said Noting that the church has a long history of hiring young pastors Miss Stairs pleased to be the pastors nurtured to ordination In the Baptist church theolo gy graduates aren t ordained or called Reverend until they serve a year as pastor in a church The church which the young graduate serve in then ordains him or her An attractive friendly woman with long dart hair Jean Stairs frequentl laughs and smiles and it easy to see why the Acton Baptist Church wanted her as their pastor after she guest preached for them in May FEW Holding a Master degree in Divinity from McMoster University where she also did her undergraduate degree in music Miss Stairs Is She hopes to do doctoral work as well in a few years That one reason why she accepted work in Acton She wanted be in the Hamilton TorontoNiagara region so she could take courses at the theology schools in Toronto or Seventeenth in a series Hamilton as well having spent seven years in she has many friends In the area with whom she gel together by car Being single In a town mode up mostly of young bother Miss Stairs because she found everyone very friendly The church is mode up of very understanding loving people she said They told me to take a whole week off and go homo so I can be with my parents over Christ feu days Christmas but won week Her family Ottawa whereshewas born and raised SPECIAL Currently first dent the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec Miss Stairs rather may become president of the convention next she said That will mean he have a hand in her ordination ceremony making it very special for both of them Pastor Stairs has found the religious leaders in Acton lobe j She appre ciates the diversity In faiths something she acquired while in seminary In my final year I worked in a Presbyterian setting in Hamilton Miss Stairs said It was right next to a Baptist church and there was lots of cooperation and pooling of resources between the two Unfortunately she says co operative work between the churches Is often the last thing think of because they re so busy with Ihier own church The Acton Baptist Church be new for Pastor Stairs who took on her post last month but It swell established m the community Originally calling their meeting place the First Regular Baptist Church ten men and women gathered back In January 1W2 to form the first congre gation With fruitful two- years membership increased by 15 and Rev John Oakley was acquired as pastor OWN CHURCH Meeting in the home of founding member Samuel Warden he group finally had a building to call its own in 1BS0 It was located on Elgin Street nearly opposite the Mill Street location of the present church building Of sturdy construction the building tout ed until 1047 when It wu used as a World War II selvage room before being rated That structure followed by another built on land given the church by a Sister Steele which is the currently used church building On the comer of Mill and Elgin Streets the Baptist Church was completed and formally dedicated Feb IB 1900 A brick on the side of the church records the dale 1399 when the construction of lhe S3 church began The church was free a very unusual circumstance even In those days Money for the building had been raised through the generous response of church members and also through contributions made from outside the membership Hardly had the church been completed and admired when a fire In a home next door to the church destroyed the church shed where the congregation used to leave Continued on page AT POST DAYS ONLY Mon Dec 28 to Thurs Dec 31 CHRISTMAS NAPKINS COOK BOOKS 15 OFF PLACEMATS NAPKINS 25 OFF CERAMICS 30 OFF NAPKIN RINGS 3E HERITAGE PINE 3E SPICES 50 OFF ROSTI AND WOOD UTENSILS OFF 30 Dont Be Disappointed Shop Early SALE ENDS THURS DEC 31 st Exchange or Credit Only On Returns EVERYTHING THE CREATIVE COOK 8770818 GEORGETOWN MARKETPLACE 294 CJufllph St Hwy 7 next Sank of Montreal A special Christmas message From 1 Oh blessed be our God the Lord For He is come at last To save Ills people keep His word And lay our cares o rest For God has raised an Horn of grace A Savior strong and sure The greatest Son of David race Whose kingdom will endure For thus He keeps the Word He gave Through all the holy seers The promise that the Lord would Us echoed through the years For Christ Is come to earn the grace Our fathers too believed To pay the debt of all our race Our guilt has been relieved God holy name confirmed His oath His promises of grace That arc fulfilled in all the growth Of Christ new ttvlcebom race The Word made flesh Is come to earth To bear our guilt and gal The purpose of His joyous birth Salvation for us all He us freedom from he fear Of every foe and sin So we may servo our Father dear Without a fear within We need no longer be afraid Of God for all our debt Was on the cross completely paid Our needs completely met So we are righteous In His sight Because or Jesus death And holy living in this light Bey is and flows from faith from December 1981 Wishing you a Joyous Christmas Season and a New Year filled with Peace and Hope from Julian Donna Christopher Robert and Melanie Reed Have a fantastic holiday season and remember us forthe finest in service Wishes from Shirley Sandy teller Cage from the ARMSTRONG INSURANCE AGENCY LadleRight Standing Sharon Q ream lads Join Hewitt Janal Armstrong Sandy Hewitt Seated Joan Anderson Armstrong MandyRogera My staff and I would like to wish all our families a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe Holiday The Insurance House Where Service end Protection Is our Concern PAUL C ARMSTRONG Insurance Agency Limited ft