Halton Hills Newspapers

Georgetown Herald (Georgetown, ON), October 27, 1990, p. 17

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THE HERALD OUTLOOK Saturday October ISM Page Religion Peace marchers follow tradition By JIM RYAN Thirtieth Sunday In Ordinary Time Matt A Sign of Peace Every year at this time a coali tion of peace groups plans a rally and walk in Toronto starting at Queens Park and ending at a site appropriate to the theme of that years rally This year the walk ended in Grange Park just north of Queen St A good choice The theme this year was the environment The rally and walk is always a mixture of medieval market place and carnival with serious 1960s civil rights march The medieval market place has its tables of goods Tshirts but tons books and papers banners costumed players and a motley mix of ages and classes member of Parliament street people teachers students and mental patients The civil rights march is there in the speakers and the good Intentions The emphasis has always seemed to me to be on the medieval market place Bring your child in its your dog on its leash You can carry a balloon eat a hot dog listen to musicians and watch people who dress up as trees and loons Last Saturday a group called The Raging Grannies real grandmothers with kazoos and sang songs about their sisters nuclear energy the Persian Gulf and the environment They were followed by an earnest fifteen year old student who said that maybe the cherish ed sign of adulthood the drivers license wasnt such a big deal Cars pollute A dog walked by with its owner carrying a sign stating Bones not Bombs A beared man in white overalls walked by with the earth crucified to a cross A group of Mohawks from Kahnesetake carrying a circular drum sang Longhouse chants at intervals during the walk from Queens Park to Grange Park The leader in tweed cap and leather jacket led the chant in falsetto voice The men who sang the response big men got tired from the exertion and joked with girlfriends about being out of shape A man remained asleep on a park bench undisturbed in his In dian summer Ethics has more to do with beautifully painted banners humour and hot dogs than with loquacious politicians and Book review earnest clergypersons Ethical teaching has less to do with dogmatic pronouncements than with drama and story- telling In todays gospel reading we hear Jesus say that loving God and neighbour is of equal im portance He doesnt spell out in detail how todo this Presumably he leaves this up to each society Jesus and the prophets taught ethics by means of action Jeremiah broke jugs buried loin cloths in the ground and bought property to make a point Jesus healed on the Sabbath and par- tied with tax collectors and pro stitutes Even when verbal teaching was done Jesus used parables Parables involve the listener They become lightning rods for human responsibility When a person is addressed by a parable that person isnt bludgeoned into obedience Response is free and creative Ethics should be like this Watch Jesus see how he acts and then go and do likewise Going to a peace rally has little to do with rigorous argumenta tion and debate thats for another time and place It has much more to do with walking together Its a simple sign but it works Religious persecution still exists By JACK McLEOD You would be surprised how much a book about small religious groups can reveal about the problems of the Canadian political and constitutional system But wisdom is where you find it and these days we need all the help we can get Limits On Liberty is a book that raises big questions In a liberal democratic society where rights are seen in individualist terms what are the rights of a group such as the Mohawks of Oka Can the collec tive claims of a language group to be a distinct society be recon ciled with a majoritarian system where only individuals are said to have rights and liberties These are the searching ques tions raised by William Janzen in Limits On Liberty Janzen ex amines as the subtitle states The Experience of Mennonite and Doukhobor com munities in Canada That ex perience is interesting but also highly instructive All three communities have at tempted to live within but somewhat separate from Cana dian society loyal peaceful but resolutely different These at tempts have been tolerated in the main but also often misunderstood and attacked OUTSIDE MAINSTREAM J arisen analyzes the relations of the three groups with the state in terms of their particular prac tices regarding landholding education exemption from military service and non- participation in certain social welfare programs particularly pensions Each of the three com munities has insisted on standing outside the mainstream not through or conve nience but because of religious conviction Each has found the pressure to conform exerted by the Canadian State persistent and heavy The principal thrust of the book is that our majoritariati- individualist society does not ade quately comprehend how to ac commodate the rights of a group We may be obliged to learn and quickly and timely book has much to teach us The author holds out the hope that the old constitution derived from the genius of Sir John A Macdonald may yet provide us with room to manoeuvre Janzen quotes with approval Western Tory historian WL Morton who wrote of the extreme flexibility of the Canadian state both in its Special service at Knox Presbyterian This Sunday tomorrow Knox Presbyterian Church Main and Church Streets Georgetown will be celebrating its An niversary as a congregation years of Christian witness outreach and service to the com munity and beyond The guest minister and speaker for this special outreach will be the Rev Robert Little MA BD who is the Director of the Renewal Fellowship within the Presbyterian Church in Canada Rev Little a native of Belfast Northern Ireland received his Masters of Arts degree from Edinburgh University and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Hartford Theological Seminar He is married to the former Anne and they have four children one of which is the Rev Paul Little pastor of the Georgetown Alliance Church Rev Robert Little has been in volved in a wide variety of ministries including 32 years as a pastor in Scotland and Canada radio and TV ministries leader ship in parachurch groups various boards and committees of the Church in Canada for PCC and vicepresident of On tario Bible College and Theological Seminary It is with this background together with his faith and zeal for his Lord Jesus Christ that Rev Little will be speaking to the congregation We are delighted to have him with us and hope that you will join us and Rev Little on this special celebration day Worship service is at 1100 am There will be a coffee hour following where you may speak with Rev Little Everyone is welcome several parts and its functioning and in its relations with the socie ty of groups which it serves and from which it derives its being On the other hand there are always those who insist on like the Manitoba educational officer who observed in Doukhobors will need constant watching until schools and contact with other settlers will transform them and make them think in the same way as an ordinary man does STRUGGLED This is a demanding book not light breezy reading but it is wonderfully informing about our treatment of minorities and the determined ways in which groups within the Canadian mosaic have struggled to preserve their iden tities Choral concert The Brampton Festival Singers under the direction of Iain Morrison and accompanied by Nancy Rawlins present a choral concert with orchestra ac companiment on Saturday November at p m at Saint Pauls United Church 30 Main St S Brampton Major works in clude Mozarts Missa Solemnis Handels Coronation Anthems and a medley from Andrew Lloyd Webbers Phantom of the Opera Tickets are for adults for Seniors for students and 400 for children 12 and under available at the door Subscription rates are also available in combination with Spring 1991 concerts Call 79l4307for information Founded in 1985 the choir has offered fine choral concerts twice yearly as well as performing in benefit concerts and as guests at Christmas of the Brampton Con cert Band Its repertoire includes classical sacred folksongs and musical theatre arranged for fourpart mixed voices The members are talented singers from a wide variety of backgrounds and professions all with a true love of choral per formance All who enjoy good music are cordially invited to attend this spring concert and to support the arts in our community GRAB A BITE of our NEW Olhvr Include r ft AT Suug I ChaM Sl 8731211 WERE YOUR INSURANCE BROKERS WE UNDERSTAND PAUL C ARMSTRONG 143 MILL ST HOi Ootiflo 8770133 NONDENOMINATIONAL PENTECOSTAL ALL PEOPLES CHURCH DELIVERANCE CENTRE Bramifoa corner Bible Study Worship Deliverance Sunday am 700 pm Wednesday 800 Provide Childrens Church Nursery Service English to Italian translation ffB Pastor- George A LeRoy 7922176 TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SPACE CALL DISPLAY ADVERTISING 8772201 The Halton Hills HERALD CLASSIFIED IS NOW MORE CONVENIENT The Herald now makes classified advertising more convenient with the introduction of VISA to our payment list NOW ACCEPTED AT The Halton Hills HERALD CLASSIFIED DEPT TO PLACE AN AD PHONE

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