JW MacIntosh Seniors’ support centre holds 20th anniversary

The stars were certainly out in force at the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage Saturday, January 21. 

Renowned guitarist Don Ross, with Graham Greer opening for him, performed to a packed and cheering house.

“What a great night,” said Sandra Whitworth, a member of the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage board of directors. “We had a sold-out audience, our second this year. Don and Graham were just terrific.”

Don Ross’ diffidence and self-effacing sense of humour won Saturday’s audience over before he even picked up his guitar. 

“Morrisburg at last! Yes!” He laughed. “I’ve arrived! Now that my family and I are relocating to Montreal from Halifax, why I’ll be able to come here by car instead of flying into the Morrisburg International Airport!”

When Ross picked up one of his on-stage guitars and started to play, the Morrisburg audience was thunderstruck. 

Don Ross is simply that good.

Two time winner of the prestigious U.S. National Finger-style Guitar Competition (he is still the only player to have ever won the competition twice), Ross literally created magic on the St. Lawrence stage. 

His music is fluid, complex and often wonderfully exuberant. Though he performs alone on the stage, his seemingly effortless artistry makes you believe that a whole group of musicians is backing him.

Although he would describe himself as primarily a composer, Ross (who laughingly suggested that his voice “isn’t much”) is actually a very talented singer and song-writer as well.  He sang a love song, “If I Could” (included in his album Any Colour), that he wrote when he was just 19.

“All I ever needed was just a glance/If I could only see inside you/If I could only be beside you…”

Later he also delivered a powerful arrangement of an old John Martyn song “Head and Heart”.

During the concert Ross used three different guitars on stage, as well as a digital effects processor. One of his more unusual instruments is a specially designed baritone guitar, tuned somewhere between a regular pitched and a bass guitar. Ross, who loves the instrument’s “throaty, feet planted sound,” employed it for many of his numbers.

Performing compositions ranging from a new, still untitled piece with strong blues undertones, to the jaunty “Dracula and Friends, Part 1” and the romantic and exotic “From France to India,” Ross gave ample proof that he is a true Canadian virtuoso. 

His incredible artistic talent, his humour and grace on stage, and his strong connection with the audience won Ross deserved ovations Saturday evening.

Graham Greer is also an artist who makes a powerful connection with his audience. 

“Graham is a phenomenon in this area,” said board member Bill Carriere. “He’s an accomplished, award-winning artist whose music speaks for itself.”

Like Don Ross, Greer is a natural on stage, easily sharing anecdotes about his songs and his life as a performer. 

A  musician to whom intelligent lyrics matter, Greer’s work is thoughtful, humourous, and, occasionally, pointed, as in “May You Never Know” which describes the “sharks” that constantly circle young artists trying to break into the industry. 

Greer’s  “I Know a Pigeon Toed Girl,” written for and about his wife, Laurie, (“the constant good thing in my life”) was both gently teasing and loving. “I found out the things that she dislikes about herself are often the things about her I love the most.” 

His voice warm and strong and clear, Greer points out the upside of life in his music.

“I’m on a lucky streak/To hell with the blues/ I’m rolling out sevens now/when it used to be twos…”

Much of his material on Saturday came from songs he has been developing. The Cornwall performer clearly struck a chord with the audience. 

In fact, as he laughed from the stage, “I’m going to have to do another record now. You’re making me feel good about my new songs.”

Passionate about his music, and just as passionate in his support of the arts in this area, Greer was a delight to hear again in concert. 

The St. Lawrence Stage will welcome the multi-talented Lynn Miles to the Morrisburg Meeting Centre on February 25 for a performance. Check www.st-lawrencestage.com for information.

[…]

“When I came here to interview for the Iroquois-Matilda pastoral charge, I just felt welcomed,” said the Reverend Valerie Vande Wiele, who took up her duties in her three point pastoral charge on September 22, 2013. We are sitting in her office in Iroquois United Church.

“When I met the people, heard their stories, learned who they were, I knew that I could walk with these people. It felt right.”

Reverend Valerie has been in Canada since 1996.

She was born in Belgium, “in the south, the French part,” (she is fully bilingual) and spent the first 29 years of her life there: then  she made the decision to immigrate. To come to Canada alone was an important, life-changing decision for her, and one that was not undertaken lightly.

“Immigrating to North America gave me the chance, I believe, to discover who I really was.”

For several years she had worked in a bank in Belgium, in the position of a debt collector.

“It was tough. I feel I was very green at that point in my life, and I needed to grow up. I needed to learn that the world could be a tough place. 

(In my position at the bank) I faced situations, and had to enter into people’s lives as part of dealing with their finances. Confronting the realities of divorce, mental illness, poverty, illiteracy, well, these all made me grow up in a hurry.”

Gradually, these experiences cultivated in her new feelings and attitudes.

“Cemented in my mind was the idea that I wanted to walk with people, to be there for them, rather than extracting money from them.”

She does not regret the time she spent in a difficult job.

“I feel I needed that experience to arrive at where I am today. It taught me compassion and caring and to see there are other points of view. But in that bank position I had to be someone I wasn’t, and that made me unhappy.”

Making a complete break with her old life, and undertaking the “adventure” of immigrating, gave her time to begin the process of finding herself. And as that process continued, what became louder and louder for her was a call to the ministry.

“I settled in Quebec City and studied to be a secretary, working for different companies for five years. But when my last secretarial job ended, I understood that I had just been hesitating, unwilling to make the leap of faith. Losing the job gave me the impetus to start studying for the ministry.”

She earned her bachelor of theology through McGill University, and her Master of Divinity in 2008, from the Montreal School of Theology.

How did the United Church of Canada become her spiritual home?

“I had been raised in the United Protestant Church of Belgium. In Quebec I tried several Protestant denominations, but I ultimately chose the United Church because it was the church, I felt, that allowed me to be who I was. It was the church I felt welcomed me with everything I am, and without judgement.”

She was ordained and served in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, and for five years in Richmond.

Although it was a hard decision to leave her Richmond church, she applied to the Iroquois-Matilda pastoral charge, interviewed and was invited by the congregations of Iroquois, Brinston and Hulbert Valley to become their spiritual leader. 

“I am the first minister of this new pastoral combination,” the Rev. Valerie said.

“My view of the ministry is that it is co-operative, minister and parishioners “walking together for the coming of the kingdom.”

I asked her about her hopes for the future.

“We need to cement the new pastoral charge, to build links among the three congregations. Through those links, we can celebrate who we are, respecting our differences. This is a primary goal for me. And we can have fun together,” she added with a laugh.

“A second goal for me is to help people discover and enjoy scripture, to see that scripture is still very relevant today.”

As the Reverend Valerie Vande Wiele settles into her new home, she is very much looking forward to her life in South Dundas.

“I hope to learn from my congregations as I am walking with them. Sometimes, I think, we will walk down some interesting side roads together.”

[…]

Living on the St. Lawrence River, have you ever looked across the water at your neighbours in the United States and wondered, “Are we really that different?”

A press release from Ontario Senator Bob Runciman’s office announced that he has formed a cross-border group with New York State Senators Patty Ritchie and Joseph Griffo.

“This initiative will help open new lines of communication and create a chance to explore new opportunities that can benefit both New York and Canada,” Senator Ritchie said.

The group’s formation came in response to a recent incident in local waters where an American fisherman was arrested for “straying” into Canadian waters.

“The incident reminded Senator Ritchie and I how interdependent the two countries are along the border and how important it is to have a regular dialogue to discuss matters of mutual concern,” Senator Runciman said.

Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry MP Guy Lauzon has joined Runciman’s group alongside Leeds-Grenville MP Gord Brown, Leeds-Grenville MPP Steve Clark, and Kingston and the Islands MP Ted Hsu. These members, however, were not present for the founding meeting on October 7.

The Leader was able to speak with Lauzon late last week. He told the Leader that “Runciman is taking the lead.”

While he admitted that his “information is somewhat limited” at this point, he did offer the following information: “I’m on the committee. What we’re trying to do is foster better relations between the two border countries and ridings.”

Lauzon referenced the incident with the fisherman as the catalyst to the formation of the cross-border group saying: “We just think if we can open up better communication with both countries at both levels we can eradicate this problem.”

“Northern New York and Eastern Ontario share not just a common border, but face the same challenges and opportunities. It makes economic sense to look for joint solutions,” Runciman said. “And the people in border communities are not just neighbours, but we’re good friends, too. I see this group as a way to reinforce that message.”

[…]