Perspectives with Rev. Clarence Witten

On Tuesday, September 3rd , 2013, Seaway students were welcomed back to school. Some of us were excited and willing to start a new school year, and others not so much.  

First thing in the morning, we went to an assembly where Mr. Gardiner welcomed all the students to a new school year and went through all the school rules as well.  Mrs. Thompson encouraged all the students to participate in a couple of ice-breaker activities, like:  the stretching race, and rubbing the shoulders of the person you were sitting beside.  After that we watched a short movie that Mrs. Gilmour made called “Where’s The Staff”. It was a spoof on the idea of coming back to school.  Then we watched a slideshow of pictures of the teachers and their families, some of it was really funny. 

As the students exited the gym, the teachers helped distribute specially made Seaway pencils to each student. This was a welcome back gift to get us moving in the right direction.

WEB and LINK Leaders were front and center all week.  The students participating in the WEB and LINK wore their florescent t-shirts to show the Grade 7’s and Grade 9’s who was there to help them on their first day of school.  It was great to see the grade 12’s and grade 10’s have lunch with their buddies, pointing them in the right direction for classes and scheduling surprise visits just to see how they are doing. This is really a great program!

Wednesday, the first cross country tryout was held by Mrs. Henderson and Ms. Mac. There was a great turn out, with some of the regulars and many new faces as well.  The kids who showed up to the tryout ran a 3 km run to the Iroquois beach, by the boat houses, by the tennis court and back to Seaway. It was beautiful weather on Wednesday, so it was a perfect day for the cross country tryouts.  Thursday the school photos were taken in the gym.  Boys’ volleyball and girls’ basketball tryouts are soon as well. 

On the September 27th, we are having a Sports Day and Terry Fox walk.  On Sports Day the student body can sign up for a morning and afternoon session to participate in one of the variety of sports that are offered. 

Last year we had a blast doing kayaking, tennis, cycling, soccer, and many more activities. The teachers are already looking for sports that we would be interested in trying, so if you have any ideas let Mr. Thompson know. 

To honour Terry Fox our whole school will walk around the track as many times as we can in the time we are given.  We will have music playing outside and a snack stand where everyone can pick up a snack while they are walking the track.  From September 23rd to September 27th students can buy paper running shoes that they can decorate and place the name of someone who is or has suffered from cancer who has touched their lives.  These shoes will be put up around the halls, and we see if we have enough shoes to make it all around the school in the wallway!  All money made by selling these shoes will be donated to the Terry Fox Foundation for cancer research.  

Overall, the first week at Seaway was quite busy and successful.  It sounds like it’s going to be a fantastic year at Seaway District High School! 

[…]

Jesus Loves Me (And You)

Often, when I visit the Hartford Retirement Home here in town to worship with them, we sing an old familiar hymn. It’s entitled Jesus Loves Me.

I am always amazed at the exuberance and passion that flows from the people there as they sing. Often I will just stop singing to listen to them.

Jesus Loves Me! Any of us can sing it and know that we are included.

But love, especially the love that God pours out on us, needs to be responded to and indeed we do respond. We either embrace that love or we reject that love.

One day someone asked Jesus, “What is the greatest commandment?” and Jesus responded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind, and the second is like, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

God’s love to us is amazing and powerful. It binds up all our emotional, mental and spiritual wounds. When we feel weak and unlovable, God’s love reminds us that we are valuable, so valuable indeed, that He gave His life on Calvary’s cross to rescue us from sin and Satan’s control in our lives.

Love such as that changes us, or at least it should.

That brings us to what Jesus referred to as the second greatest commandment, “to love one’s neighbor as yourself”. 

Now, we may try to find a loop hole in this, just as the person who was asking the question of Jesus.

His question was, “Who’s my neighbor?”

In response, Jesus told the story of a man who had become the victim of thieves. In the story Jesus told, He said a Priest and a  , (in today’s lingo that would be a Pastor and a church leader), passed by the one who was hurt because they were too busy or too self important, but the most unlikely of people stopped to help the guy, and indeed, not only gave of his time but also of his resources.

You see, friends, the point is this, you really can’t say you love God and not love people, even people with all their quirks, even people who are not like us or who think like us.

God’s love in us should cause us to love as He loves. It is after all His love in us that makes it possible and He really does love every one.

So let’s sing, all together now,

Jesus loves me this I know

For the Bible tells me so

Little ones to Him belong

In His love we shall be strong.

Rev. Duncan Perry,

Morrisburg

Pentecostal Tabernacle

[…]

Canadians are halfway through this Federal Election campaign. While the local MP campaigns have been largely quiet and without debate, the national campaigns have drawn a majority of the attention. Party leaders have been rolling […]