Ice or no ice, Dundela rink shelter will be ready for this winter

A popular prayer group that began in the late winter and early spring of 2011, and coincided with Lent, is returning to Lakeshore Drive United Church beginning on Monday, February 20.

The group began meeting last year in the Church Parlour, thanks to the go-ahead form the Worship and Music Committee of the church. It emphasized meditative prayer.

At one time or another, some 17 people took part in the spiritual exercise with the usual number ranging from six or seven to 10, in attendance.

People came, not just from Lakeshore Drive United, but from surrounding United Church congregations and the Anglican Church.

All benefitted from the experience of the Seaway District of the Canadian Christian Meditation Community.

The accent at each meeting was on silent prayer, of 20-30 minutes. It was a time of sharing in silent prayer, using one or two words– “Maranatha” (the New Testament Greek word for “Come, Lord.”)

The meetings began with an introductory prayer, some singing, and the silent prayer was followed by a time for discussion, sharing, and concern for others.

Each meeting started at 4 p.m. and was limited to one hour.

Again in 2012, the Worship and Music Committee at the church has given the go ahead for the program.

It begins on Monday, February 20 at 4 p.m. and everyone in the community is welcome.

Come and find the quiet centre in the crowded life we lead,

find the room for hope to enter, find the frame where we are freed:

clear the chaos and the clutter, clear our eyes that we may see

all the things that really matter, be at peace, and simply be.

(374, Voices United, Hymn Book of the United Church)

For more information please contact group leader Douglas MacKay at 613-543-4468.

[…]

A three year old, a lighter and disabled smoke alarms are a recipe for disaster, but luckily that disaster was averted by a local family this weekend.

Firefighters were called to the scene of a mattress fire, Saturday morning, shortly before 8 a.m. When they arrived, they found the occupants of 65 Augusta Street in Morrisburg, outside wrapped in blankets. The fire, located in the second floor bedroom, was extinguished and firefighters removed the burnt mattress and debris.

“I spoke with the tenants of the home and the grandmother said that she smelled smoke and discovered the  second floor bedroom on fire,” said Chris McDonough, fire chief of South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services. “She woke her son and got her three year old grandson out of the bedroom.”

“As it turns out, the three year old boy had set fire to the bedroom with a lighter that was in his father’s pants next to the bed,” said McDonough. “This could very easily have been a fatality.”

According to McDonough, the smoke alarm on the second floor had been removed and the battery had been removed from the smoke alarm on the main floor of the home.

A $235 charge will be laid for not having working smoke alarms in the home.

“I would like to remind everyone that you must have a working smoke alarm on every storey of your home and that they should practice their home escape plans,” said McDonough.

[…]

This week’s headlines in The Leader include: Province orders process paused; Fatal County Road 31 collision; Three responsible, one charged in waterfront mischief; Fantastic Fireworks cap off a successful Canada Day in Morrisburg; Area schools […]