Nodwells important in Hillsburgh history

As published in The Erin Advocate

Plans to preserve the Nodwell farmhouse in Hillsburgh have been in the news lately, so it is a good time to provide some background on the family and the homestead that has been part of the local landscape since before Confederation. Jeff Duncan of the Heritage Committee assembled the documentation.

A Family History written in 1936 by Robert D. Nodwell notes that the original family name had been Nedwill, but it was changed before they moved to Canada. William Nodwell’s family were Presbyterian Scots from the town of Anaghmore in County Londonderry, Ireland.

Loss of a valuable stock of horses due to anthrax influenced their decision to emigrate, and much of the family landed in Quebec in 1838. They travelled by oxen-drawn wagons and settled on 200 acres at Lot 24, Con 8 in Hillsburgh, including the current site of Ross R. MacKay School and Meadowview Place Seniors Apartments.

Within a year, their house and belongings were destroyed by fire. William sold the north-east half of his land to Angus McMurchy, and they built a new log house. Robert D. says his grandfather William was: “A Free Mason, and held strong views re Democratic forms of Govt., Free speech, Govt. by properly constituted authority, etc.”

William died in 1845, and the land was divided between his sons Robert and Thomas. Robert bought a farm in East Garafraxa, and then traded it for his brother’s share of the family farm. A new frame barn and shed were built in 1857. Some later sources say the red brick and limestone farmhouse was built in 1868, but architectural professionals said in 2004 it appears to be from about 1865. The 1936 history says:

“A new brick house was built in 1864 and is now occupied by Mungo Carrick Nodwell a great grandson who is now directing the business of the old farm.”

William’s son Andrew had moved from Ireland to Philadelphia in 1836, then to Hillsburgh three years later. They lived 27 years in a log cabin at Lot 22, Con 8. One of his nine children, Robert C. born in 1857, was 92 when interviewed in 1949 by the Guelph Mercury. He recalled working as a potato farmer, selling the farm and retiring in Hillsburgh in 1923.

“Mr. Nodwell has been for many years an ardent Christian gentleman, a forceful protagonist for the prohibition of intoxicating liquors and a Liberal of no mean calibre,” said the Mercury.

The Nodwells were known for breeding Short-Horn Cattle in the 1890s. Family members were leaders at St. Andrew’s Church, and Robert D. was President of the Hillsburgh Branch of the Upper Canada Bible Society. His son, Lieutenant William E. Nodwell of the 30th Wellington Rifles, was a recruiter during World War I. Robert C.’s wife was active with the Hillsburgh Women’s Institute.

Dr. R.J. Nodwell served in the Medical Corps in World War II, was appointed Deputy Director General of Medical Services for the Army in 1953 and Medical Director of Toronto Western Hospital in 1960.

In a 2009 collection called Shades of the Past, Hillsburgh native Francis Gray Currie wrote that Mungo and Lillian Nodwell created a social hub for the community at Homestead Farm. They grew seed potatoes, working the land with horses from 1926 into the 1950s, had a large dairy herd and delivered milk door-to-door by horse and wagon. Lillian was known for her art and her cooking.

The Great Room had a massive harvest plank table that could seat 12, a huge stone fireplace and almost floor-to-ceiling windows, making it “the heart and soul of the farm”.

Advocate columnist Joyce Graham wrote about the end of an era in 2004 when Mungo’s daughter Nina Nodwell and Les Richards moved to Markdale after selling the farm to Manuel Tavares. They had raised sheep since 1985 and operated Hillsburgh WoolWorks.

A lamb roast, with a campfire, games and fireworks, was held at Everdale Environmental Farm to bid them farewell.

Joe Kelly looking forward to new retirement challenges

As published in The Erin Advocate

Joe Kelly is not sure what he will do next, but he knows he will be working in the service of others – as he has done for the last 14 years as pastor at St. John Brebeuf Church in Erin.

He is retiring in June at the age of 80, returning to the Spiritan community in Toronto where he lived and worked after coming to Canada from Ireland in 1967.

“I’m happy to be able to move on to new things,” he said. “I’m going to look for a job. I’d like to minister to the abandoned and work for the disadvantaged.”

Fr. Joe Kelly CSSp
(Photo by Kellie Angerilli, principal at St. John Brebeuf Catholic School)     

Moving to Erin in 2001 was a major transition, since his previous work had been as a teacher, guidance counselor and chaplain at Neil McNeil High School in Scarborough. Instead of retiring, he learned how to run a parish, live on his own and appreciate the benefits of a small town lifestyle.

“The wonderful thing about living in a small town is that you meet the same people over and over, and you get to know them,” he said.

Kelly grew up in Dublin and worked for the Bank of Ireland from 1953 to 1960. He felt called to a religious life, however, and eventually was ordained with the Spiritans, a congregation within the Roman Catholic Church that dates back to 1703.

The previous pastor at St John Brebeuf, Fr. Gus Arthurs who passed away in 2001, was also a member of the Spiritan order, which has priests and other members in 57 countries, serving in parishes, schools, health care facilities and refugee assistance programs.

In 1967, Kelly was expecting to go to Kenya, but ended up being assigned to the mission in English Canada, and studied to become a teacher in Toronto. With his banking background, he initially taught business and computer programming, but later moved into religious education and counseling.

“I learned how to engage with young people,” he said. “It takes patience, but kids want to engage and respond, and I am amazed at how perceptive they are.”

Students at St. John Brebeuf Catholic School (next door to the church) can certainly attest to Fr. Joe’s interest in their development. He visits the school constantly, knows all of their names and has given strong support to parish youth programs, including an annual retreat.

Adults in the parish and beyond also have many stories of how he has shared his time and energy to make personal connections. “Sometimes you have to make an extra effort,” he says.

For my own family, Fr. Joe was a great support when my son Thomas died, three years ago this week. We are grateful that he took the time to learn about the situation and find the right words to say at the funeral.

Working with him as a musician, I admire his singing ability and his dedication to the liturgical traditions of the church. And after hearing at least 650 of his homilies, I also appreciate his passion for the scriptures and social justice.

With many good memories of his time in Erin, he has particular praise for his colleagues in the Ministerial Association.

“One thing that is special about this place is the way the churches work together and people cooperate,” he said. A retirement dinner is being held for Fr. Joe on Friday, June 5 at Centre 2000.

As with other caring professions, the life of a minister often involves making strong friendships, and then moving on. Sometimes, however, the paths of life can cross again unexpectedly.

Such is the case with our new pastor, Fr. Ralph Diodati. I knew him as a dedicated priest and a friend of my family when I was a high school student in Hamilton. I haven’t seen him in almost 40 years, so I am looking forward to welcoming him to Erin.

Atheist provocative, but unconvincing

As published in The Erin Advocate

Professor Douglas Cowan came to Erin last week to speak about atheism, preaching to a congregation much larger than any church in town could attract.

The former United Church minister, who teaches religion at the University of Waterloo, was invited to the popular Extended Learning Opportunities lecture series at the Legion Hall.

Why Atheism Matters was entertaining and thought provoking, but ultimately unconvincing. Regarding the big question, he argues that the burden of proof lies with believers.

“If you want me to believe in your invisible friends, the onus is on you to prove it,” he said.

Of course, no one is obliged to prove anything. The fact that something cannot be scientifically proven with available data does not mean it is untrue. In earlier times, we couldn’t understand how blood kept our bodies functioning, but we knew it did.

Progress is possible in both religion and science. Religion is an easy target for critics, since it is riddled with elements of violence, arrogance, greed, coercion and genocide.

Same with the bible, criticized for being contradictory and unbelievable on a literal level, not appreciated as a diverse collection of literature that attempts to make sense of the relationship between God and humans.

With glee, Cowan quotes Steven Weinberg: “For good people to do bad things, that takes religion.” That’s not entirely true, just as religion is not a necessity for doing good. But even the criticism that religion rightly deserves is a condemnation only of the evil or misguided humans that have abused it, not of a God who does not step into make everything right.

Cowan conveniently ignores all the good done in the name of God, and the substantial joy and consolation that spiritual practices provide. To characterize billions of people as delusional based on the extreme views of radical religious leaders is unfair, deliberately ignoring evidence that spirituality is a basic need for many people.

As a minister and professor, of course, Cowan would know all this. He chose to give a provocative presentation rather than a balanced one. He claimed his right to be offensive, which is probably better for book sales.

About a quarter of all Canadians profess no religion, but relatively few care enough to be atheists. Most of this group are either disillusioned with organized religion, totally private with their beliefs or just don’t feel the need. That is their right, but it does not diminish the creator.

This Friday, my parish will pray for atheists. Of course, they might find this amusing or condescending, but I mention it to make a point, which Cowan ignored – that many Christian churches no longer claim that their way is the only pathway to salvation. The prayer says:

“Let us pray also for those who do not acknowledge God, that, following what is right in sincerity of heart, they may find the way to God himself.”

So, is my need to praise God a weakness, a genetic flaw dating back to cave-dwelling days? If so, I’m willing to accept it along with all my other weaknesses, in order to remain open to the healing power of divine grace. It is a way of thinking that I impose upon no one, and harms no one.

People are truly different. Everyone deserves a home in terms of their way of thinking, where they can share with people of like mind. The fact that I have embraced a faith passed on from previous generations of my family does not mean I have done so blindly.

No one is in a position to control or pass judgment on another person’s thoughts, but society does need to guard against harmful actions that can emanate from beliefs. Cowan said matters of faith should not be considered off-limits for public discussion, and on that we agree.

Fortunately, we live in a country where freedom of belief is balanced with protection of the rights of others. Open debate and criticism are accepted, helping protect against abuses of power and making sure that people have choices. I see atheists in that context and I am glad to live with them in mutual respect.

Staying busy with this, that & the other thing

As published in the Erin Advocate

It always seems like there’s more stuff going on than a person could ever get to, but on one recent weekend I tried to cram in as much as possible. After helping to build picnic tables for the new Riverside Park in Erin (official opening soon) and doing a ton of garden work, I got to four local events.

Rock ‘n’ Roll etc. at Legion
Thanks to Jerry Staples and Norma Pokocky for making everyone feel welcome at their Band Showcase and Jam at the Erin Legion. They had invited four bands to come out and play for fun, and the music was good.

Between the main sets Jerry and Norma did some guitar pieces in classical style. I brought my guitar and did a few selections from my songbook.

They’ve been having these jams for a couple of years, and people are welcome to show up and play on their own or with an informal group. Or just have a beer and listen. The next one is on October 18, starting at 7 pm. Admission is $5.

Demanding action on climate change
A group of eight Erin area residents was among the 300,000 plus at the New York Climate March.

“This event will serve as a huge signal to the powers-that-be that drastic actions and a commitment to huge reductions in greenhouse gases are needed when nations of the world gather in Paris in December 2015 to ratify a new climate agreement, in order to preserve a livable climate,” said marcher Liz Armstrong.

Meanwhile, a group met at the All Saints church hall to show some solidarity with the travellers (one of 2,646 rallies in 162 countries) and see an excellent film called Disruption, presented by Transition Erin. Check it out at www.watchdisruption.com, or visit www.peoplesclimate.org and www.citizensclimatelobby.ca

The Value Crisis
A large crowd turned out to a book launch at the Historic Alton Mill Arts Centre, in support of author Andrew Welch, who is also Town Crier for Erin and Caledon and a leader with Transition Erin.

His book, entitled “The Value Crisis – From dollars to democracy, why numbers are ruining our world”, provides an entertaining and thought-provoking analysis of our value systems.

It seems the more we rely on numbers and dollars to measure value, the less attention we pay to traditional systems that could support a better quality of life. The website: www.thevaluecrisis.com.

Interfaith Speakers Series
Speaking of traditional value systems, I ventured over to a fascinating talk on the ancient Hindu faith by Shirish Nathwani. It was sponsored by Central Peel United Churches and organized by Rev. Felicia Urbanski of Erin United.

“Our communities are becoming more diverse, so it’s important to be in dialogue and see the face of each religion by meeting the people,” she said. The next session is October 26, 2-4 pm at Caledon Village Place, with Idrisa Pandit speaking on the Muslim faith.

Election stuff
Voters should have received their mail-in ballots by now for the municipal election – if not they should call the Town at 519-855-4407. Kits can be returned by mail until October 18, or in person to the Municipal Office any time until 8:00 pm on Election Day, October 27.

Municipal office hours are extended on Thursday, October 23 to 8:00 pm and they are open on Saturday, October 25 from 10 am to 2 pm. Voters may also deposit their kits after hours through the mail slot at the office main entrance.

Previously I had written that a sealed ballot box would be attached to the mail slot, but actually it is the whole entranceway that is sealed off so that only election officials will have access to kit envelopes.

Legion honours vets who died on active duty

As published in The Erin Advocate

The Erin Legion held brief ceremonies on June 21 at the gravesites of two local pilots who died in military plane crashes that occurred 36 years apart.

The tributes were followed by the 55th annual service organized by the Erin Union Cemetery Improvement Committee, for all families with loved ones buried there.

Rev. Deacon Irene Walback presided, with Kent Tocher and Jane Adair providing music, and Brad Wilson of Erin Bible Chapel offering a prayer. Jim O’Connor thanked the Legion and the public for their financial support of the committee, which helps with maintenance of the cemetery.Walback also thanked Branch 442 Service Officer Doug Kirkwood for helping to preserve the memories of two Erin men killed while on active duty with the Canadian Armed Forces and buried at Union Cemetery.

Flight Cadet Harry Sanders died on September 17, 1918 while flying solo near Camp Leaside, a Royal Air Force training facility that is now part of Toronto. He lost control of his machine when it suddenly burst into flames at 1,000 feet, and crashed immediately to the ground.

Sanders, 29, was advanced in his training and been given medical clearance to fly after a sick leave. An inquest found no evidence of problems with the plane before the flight.

He was buried with Masonic honours, with the service conducted by Chaplain Morris of Camp Leaside. The Erin Advocate noted that it was one of the largest funerals seen here in many years, and that Sanders had lost his mother just four months earlier.

Flying Officer Doug Covert died on June 4, 1954 at the age of 19, working as a flying instructor in Penhold, Alberta. He was killed in a crash of a Harvard training plane, along with Flight Cadet Svend Jark of Haderslav, Denmark.

He was described in the Advocate as an outstanding, popular student, a graduate of Erin District High School where Doug Kirkwood was a fellow student. Covert joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1952, the same year he graduated. He had trained at several RCAF bases, and had recently been appointed as an instructor.

He was the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Bert Covert of Erin. The last rites were observed with a sounding of the last post, three volleys by the firing squad and reveille. The pall-bearers were school friends Jim Houston, William Jackson, Ron Jackson, Wilfred Major, Jim Milne and Charles Overland. The flower bearers were Air Force veterans Cecile Carney, Earl Fuller, Leo Lyons, Robert Meehan, L.G. MacKenzie and W. Winters.

Above, the 1954 funeral in Erin for Doug Covert.
Below, the recent memorial service at the gravesite.

Permaculture author predicts major upheaval

As published in The Erin Advocate

It’s difficult to put your finger on permaculture. It’s more than a way of gardening, but it’s not a formal science. It’s more than an attitude, but it’s not quite a religion. In its purer forms, it is too radical for most people, but it is having an influence on our culture, and it could become more prominent if things really start to fall apart.

Permaculture author Peter Bane was in Erin last week promoting the core strategies of this “way of thinking” to a receptive audience of about 50 at All Saints Church. The meeting was hosted by Transition Erin, which is part of a movement that sprang from the ideals of permaculture.

Bane is the author of The Permaculture Handbook and publisher of Permaculture Activist journal. Farmer Val Steinmann introduced him as a North American leader in the field, helping make permaculture a global movement, taking it “from the fringes, to the mainstream of church basements”.

Bane calls permaculture “a design system rooted in ecological science”, focused on care of the earth, care of people and fair distribution of surplus. This is linked to awareness of limits within nature, and the need to limit population and consumption.

“It’s a way of thinking about problems and turning them into solutions holistically – we can do it in our lives, we can do it in our businesses, we can do it in our communities,” he said.

“Permaculture is fundamentally about economic democracy, about recreating resources at the local level so that everyone has enough. The problem with our economy is that is continues to concentrate wealth in a few hands. There are more than a billion people on this planet who are hungry every single day.

“In the process of building the industrial economy over the last 200 years, we have destroyed large parts of the earth. We have to recreate the wealth that our ancestors inherited and used up to bring us to where we are today.”

The idealism of the movement can be seen in goals such full employment, with full enjoyment of worthwhile work.

“If we were all doing more of what we really liked and loved to do, those would be those jobs that need doing. Planting trees, cultivating gardens, taking care of people, building community among wonderful people like this,” he said.

“The answers are in our front and back yards, in our neighbourhoods. By turning our attention to building soil at home, growing food, processing and trading it locally, we can build the local economy, rebuild our health and restore the basis for economic democracy by creating real resilience. Food sovereignty means political sovereignty.”

The message also has that familiar apocalyptic tone. The ravages of climate change, energy shortages, overpopulation and depleted soils will destroy the wasteful economy that we know, and if we survive, we will all have to manage with less of everything. Bane says the problems are too entrenched to be solved by governments, and that it will take grassroots movements to make progress.

“Now, we’re living in the time of the whirlwind – all these things are squeezing us into smaller and smaller space,” he said. “What we’re about is redesigning human culture. It’s a complete cultural transformation we’re after. Everyone is going to go through a traumatic and amazing cultural upheaval over the next two decades. We’d better be prepared, because it’s coming at us, like it or not.”

In practical terms at home, permaculture means taking control and looking for opportunities to conserve water and energy, recycle waste of every sort, grow food or buy from local producers and let nature do more work for us. Within the economy, it means shifting from oil to wind, solar and biomass energy and producing much of what we need locally.

The ideas are already well known, but we have not been forced to really take them seriously. When the crunch comes, the permaculture folks want to be ready to throw humanity a lifeline.

Paying tribute to Stompin’ Tom’s philosophy

As published in The Erin Advocate

The newly installed monument at the grave of Stompin’ Tom Connors at Erin Union Cemetery is a testament to his love of Canada and his philosophy of trying to stay in balance while travelling through life.

The memorial includes an image of the famous songwriter imposed on a map of Canada, the lyrics of his favourite song, “I Am the Wind”, a red granite maple leaf on top of a chess piece and his own epitaph that says, “They haven’t heard the last of me”.

Thomas Charles Connors lived in the Ballinafad area and passed away on March 6 last year due to kidney failure, at the age of 77. Buried with him are the ashes of his mother Isabel Sullivan (nee Connors), who died in 2007. Until the tombstone was installed, the location of the gravesite was not widely known.

Stompin’ Tom was known for his down-to-earth songs about Canada, achieving wide popularity with dozens of albums, and as a passionate advocate for Canadian culture. He was also a spiritual thinker who believed in reincarnation, writing these words for his tombstone:

“The body has returned to sod,
The spirit has returned to God.
So on this spot, no need for grief,
Here only lies a fallen leaf.
Until new blossoms form in time,
The tree is where I now reside.
But with this poem, as you can see,
They haven’t heard the last of me.”

“He believes that we come and go as a spirit,” said his son Tom Jr. in an interview, always referring to his father in the present tense.

“We enter a body this time around, and when the body's done, then the spirit goes back to the tree of life, so to speak, and then the tree blossoms again the next year and you become a new leaf. It's a cycle of life that he's getting at.”

The maple leaf on the stone is engraved with “101”. It does not refer to that number value, but to a way of thinking about life. Instead of competing to be at the top on a 1 to 10 scale, he favoured zero as an ideal at the centre of the range of possibilities.

“He would always say he's a zero, because you can go on the plus, or you can go on the minus, but the zero keeps you even. Don't drift too far away off the centre because you'll become unbalanced,” said Tom Jr.

“The 101 simply represents his philosophy that he came up with to be able to stay on the straight and narrow. The more balanced you can stay, the more successful you can be in your life. He ended up being proof positive of that concept.”

The stone includes a quote from the Book of Genesis: “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Enoch was a patriarch, the great-grandfather of Noah, who is believed to have been taken directly to live with God, without having died. Tom Jr. said his father read the bible frequently and considered that passage an example of becoming closer to zero.

“When God finds that you understand what it is to be nothing, nobody, you put all your feats behind you and you become one with God. You can go plus or minus once in a while, but stay straight and narrow and if there is a relationship we have with God, God will recognize that and take you as he did with Enoch.”

Before becoming known for his songs and his trademark rhythmic stomping on stage, Stompin’ Tom struggled to survive. He grew up in poverty in Saint John, New Brunswick, and lived with an adoptive family in Prince Edward Island before leaving to hitchhike across Canada at the age of 15.

“Growing up not having really any family and no money and no home, and you're just a drifter, you see the world through different eyes,” said Tom Jr., who himself has a son named Tom, born last July. “When you have no friends and no family to talk to, you start to talk to yourself inside and you start to get the answers you need from life inside, instead of finding them on the outside.”

Stompin’ Tom’s tombstone was created by the Little Lake Cemetery Company in Peterborough, the city where he received his nickname. His memorial service was held there last year.

The lyrics engraved on the tombstone are as though the wind is speaking as it travels, saying it is, “Here to serve my Maker’s end.” The wind says it goes, “Around the Door, between gods and men, And if you see how I go in, You’ll have the Key, and know the wind”.

“That was his favourite song,” said Tom Jr. “People can take that as a nice song, or they can try to meditate on it a little bit.”

While The Hockey Song is one of Connors’ best known songs, he “never really clung on to sports”, said Tom Jr. He’d always cheer for a Canadian team and like many Maritimers grew up as a Habs fan, but he never had the luxury of playing the game. In front of his tombstone fly three miniature flags, two Canadian and one Canadiens.

The chess piece designed into the stone is a reminder of the game that he did play with great passion. “He was a tough cookie to beat because he was capable of thinking several moves ahead, and he used that way of thinking in his own life too when he would plan his career,” said Tom Jr.

Universal Music Canada recently released Volume 01 of a collection of unheard recordings by Stompin’ Tom called Unreleased: Songs from the Vault. It includes old-time country songs from his repertoire in the 1950s, recorded starting in 2011.

“He just wants people to enjoy what he did in the time he was here, and if you're musically inclined at all, or any type of business that you may be in, to keep Canada high in your regards when you're doing your thinking and planning about what is the right thing to do,” said Tom Jr.

“It is a great country, and if you respect it, it will repay you back. He wants people to take the torch, so to speak, and go on forward and promote Canada the best they can. If they get a chuckle or two from some of his songs in the future, then he's done a good job.”

Legion pays tribute to Afghanistan veterans

As published in The Erin Advocate

The young cadets saluted as O Canada was sung; heads were bowed in silent respect and divine blessing was humbly requested.

A wreath and a Canadian flag were placed by the grave of a fallen soldier at Erin Union Cemetery as Legion Branch 442 joined in the National Day of Honour for Afghanistan Veterans on May 9.

Lieutenant William Turner is buried with his father and grandparents, just across from the former family farm on the Ninth Line.

He had worked as a research assistant at the University of Guelph, as forensic lab technician in Hamilton and as a teacher and letter carrier in Alberta. An avid cyclist and a Canadian Forces Reserve Officer in Guelph and Edmonton, he accepted a position with the Civilian Military Cooperation unit, providing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Afghanistan.

Turner died on April 22, 2006 at the age of 45 with three other members of the Canadian Forces after a roadside bomb destroyed their armoured vehicle: Corporal Matthew David James Dinning, 23, of Richmond Hill, Bombardier Myles Stanley John Mansell, 25, of Victoria and Corporal Randy Payne, 32 of Gananoque.

Joining the service last week were Turner’s uncles, Dennis Turner of Milton and Jim Smith of Ballinafad, and his cousin Gary Wallace of Port Credit.

Turner was one of the 158 Canadian soldiers who died in the Afghanistan mission, among the 40,000 who served over 12 years.

At the service, the wreath was placed by Ken and Carol Paisley, the Act of Remembrance said by Legion President Rose Ostrander, and the Legion Memorial Marker and Canadian Flag placed by Service Officer Doug Kirkwood.

“We take time to remember our continuing obligation to support those who returned home and continue to suffer the effects of war,” said Legion Chaplain, Rev. Deacon Irene Walback.

She urged people to support programs including Leave the Streets Behind for homeless or near-homeless veterans, and to “encourage those who govern our great country to relieve the pain of our service men and women who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.”

We seem to be a distracted society. Many people were so engrossed in their personal business that they didn’t truly appreciate that the nation was at war. How many are even aware of the veterans who have taken their own lives as a result of the trauma?

We say we are proud to be Canadians, but how many are willing to even cast a ballot? We say we are glad to live in a democracy, but how many are prepared to die for it? How many would sacrifice themselves for the benefit of people on the other side of the planet?

It is a unique moment of history, in which we enjoy the right to scrutinize the decisions of our government, as it plays its small part upon the world stage.

Sacrifices on the battlefield, however, quite properly transcend political debate. Laying down one’s life for others, and for cherished ideals, is always worthy of respect. Here is a portion of the final prayer by Rev. Walback:

“O God, we remember before you those Canadian men and women who laid down their lives for the people of Afghanistan during the fight for truth and freedom.

“We commend their souls into your gracious keeping and pray that we may be worthy of their sacrifice. Help us to be faithful and true to those ideals for which they fought and died, and for which the living continue to suffer.

“May we continue to perpetuate the memory of our departed comrades by service to our country Canada, to world peace and the care of all your Creation.”

Good food, company and after-dinner games

As published in The Erin Advocate

The Community Dinner at All Saints Anglican Church isn’t just about good food. It is an opportunity to feel the bonds that make Erin strong – and a chance to have some fun, testing your luck and mental agility at a Games Night.

“It was important to us to create a social event with no strings attached, where you can come and meet people,” said Kathryn Dancey, who has helped organize the dinner.

It is held in the church basement at 81 Main Street in Erin, normally on the last Friday of each month, starting at 6 pm. Everyone is welcome.

The event has grown in popularity since it started in December 2010, with about 90 people now attending each month.

“It’s free, with no sermons,” said Rev. Susan Wilson, Rector at All Saints. “Just a nourishing meal and good fellowship.”

There’s a basket near the door for those who wish to make a contribution. Donations more than cover the cost of putting on the dinner. The committee of volunteers has been able to donate back to the Erin community, including the East Wellington Community Services Food Bank, the Special Friends Club, the ARC Industries building fund, the Erin Skate Park and the Upper Credit Humane Society.

Last Friday they served spaghetti and meatballs with salad, and apple crisp for dessert, and for the third month now, dinner was followed by a Games Night. It was organized by Chris Bailey and Stephanie Giugovaz, who offer toys, games, tutoring and camps at the nearby Brighten Up store.

Chris Bailey of Brighten Up
teaches a card game to kids
at the Games Night, following
last week’s Community Dinner
at All Saints Church.

No kittens were actually harmed when we played Kittens in a Blender, an easy-to-learn card game that challenges you to save as many of your own kittens as possible, even while trading your hands with other players.

I enjoy board and card games, but rarely have a group of people to play them with, so this is a nice opportunity to meet people and have a few laughs. It is also a chance to play a game that you are not sure about buying.

“We get to open games we want to try,” said Stephanie. “We pick the shorter, easier games.”

I actually won a round of Rack-o, where you have pick either a turned-up card or one from the pile, hoping to get as many cards a possible in ascending order. Like most entertaining games, it combines luck with strategy, and all the rules can be learned in less than a minute.

Next time, maybe I will play The Magic Labyrinth, which looks a bit harder since you have to figure your way through a maze that is hidden on the lower level of a two-layer game board. You move a magnet piece on the top that carries a steel ball on the bottom.

Every time a player hits an unseen wall, the ball drops and rolls back to the beginning. It’s a bit like real life – if you can remember the location of the walls, you don’t bump into them the next time around.