Dear Reader, On January 23rd, the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church, in Cassiar, joined together in an ecumenical worship service to celebrate "The Week of Prayer for Christians Unity, -Janiic215\torJanw 28... s. The following article 1s the sermon preached at that service. Based on the Scripture reading from the Gospel of John, chapter 17, verse 20 - 23, Jesus prayed that we may all be one; even as. the Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father. He prayed that we would be one in them. What a wonderful prayer! And this prayer continues to ex- ist for each of us and all our faith communities today. For this truly is the will of God-- that we be one in spirit. We need this kind of assurance, be- cause all around us the world seems to be coming apart. I am reminded of the Arabian Nights fable of Sinbad the sail- ox, which describes a magnetic rock in the Indian Ocean that draws all the nails and bolts out of passing ships until the ships collapse and sink. In a sense the passing of time and dis- tracting influences of the world acti aswithat smagnetic rock; Lo; osening the nails and bolts that hold us together in families and communities. We need constant renewal to tighten up the unity of fellowship and the ties of faith. We must ask ourselves if we are helping God to answer Jesus' prayer or if we have some other: goal fori) ours Lives: We must remember that when we become disciples of Christ, we no longer act as independently as we used to. : Doesn't it seem that the world today stresses our ne dependence. You know--Look after Number One!; Do unto others be- fore they do it to yout: This world is about the survival of the fittest, isnt it? But; is this kind of teaching found in the Bible? This certainly wasn't the Gospel of Jesus. called people to community. And he called people to be one in syfajies hie. As Christians, we need a community of believers to nurture Oumea ba wth We need to share our gifts so that we build each other up in the Body of Christ. Com- munity gives us a context for growth. Now when we live in faith communities, it is inevitable that various church traditions have developed over the centur- ies. We all have special fest- ivals and ways of celebrating them. They help us remember and relive the: story of Christ's life, death, xresurrection, and the early Church. These tradi- tions are a link with the past and a foundation for the future. And as these traditions have developed over the ages, dif- ferent aspects of spirituality may be emphasized by different Rather he denominations. And people are often afraid of and critical of differences in other people. So over time the Church has become divided over matters of tradition and even theology. Long ago special councils came together to discern the Holy Spirit, and reunite the Church. We must try to do no less. What a sad thing it is to remain divided and even hateful of one another when we emphasize our differences, and idolize and love our traditions more than Christ himself. We must be very careful before we accuse a denomination or person for being heretical And we have to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us in the truth. So what is the best way for Christians to bridge some of our difference? We need to dialogue with each other. We must not close ourselves off with one an- other, but trust that God will help unify us in the things that really matter. But how do we know what the things are that really matter? Let's look sto. Christ (sfor= the answer. First, he was nurtured and brought up in a Faith Com- munity. His home life and life in the Synagogue were very im- portant to him. It was a vital combination of life events, pray- er and teaching that provided him with the fertile ground to grow in God's grace and favor. And we see a continuation of this on his life of ministry. Jesus became flesh, lived among people, and he embodied the Gospel message. He lived his message even before he- spoke it. He preached it by his life before explaining it in words. This was Jesus! method, and we can so easily forget it. Now I know that teaching is important. But the Gospel must not be: reduced to mere words; it calls us to conversion, to com- mitment to Christ. In many cases, Christian teaching is re- duced to words rather than "LIFE"; to discussions rather than to the pursuit of Christian living. And here perhaps is one of the reasons for the poor re- sults on discerning the things that really matter, and for the apathy and indifference among Christians today. Teaching is ineffective when it is not life- centered; there is no example be- cause empty words have taken the place of faith and charity. O how our actions effect one another more than we know. Charles de Foucauld often said, “I want to preach the Gospel with my life." He was convinced that the most effective method of preaching the Gospel was to live it out. I ama firm believer that when people see the Gospel in action, they are more likely to turn to Christ at some point in their lives . Peo- ple don't so much learn Christ- ianity, “but -zcatch. it’ Later comes much of the learning through the Scripture and Faith Communities. We are often drawn to read Holy Scriptures as a. re- sult of someone else's influence invour life: But what do people see so often instead? Christians fight- ing among themselves. So what can we do to make a= ditterence for -Christ,() to “bring about. the answer to his prayer for-us? We must stop fighting, and live out the Gospel in our lives. And we must pray continually both as individuals and as a community. Mother Theresa once said, "Love to pray. Feel often during the day need for prayer, and take trouble to pray. Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of Himself Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive and keep Him as your own." Indeed our lives will. continually "ve transformed by God, until we are His perfect instruments. So to sum up: Always listen to others even if you disagree, and then share your faith. And seek always to follow Jesus through prayer, study and apostolic action. Then you can be assured that Christ ‘will lead you deeper into the my- stery of God. And we, in unity, will be able to witness the love of God and the truth of what Jesus has done for us, to _ the whole world. And -finally I'd like to say this. Tonight we have done some- thing very important. I always say that the family prays to- gether, stays together. Well this night we have been united together in love and prayer. We can rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus' prayer for us is becoming a reality for our lives. Peace be with you. the Rev. Rodney May. If you are interested in becoming a block parent or in helping to organize the block parent program please contact Wenndee Quinn P.O. Box 188 Cassiar B.C. 778-7580 ee —— ‘How to get someone out 0 Cassiar Courier March 1990 Page 5 ot water after they fall through thin You never know when you could be called on to save someone’s life. Someone who has just fallen through thin ice. It could be a friend. Or a complete stranger. It really doesn’t matter who. What does matter is that you know what to do. And know that you’ve got to act quickly. Because the longer the person is in the: , icy-cold water, the shorter his chances - are of surviving. If he’s in too long, he could die from exposure. Also, if you don’t act quick enough, numbness can set in and go running off to get it. There’s no time for that. Quickly look for something - you can use to help pull the person out to safety. It can be a — tree branch, a hockey stick, a belt, 7 a scarf, a jacket or anything. : Then lie down on the ice and slowly crawl towards the hole. Whatever you do, don’t walk. When you lie down, you © 4 distribute your weight over a greater surface and even though the ice may not support you standing up, there’s a good chance it will when you’re lying down. Now, when you get close enough, extend whatever you're holding out to the person in the water. Tell him to keep kicking his feet. This will help propel him out while you’re doing the pulling. the person won't be able to hang on. When that happens, it’s game over. On the other hand, if you’re not careful rescuing, you could break through the ice yourself. This poster was created to tell you what you should do. And what you shouldn’t do. Read it carefully. Someday, it could be a matter of life or death. Another way to get someone out. If there’s no help around, and you’re absolutely sure you can’t use something like a tree branch or a scarf, use your arm. But you’ve got to be very careful you aren’t pulled in. If there are people around, you can . form a human chain, and the first person in the link can either extend something orusehisarm. What if you fall in. If you fall in and there’s no one around to help, here’s what to do: First, don’t panic. The first step is don’t step on the ice. If you see someone fall through the ice, keep your distance at first. The ice may not be thick enough to hold you up either. But you must act quickly. ‘Lell the person who's fallen in to grab as far up onto the ice edge as he can and tell him to kick his feet like in swim- ming. The kicking motion will help keep him afloat and it’s possible he might be able to swim right up onto the ice. Here’s what you do: If there’s help around, yell for them to come over. But if there isn’t any help around, don’t CANADIAN RED CROSS WATER SAFETY SERVICES Grab as far up on the ice ahead of you as you can and kick your feet behind you so your body becomes horizontal. Then slowly swim, slide or roll up on the ice. Keep trying if you don’t . make it the first time. - When you get up on the ice, don’t stand up. Crawl a number of yards away from the hole. After, if you can’t get into dry clothes right away, keep your wet clothes on. They will protect you from the cold until you can change into something dry. How thick should the ice be? The way to tell is by cutting a hole in it. If it’s 10 cm. (4 inches) thick, it’s safe for people. For snowmobiles the ice should be no less than 20 cm. (8 inches) thick. For cars, make sure the ice is at least 31 cm, to 46 cm. (12 te 18 inches) thick. Also remember, just because the ice is thick enough in one spot doesn’t mean 1t will be all over. The ice will be thinner where there are undercurrents. And weaker where there are pressure ridges and air holes. PF: 4 inches ! 8 inches y-2¢ 31cm. ric | 12 inches The best rule to follow if you don’t know anything about an ice-covered area is stay-off. Or ask someone who knows something about the area. What to do after. After you pull someone out, get them warm and dry as soon as you can. The next best thing to do is get them to a hospital. Even if the person says he's “OK”. He may be suffering from shock or from the effects of hypothermia and not know it. So play it safe. To the hospital he goes.