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discipline tool box, but the purpose of faith is not

to figure God out, or to gain intellectua

knowledge of the scriptures, or to be able to

discuss the strengths and weaknesses of different

theologies. I have greatly benefitted from the

study of theology and the scriptures, but have

also found at times that it can get in the way

You can know a lot about the Bible and theology,

but don’t necessarily know God more intimately

because of it. We do not always live bette

because of our knowledge.We fool ourselves if we think we can improve

ourselves and grow spiritually simply by having

good intentions, solid disciplines, and sound

methods of study. We seriously underestimate

the pervasiveness of sin. Calvin reminds us that

“our reason is exposed to so many forms of

delusion, is liable to so many errors, stumbles on

so many obstacles, is entangled by so many

snares, that it is ever wandering from the right

direction.” So where do we turn?

Jesus invited people. “Take my yoke upon you,”

he said, and learn from me, for I am gentle and

humble in heart.” We need to enroll in the schoo

of Christ so that the enlightening work of the Holy

Spirit can take place in our lives.

And there we discover that being humble and

teachable is at the root of a true relationship with

Fall 2010

Enrol In The School Of Christ

I have had many good intentions over the years; plansto spruce up my walk with God; intentions to get up a

little earlier each morning to make quality time for

devotions; attempts to be more disciplined in praying,

reading, and meditating; efforts to be more involved in

the lives of others; intentions to join a group for

spiritual formation …

At the start of the new school year, while many exciting

things are happening in the congregation, I have a deep

desire – that the life of Christ will be formed in us as we

worship and serve together; that we shall betransformed to become more Christ-like; that our

hearts will be enlarged so that we will run with

excitement in the way of the Lord. (Psalm 119:32)

But good intentions are not enough for cultivating a

vigorous life of faith. They only go so far. Like the early

morning fog our intentions dissipate quickly as the day

progresses. Like our best new year’s resolutions they

are forgotten the moment that our schedules fill up

with appointments and important things to do. Don’t

get me wrong. I am not against good intentions or

resolutions. They serve an important purpose and can

indeed ignite exciting new things. But for cultivating

obedience, holiness, righteousness, awe, and love, we

need more than good intentions.

Would it help then to lead a more disciplined life?

Spiritual disciplines are tools for forming the life of

Christ in us, but in themselves they do not guarantee a

healthy faith. We cannot work up faith simply by being

disciplined. Our hearts and minds are fickle. We are

easily distracted. We stray. We make idols out of

perfectly good stuff. We start to rely more on our

efforts and disciplines than on the guidance of the Holy

Spirit.

Even the Bible can become an object in its own right

and take the place of God. I have always been an

advocate for Bible knowledge and study, and have

experienced the powerful ways in which God used it to

bring about transformation. But sound methods of

Bible study are not enough for the formation of

Christian character. Study is a tool in our spiritual

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God. In his book the Believer’s Daily Renewal , Andrew Murray writes that a humble, teachable

spirit is the key to the school of Christ, and to true knowledge of Scripture, and that a lack of

teachableness is causing a large part of the weakness and unfruitfulness that we experience. A

willingness to be taught is the first quality of a student. “This implies a consciousness of our own

ignorance, a readiness to give up our own way of thinking and doing, and to examine things from

the teacher’s standpoint, a quiet confidence that the Master ‘knows’ and will teach us to ‘know

also.”

Andrew Murray makes another good point. “Ironically, unlearning is an important part of learningwrong impressions, prejudices, and presumptions are insurmountable obstacles to learning. Unti

these have been removed, the teacher labours in vain … Learning of Christ requires a willingness to

subject every truth we hold to His inspection for criticism and correction.”

The question therefore is: How teachable are we? Are we open to be taught? Are we receptive to

the word? Are we prepared to let our ideas, preconceptions and prejudices take a back seat to the

Lord’s word? Are we willing to be corrected? Are we prepared to change? Do we pay attention?

Are we ready to obey?

Our efforts to grow and persevere will be inadequate unless God teaches us daily. So this year, as

we plan our various ministries, as we worship together, work together, and reach out with the

good news of Jesus, may we first of all be teachable. And may our prayer always be, “ Teach meyour way, O Lord, and I will keep it to the end ” (Psalm 119:33).

Gerard

DOUBT AND FAITH

Doubt sees the obstacles –

Faith sees the way.

Doubt sees the darkest night –

Faith sees the day!

Doubt dreads to take a step –

Faith soars on high!

Doubt questions, “Who believes?”

Faith answers, “I”.

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Sacrificial Giving

“He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in

two small copper coins. He said “truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all

of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to

live on.” (Luke 21:1-4)

There’s that Jesus again, cutting right to the heart of the matter! I don’t know about

you, but I get rather uncomfortable when I ponder some of the “hard sayings” of

Jesus. And I wonder as I read these words in Luke’s gospel account if we really

understand what sacrificial giving means. I rather think we have much more in

common with the “rich people” Jesus refers to, who contribute “out of their

abundance,” than we do with the poor widow who gave all she had “out of her

poverty.”

Actually Jesus had quite a bit to say about money. In Matthew’s account he says:

“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love

the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve

God and wealth.” (7:24) Sir Francis Bacon interprets this verse thus: “If money benot thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as

that may be said to possess him.” John McCarthur says bluntly: “The true gospel is a call to self -denial. It

is not a call to self-fulfillment.”

I don’t presume to speak for anyone else but I have to confess my uneasiness when I read these words.

At this point in my life, fixed income and all, I find myself in a position to give more than I ever have

before. And I am very thankful to God for the way in which I have been blessed with enough income to

live very comfortably. And I am quick to acknowledge that this has much more to do with his providence

than it does with anything I have done to earn or “deserve” it. And I struggle with how my thankfulness

translates (or not) into actions that give evidence of my thankfulness.

The problem, of course, is that I do like the comfort my wealth allows me to enjoy. And it is striking howI always have the money to do the things I want to do. “Let’s eat out tonight” - no problem; “another

pair of shoes?” - sure, go ahead, not that I need them but they are better than what I am wearing now;

“ a new electronic toy?” - might as well, it seems most everyone else has one; “ new clothes?” - I can

always give some of the things I’ve tired of to the Sally Ann to make room in my closet; “ a donation to

aid the thousands of homeless and starving people in Pakistan?” - I guess I won’t miss a few dollars; “

behind in our church budget?” - I will have to think about it.

Jesus doesn’t let us off the hook too easily. That’s the trouble with Jesus, he demands a lot from those

who would be his disciples and no matter how I try to justify it the bottom line is that whatever I give it

is out of my abundance, not out of my poverty. It doesn’t even come close to being a sacrifice. I wonder

if that is a symptom of what is wrong with the Church? As one commentator bluntly stated:“Christianity is flourishing wonderfully among the poor and persecuted while it atrophies among the rich

and secure.”

On second thought I rather suspect Jesus is not so concerned with how much (or little) I give but I do

think he would like to ask me to justify the far greater amount I keep for myself. That is a question for

which I have a very difficult time coming up with an answer that rings true. How about you?

Dorne Cornish

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Persistence in Prayer

What a great subject is prayer! Elton Trueblood, the famous Quaker philosopher, says that

prayer is the essence of the Christian life. Yet, important as prayer is, Jesus told only twostories to illustrate its significance. Of course, as you study the scriptures, you realize that

prayer was the very fibre of His own spiritual life.

Jesus would no doubt have agreed with the statement that prayer is the mightiest force in the

world. It is a moral necessity and is what makes life good. If there is a God in this universe,

not to pray is like living in a house with Him, but acting as if you were there all alone. Prayer

indicates that it is possible to communicate with Him. My main concern in this message is to

stress the importance of persistent prayer.

In one of Jesus’ stories (Luke 11: 5-8) He told of a man who was awakened at midnight by a

friend. Because he had nothing in the house to eat, he needed to borrow three loaves of

bread to feed an unexpected, hungry guest. Even though they were friends, the man did notwant to be bothered to get up and have his family disturbed. However, because of his friend’s

persistent knocking, the man finally got up and not only met his request, but gave as many

loaves as his friend needed – more than he had asked for! Verse 9 continues with Jesus’

encouragement for us to “..ask and it will be given to you…knock and the door will be opened

to you.” The Greek word used here for “knock” means “knock until your knuckles are bloody.”

The next story is from Luke 18: 1-8 and Jesus told it to demonstrate that we should always

pray and not give up. This parable is about a widow who was being abused by someone and

she went to a judge (who claimed he did not fear God nor care about people) to be avenged of

her adversary. For a while he ignored her, but he finally helped her, only because he was

weary of her persistent pleas, and not because he cared about her. Jesus assures us that howmuch more will God be willing to help us, His own elect, as we cry out to Him for help “night

and day.”

These two stories illustrate the need for persistent prayer. In both cases the reason for the

persistence of each person was because their needs were not being met. Often when our

prayers are not answered immediately, we feel like giving up. These stories encourage us to

keep on with our prayers, and in God’s timing they will be answered. These parables illustrate

people asking for personal needs to be met. However, our prayers frequently can be

intercessory prayers, and we need to apply the same principles to these requests that we

make to God.

Cal Chambers

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Soup & Sandwich

This great luncheon deal isstarting up again on the last

Wednesday of September.Where else can you get a

bowl of home made soup, a

choice of sandwiches and adessert for a few dollars? If

ou have never given it a try,invite a friend and come on

Sept. 29th.

YML Search Committee

What is a YML? YML is our shorthand for YouthMinistry Leader!

Taking our direction our Committee set out in mid-Mayto start the search, not for a Youth Leader but for theperson we all pray God will send us to be the Leader ofChildren, Youth and Young Adult Ministries at HaneyPresbyterian.

Who might this person be? They may be a person withtheological training and a real heart for young people orthey might be someone with youth leadership trainingand a real heart for God. They might be a dynamicyounger person with energy to spare or they might be amore mature personality with wisdom and a calmconfidence. For our Committee this is a very excitingtime.

In the next couple of weeks we will be going throughthe applications and calling people for interviews.

Actually it’s not only exciting but it is an anxious timefor us. Will we overlook the person God has chosen forHPC? Will we recognize them at their interview? Willthey hear the call God has for them? Will they feelintegrated and settled amongst us? Will we as acongregation be willing and able to respond towhatever calls God makes of us through them?

This is a great venture for HPC. Right now, we on theCommittee are stewards of this call but, God willing,before too long we will be handing this stewardshipover to the wider congregation.

Through all of our work it gives us great heart to knowthat we are uplifted by so much prayer. On behalf ofthe Committee thank you all, and thank you for yourquestions (keep them coming) and the interest youshow in our progress. Sorry if it seems slow!

Nigel Taylor, Convenor,YML Search Committee

PS: If you have not already had a chance to do so, please check out the applicant package on the Church website.

Mexican Train

(dominoes)

We will start up Monday,

September 27 th at 7pm.

Please note the change in

time!

Please come out and enjoy a

fun night of fellowship and

refreshments.

For more information contact

Bea Baird @ (604) 467-8134

or Morag Baxter @ (604) )

463-5489.

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Need a ride to Church?

Fall is fast approachingand with it uncertainweather conditions.If you or someone youknow feel uncomfortableabout driving or do not

have a ride, please let usknow. The Church has anumber of volunteers whowould be pleased to pickyou up and drive you homeafter the service.It only takes a phone call tothe church (604) 467- 1715or to Bev. Way (604) 463-8911 to arrange a ride.

BEADS,

BAUBLES &BLESSINGS

A WOMEN’S BREAKFAST

If you attended the breakfast in the fall, youknow what a lot of fun we had and how, atthe end of the morning our spirits were solifted that we all left humming the tunes thatentertained us.

If you didn’t attend the breakfast— youprobably heard over and over again what youmissed. Don’t miss out this fall.

On Saturday, September 25 doors will againopen at 9:00 a.m. in the Sloan Hall to invite

you to our second women’s breakfast. Janet

Comer, artist and creator of original glassbead jewelry will speak to us using powerpoint slides about making beads and creating

jewelry and the blessings that this has

brought to her life.

You will again be entertained by music andhave lots of time to visit around a sumptuoustable of assorted muffins, cheeses, juice,coffee, tea and water.

We also invite you to help. It is easy to host atable — especially if you bring a few friends as

we have ―reserved‖ cards to ensure that they don’t feel isolated. Just let Susan in the office

know that you will be happy to host. We willalso need muffins — a sign up sheet will beposted on September 12--and some hands onhelpers to set up on Friday at 3:00 p.m.

See you on the 25th!

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Salvation Army Dinners

Thanks to all those who volunteeredand supported the dinner fundfinancially. During the last term

(Sept.’09 – June’10) we put on adinner every third Sunday of themonth. The number of meals variedfrom 120 – 170 dinners. The patronsand the Salvation Army staff gratefullyappreciated Haney Presbyterian’s

outreach to those in need. Theeconomy and personal needs of thesepeople suggests that the demand willcontinue and possibly increase this

year. Thanks again for your support.Mike Hickey

H.P.C.F.B.

Yes, it is still summer. Yes we know thatSaturday, November 20, is still a waydown the road. But now that we’ve got yourattention, why not circle that day on your

calendar and give the Bazaar somethought?We need everyone to help with this major

outreach to our community and fundraiserfor our church. Here are some suggestionsfor things that you might do over the next

two and half months:1. Pray for the people that we want to

reach in our community; for those who are planning the bazaar and forall those who volunteer their time

and resources to make this a wonderful event.

2. We have a ladies’ craft group thatmeets every Monday from 9:30 – 11:00 in the church library. Join usany time you have a Monday morningfree. All hands are gratefully put to work.

3. Make some things at home — we haveknitting and sewing table; preservesand jams; woodwork; crafts of all

kinds.4. Clean out your garage, attic, storage

locker or whatever and earmark someof the items for the silent auction, theBoutique or Treasures Galore Table.

5. And oh yes, circle that date on yourcalendar and ask your friends to

circle their calendars too: Saturday,November 20, from 10:00 a.m. to2:00 p.m.

“Beware of harking back to

what you were once, when God

wants you to be something you

have never been.”

Oswald Chambers

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“UNTO EVERY MAN ACCORDING AS HE HAD NEED.” (Acts. 4:35)

“To every thing there is a season….a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which

was planted…” Eccl. 3:12

Obvious enough. No argument there. Both operations, the planting and the plucking, have been

proceeding at a furious pace all season long all over Pitt Meadows and western Maple Ridge.

The blueberry harvest, reportedly a bit less bountiful than hoped for, is virtually finished. Soon,in a few weeks, the arduous task of harvesting the expected bumper crop of cranberries begins.

Meanwhile, soil preparation and planting of hundreds more acres of blueberries and

cranberries are progressing.

As the season tapers off it’s a good time to take another look at those who are doing the actual

planting and plucking. Touring Pitt Meadows on any summer day you will see many of the

hundreds of workers: several hundred South Asian migrant day labourers and more than 200

transient migrant workers, mostly from southern Mexico but this year also 30 Jamaicans on the

largest farm.

Each migrant worker, of course, has his own individual story of which I’ve heard many. All

have this in common, the driving motivation that brings them here: a pervasive and oppressive

poverty often verging on despair. All are fathers of young families seeking any opportunity to

better feed, clothe and educate their children. A few months here, separated from their

families, laboring long hours for their basic wage have helped many to achieve that aim, at least

in the short term.

By now a good number have already returned home to happy reunions while dozens more

anxiously await assignment to various flights south.

But a substantial force, perhaps 50, stay on through November for the cranberry harvest.

Understandably, it’s a pretty cold job wading all day in cold muddy water in the rain. Thus,

each year at this time the demand for warm jackets, heavy work shirts and jeans takes priority.Our congregation responded splendidly last season. Once again, any spare heavy work clothing

languishing in our closets could be put to good use almost immediately. Again too, as people

prepare to return to Jamaica and Mexico requests for BIG suitcases are soaring.

They will be immensely grateful and, needless to say, so will I.

Roger Page

A minister waited in line to have his car filled with gas

just before a long holiday weekend.

The attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead of him.

Finally, the attendant motioned him toward a vacant pump.

"Reverend," said the young man,

"I'm so sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until

the last minute to get ready for a long trip."

The minister chuckled, "I know what you mean. It's the same in my

business."

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Church Year Dates Sept 2010 – June 2011

World Communion Sunday Oct 3Thanksgiving Sunday Oct 10

Christ the King Sunday Nov 21

Advent 1 Nov 28

Advent 2 Dec 5

Advent 3 Dec 12

Advent 4 Dec 19

Christmas Eve Friday Dec 24

Christmas Day Saturday Dec 25

Epiphany Thursday Jan 6

Lent 1 Mar 13

Palm Sunday Apr 17Maundy Thursday Apr 21

Good Friday Apr 22

Easter Sunday Apr 24

Ascension Day Thursday Jun 2

Pentecost June 12

Other Dates

Evening Services

Sept. 26 Contemporary Praise and Worship

Oct. 31 Contemporary Service/Youth

Nov. 28 Service of Prayers for Healing

Jan. 30 Contemporary Praise and Worship

Feb. 27 Contemporary Praise and Worship

Mar. 27 Service of Prayers and Chants

Apr. 17 Holy Week Contemplative Service

May 29 Contemporary Praise and Worship

Holy Week Services: Sunday Apr 17 – Thursday Apr 21 (7:30)

Good Friday: Apr 22 @ 10 am

Christmas Eve Services: December 24 @ 7:00 pm and 11:15 pm

Communion Dates:Oct 2, Dec 5, Feb 6, Apr 2, Apr 21 (Maundy Thursday), Jun 4

A big welcome to our new music director,

Rachelle Kostelyk.

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……. people enjoying our new bench!!

What Presbyterians Believe

Presbyterians believe it is wrong to vote for a political candidate

on purely religious grounds unless he/she is a Presbyterian.

Presbyterians make better coffee than almost anyone.

Presbyterians believe in the importance of confession and

frequently confess their sins, particularly when confronted with

the evidence.

Presbyterians generally are suspicious of pastors who have

spotlights trained on their pulpits.

Presbyterians believe in ecumenism because they want everyone

else to become just like Presbyterians.

Presbyterians listen to sermons with great interest, except when

they’re thinking about something else. Presbyterians wouldn’t trade jobs with their pastors, but would

like to trade vacations with them.

Presbyterians believe in miracles and sometimes expect them,

particularly during stewardship drives.

Presbyterians who have never been on the session claim they

don’t know what goes on at meeting s. Presbyterians who have

been, claim they don’t either.

Presbyterians enjoy church suppers and will pay as much as a

dollar for the privilege of bringing the family to one.

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HPC Guys

HPC Guys will run every Friday night from 5-7 pm

starting September 17th.

The group is open to guys

age 9-16 and will be subdivided into two smaller

groups for bible study. Study for the younger guys

(age 9-12) will be lead by Rev. Gerard Booy and

Johnathan Booy, while Andrew Newberry and

Regard Booy will take the 13-16 age group.

The evening will follow the following structure:

1) game

2) bible study

3) game

Games can be anything from board games to

knuckleball, but generally do involve some sort of

physical activity. Bible studies will focus on a single

old testament book per month, highlighting the

important stories, and will be reinforced with a

short and simple bible quiz the last week of each

month. The quiz will be worked into a fun activity

and will involve prizes.

Regard Booy

Trivia Time:

It didn’t rain in the Garden of Eden. Water

came up from the ground to make things

grow. (Genesis 2: 5-6)

What can run but will not walk,

Has a mouth but will not speak,

Has a bed but will not sleep.

A river

hpc fall 2010

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