Winter 2009

HPC N EWSLETTER
A message from our minister…
We are too hurried to enjoy the people
around us. We complain because we are
running out of time to do our Christmas
shopping. We never have enough and are
constantly dissatisfied with life. We are
grumpy because of the weather.
And then I‟m reminded of Paul‟s letter to the
Philippians, a letter that Paul wrote while
being in prison for the sake of the gospel.
Philippians has been dubbed the most joyful
letter in the New Testament. Paul‟s words to
them are full of joy and thanksgiving. He
rejoices greatly in the Lord and in their faith
and service. He summons them repeatedly
to rejoice in the Lord. Once again we have
that strange combination of personal
circumstances that are less than perfect and
Joy to the world! a joy that surpasses everything.
The Christmas card on my desk shows a group Joy has little, if anything, to do with perfect
of children running down a dirt road. They are circumstances or with the abundance of our
poor – dirt poor. You can tell by their oversized, possessions. The simple things in life give
torn clothes and their dirty, bare feet. You can joy. Joy has to do with attitude; with
tell by their slim, scrawny figures (not one ounce belonging; with loving and with being loved;
of fat stored up in those bodies). You can tell by and with putting others first. Joy comes from
the dilapidated mud building with thatched roof knowing Christ.
in the distance behind them.
“There were shepherds living out in the
But it is their faces that really catch my attention.
fields, keeping watch over their flocks at
Given their circumstances, who would not night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to
expect to see sadness, discontent, or perhaps them, and the glory of the Lord shone around
weariness on those faces? Who would be them, and they were terrified. But the angel
surprised if their faces were dull, showing no said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you
emotion at all? good news of great joy that will be for all the
Instead, they are radiant, their eyes beaming people. Today in the town of David a Saviour
with life, their smiles extending from ear to ear. has been born for you. He is the Messiah, the
They have little else, but they radiate joy! Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find
a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a
It surprises me because of the stark contrast manger.”
with our world; with the dull faces I see round me
and with my own feelings most of the time. We JOY to all of you.
have so much more, but we have much less joy.
We are anxious and worried about many things. Gerard
Winter 2009

A very controversial matter was before the church court. The lines were clearly
drawn, there was no middle ground and both sides pushed for a decisive and final
decision. One participant observed “What we need to do is learn how to suffer the
question.” What he meant was that we needed to wrestle with the question, chew on
it, live and struggle with it instead of seeking a quick and easy answer that would
silence any debate and push the question out of sight and, unfortunately, also out of
mind.
It has been said that the questions we ask are often more telling and more important
than the answers we seek. To suffer the question is to meet it head on, be
challenged by it, often in ways that make us very uncomfortable.
There is little doubt that Jesus made people, especially the religious people, very
uncomfortable during his earthly ministry. So much so that it was easier to see him
put to death than to be confronted with and have to suffer the questions he put
before them. To “suffer the question” would have required significant changes in the
way people treated each other, in the way they worshipped, in their commitment to
God and in their own perceived self-righteousness.
Jesus was pretty harsh in some of his observations. On one occasion he said the
scribes and Pharisees, the religious people of his day, were “like whitewashed
tombs, which on the outside look beautiful but inside they are full of the bones of the
dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but
inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27,28)
Another time he said “Not everyone who says to me, „Lord, Lord,‟ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
( Matthew 7:21)
If we are to know and do the will of our heavenly Father we need to listen to Jesus
and take to heart his words. For instance, he said: “When you give a luncheon or a
dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors,
in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a
banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be
blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of
the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14) We are pretty good at feeding ourselves. In fact we
joke that one of the characteristics of Presbyterians is that they like to eat often and
well. This raises the deeper question for us to consider: How would it change the
face of our congregation if we did as Jesus said and to our next church dinner, the
men’s breakfast, and other events where we put on a meal we invited “the poor, the
crippled, the lame, and the blind” to be our quests?
As we approach Christmas, that celebration of the blessed event of the birth of
Jesus, it is easy to get caught up in all the commercial and religious hype that goes
with the season. The over-riding principle seems to be to find the perfect gift, give
people what they want, (how often we hear the words: “and what would you like for
Christmas?”); the result being that it is more a time of „getting‟ rather than a time of
„giving‟. I sometimes think all the frenzied activity is simply an attempt to gloss over
the deeper significance of his coming. So I would pose another question for us to
ponder, a question Jesus asked of his disciples, a question he asks of us: “who do
you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). It is not an easy question to answer but one we
should carefully consider for the answer we give will have serious implications for
how live if we would be his disciples.
Dorne Cornish

The Sunday School held an
audition for a few angels for
their Christmas pageant.
These pictures show who
applied for the part. Do you
recognize anyone?
Winter 2009
What in the world do leaping lords, French
hens, swimming swans, and especially the
partridge who won't come out of the pear
tree have to do with Christmas? This week,
I found out.
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in
England were not permitted to practice their
faith openly. Someone during that era
wrote this carol as a catechism song for
young Catholics. It has two levels of
meaning: the surface meaning plus a
hidden meaning known only to members of
their church. Each element in the carol has
a code word for a religious reality which the
children could remember.
-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus
Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New
Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope
and love.
-The four calling birds were the four
gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or
Law, the first five books of the Old
Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six
days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the
sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy,
Serving, Teaching, Exhortation,
Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight
beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of
the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience,
Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness,
Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten
commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the
eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized
the twelve points of belief in the Apostles'
Creed.
So there is your history for today. This
knowledge was shared by a friend and I
found it interesting and enlightening how
that strange song became a Christmas
Carol.
Karen Breuer
Winter 2009

Obed‟s Story
By Barry Buzza

When my daughter, grandson and I were in Kenya

this summer, we met a young man we‟ll never forget. His name is Obed.
Obed has tiny stubs for arms, but he does have two working legs.
Although his legs are bone thin, he is able to use them and his feet with
great dexterity. He can do almost anything that any other 22 year old is Dear Friends at Haney Presbyterian
able to do. Obed works as a ticket agent at a border crossing. His Church,
disability has pushed him to working even harder to do well in life.
The Operation Christmas Child
Because we met Obed in a church conference, where I was the guest shoeboxes just left the Drop Off
speaker, we had an opportunity to chat for several minutes. He shared Centre for Abbotsford this morning
with me his story. When he was born, with no arms, both his mother and where they will be transferred onto a
father felt his disability would be more than they could handle – they and semi truck headed to Calgary. It was
exciting to see the 159 cartons leave
their other children were very poor, and decided that their new unnamed
the church but we can all imagine more
baby would be an unnecessary liability. So they threw him into a garbage
the excitement and happy faces on the
dump.
children receiving the boxes at the end
A day later, a woman collecting stuff to sell from the dump, happened of the trip! These shoeboxes will be
upon the tiny helpless baby. She‟d been startled by a muffled cry from soon on their way to Guatemala,
inside a black plastic bag. The merciful woman took the starving infant to Venezuela, Paraguay, Chile, and two
a nearby hospital; but they had no way of caring for him. She then took countries in Africa: Cote d’ Ivoire and
Sierra Leone.
him to her ramshackle tarpaper home and cared for him the best she
could. She even named him – Obed (which means „worship‟). Please continue to pray as these
shoeboxes travel to children, bring joy,
By the time the boy was six, he‟d already learned to survive by stealing, renew hope, and open doors for further
begging or selling firewood he‟d gathered with his tiny feet. Obed had ministry.
never received the love and care every child needs so much.
This is the 10th year for Operation
Twelve years ago, a long truck pulled into the church lot, near the shack Christmas Child in Ridge Meadows.
where he was sleeping. Out of curiosity Obed wandered over to see Presbyterian Ridge
Church Meadows
what was being unloaded. It was a warm December day.
2009 62 3,132
When he saw what was inside the large brown cardboard boxes, his eyes Total
grew very large. There were hundreds of brightly wrapped Christmas 10 Year 500 23,602
gifts that had been sent from Canada. Total

After standing in line the next day for a long time, Obed was given one of Thank you for your willingness to be
those gifts – it was the first he‟d ever received. Inside his box, as he part of a worldwide effort to see needy
opened it with his toes, he found a coloring book and crayons, soap and children receive shoeboxes. And, God
a toothbrush, a Canadian logo on a bright red t-shirt, a small toy truck, a bless you! Have a wonderful Christmas
baseball cap and ball. Obed was elated! He jumped and yelled with season celebrating the greatest gift of
happiness. This was the best day he‟d ever had. all, God’s gift of Jesus. And, may you
know His love and peace throughout
Obed‟s life turned a corner that day. He told us of being “adopted” shortly 2010.
after by a family in Canada, so that he could go to school, wear clean See you next November for Operation
clothes and learn how to live a healthy and purposeful life. The day he Christmas Child!
opened that Christmas present from Operation Christmas Child was the Blessings,
beginning of a new chapter in his journey. As he spoke to us, his
Barb Gustafson
sparkling grin covered his face.
Operation Christmas Child Local Coordinator
Reprinted with permission. Barry Buzza, a veteran pastor, is the president of the The
Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada.
 Winter 2009


I was shocked, confused,
bewildered
As I entered Heaven’s door,
MEXICAN TRAIN Not by the beauty of it all,
You may have seen it is in the monthly calendar and Nor the lights or its décor.
wonder just exactly what this is. Well let me try But it was the folks in
and explain it. It is essentially a game of dominos . Heaven
It depends how many people show up, sometimes we Who made me sputter and
have two or three tables of four. After each round gasp—
the two low scores move onto the next table. It is The thieves, the liars, the
really a fun game and it is a very good way to get to sinners,
know other people in the congregation rather than The alcoholics and the
just see them on a Sunday. We meet the last Monday trash.
of each month, except for July, August and There stood the kid from
December. We take these three months off. Of seventh grade
course, being Presbyterians, whenever we get Who swiped my lunch
together there is always, tea, coffee and some money twice.
goodies. Next to him was my old
So why not come out in January and see what it is neighbor
all about. If you have any questions, please contact Who never said anything
Morag Baxter @ 604-463-5489 or Bea Baird at 604- nice.
467-8134. Come on out and have some fun! Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud
nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, “What’s the

deal?
Innocence is Priceless I would love to hear Your
take.
One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the
How’d all these sinners get
foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with
up here?
names and small flags mounted on either side of it. The six-year-old
had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked
God must’ve made a
up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, “Good morning,
mistake.
Alex.” And why’s everyone so
“Good morning, Pastor,” he replied, still focused on the plaque. quiet,
“Pastor, what is this?” So somber – give me a
The pastor said, “Well, son, it’s a memorial to all the young men and clue.”
women who died in the service.” “Hush, child,” He said,
Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque. Finally, “they’re all in shock.
little Alex’s voice, barely audible and trembling with fear, asked, No one thought they’d be
“Which service, the 8:30 or the 10:30?” seeing you.”


Winter 2009

Home For Christmas ……At Last!!

A lone feeble streetlight reflects off the overflowing puddles of a long rutted
driveway. Only a couple of dim lights appear in the houses and row apartments lining
the lane. Except for the drumming rain, silence prevails till you approach one of those
lights, then a muffled TV program in a language not understood. Dripping rain gear
and muddy gumboots just inside the door. The two occupants are preparing their
evening meal; only two where just weeks ago there were eight or ten per house.
These fellows don‟t hide their longing to return to their families but their faces and
voices radiate hope and anticipation – also the satisfaction of knowing that, for this
year at least, their children will eat, be clothed and be able to continue in school.
„Perhaps I‟ll be able to start building that new bedroom for the kids so they won‟t be
sleeping in the kitchen.‟ „Maybe next year even a laptop for that son entering
college?‟ Of the 200 Mexican workers on the largest farm, only 10 remain, these due
to return imminently. Despite the prolonged separation from their families, the
drudgery of long hours in inclement weather and the rather basic pay, it has been for
most of them, a “good” season and almost everyone hopes to be allowed to return
next year, the first wave to begin arriving in early January.
Two parallel worlds, theirs and ours: they don‟t often intersect easily, language (and
probably social) barriers rendering interaction awkward. Their lives are not familiar to
us; they struggle to comprehend ours. Is bridging such a social and ethnic gap a
Christian responsibility? Jesus did just that on many occasions. Many at HPC (and this
year, folks from other churches too) have stepped up with their time and efforts, not
to mention all the suitcases, clothing and bicycles – all on the premise that God must
love each of them just as much as he cares for each of us.
The response from many of our congregation (and others) has been overwhelming and
effective. Each one on the biggest farm and on other neighbouring farms has his
coveted huge suitcase this year, plus all the clothing they feel they can use. The
bicycles have helped alleviate the isolation felt at outlying farms. Warm clothes
donated recently have been particularly appreciated.

They would like to say “thank you”. And they do, often and profusely, but do not have
the opportunity nor the English to do so personally to each of us. A very tangible
“thank you” has been the donation of their recycled soft drink cans to our own
program assisting Nicaraguan students. This endeavour they well understand as each
of them strives to maintain their own children in school. So far their donations have
amounted to more than $250.00.
My own personal thanks to all the participants at HPC for their interest, support, and
cooperation. Without that, such a program might well have been limited to good
intentions and wishful thinking.
Again “THANK YOU!!”
Roger Page
 Winter 2009

Just a thought….

YOUTH LEADER FOR HPC? Most mornings, on my way

PLEASE PRAY WITH US! to work, I see a man that is
We have a dream. challenged walking on the
We dream of a church that sidewalk, knapsack on his
loves Christ, and seek first his kingdom and back. He appears to be on
righteousness his way to work as well.
takes its children and youth very seriously He will be strolling along,
because we love them as Christ loves them when for no apparent
reason, he just bursts out
keeps its baptismal promises to support
running. This will last for a
children and parents
block or two, and then he
is intentional about providing the best possible
will begin strolling along
ministry to children, youth and young adults.
again. And then, once again
he is off like a bullet! It is
We dream of a church where children, youth, and
like he just can‟t contain
young adults
himself – he just has to work
are excited about following the way of Christ off his excitement !!
are forming strong, and healthy friendships It got me to thinking about
are as much a part of the church family as the parallel between his
everyone else enthusiasm and ours. Do we
are guided, nurtured, and encouraged in faith have that same unbridled
are cared for, loved, and protected from harm enthusiasm and excitement
to share the good news of
The Eeents of a Newsletter
are encouraged to develop the gifts of the
Jesus‟ birth to people? Can
Spirit,
we hardly contain ourselves
are worshipping and serving shoulder to
when we tell others about
shoulder with adults what God has done in our
from the community are reached by the gospel lives?
of Christ Or have we allowed
ourselves to become
Our vision is therefore to work towards the hiring complacent when“To catch the
sharing
of a part-time leader for our children, youth, and our faith? reader’s attention,
young adult ministry. My prayer, this season, is
We hope to be able to present a specific proposal that we will alsoplace an
experience
to the congregation in 2010. But until then, as we that same wonderinterestingand
all seek God’s will and direction, we ask that you amazementsentence that or quote
the
continue to pray about this! shepherds did when the
angels told from
themthe ofstory
the
Gerard Booy here.” for
Messiah‟s birth....that
no reason we burst out
running, full of excitement,
to tell others of our
Father‟s love for them!
Susan Reaveley
 A Saviour is Born
1. Who was the Roman
The birth of Christ – a remarkable fulfillment of emperor who ordered the
prophecy and a key Event in all human history. What census requiring Mary and
Joseph to travel to
do you remember of the Bible’s Christmas story?
Bethlehem?
1. What town in Judea was the birthplace of
2.What prophet foretold
Jesus? that the Messiah would be
born to a virgin?
2. What animal feeding trough served as a
temporary bed for the newborn Jesus? 3.Name the prophet who
declared the Savior would
3. What name, meaning “God with us”, did Isaiah be born in Bethlehem.
prophesy for Jesus?
4.Why was it necessary for
4. What relative did Jesus’ mother, Mary, stay Jesus to be born in a stable
with while she was expecting? manger?

5. What, according to the prophet Isaiah, would 5.Who reassured the fearful
Jesus carry on His shoulders? shepherds in the fields
around Bethlehem?

6.What sign were the

Christmas Anagram shepherds told would verify
the Savior’s birth?

7.COMPLETE: “For unto you

is born this day in the city of
David a Saviour, which is
_____________?

8.What phenomenon led the

bennorw_____________________________________ wise men to the Savior?
ghiinns arst__________________________________ 9.What three gifts did the
deehhprss____________________________________ wise men bring to Jesus?
aceefiknnnrs_________________________________
10.What is the meaning of
aiinttvy_______________________________________ the name “Emmanuel”?
aeglns________________________________________
ablest_________________________________________
aegmnr_______________________________________
ejssu__________________________________________ (**answers on last page)
 Winter 2009

December 24th - Christmas Eve Service 7pm

Candlelight Service 11pm

January 8th - Girls’ Group start-up 6pm

January 9th - HPC Missions Bottle Drive

January 17th - Annual Reports deadline

January 30th - HPC Missions Music Concert

February 1st - Annual General Meeting

February 14th - HPC Missions Soup and

Sandwich

March 3rd - WMS Annual General

Meeting

**Answers to Kids’ Korner quizzes

Unto Us a Child is Born Christmas Anagram

1. Bethlehem 1. Newborn
2. Manger 2. Shining star
3. Immanuel or Emmanuel 3. shepherds
4. Elizabeth 4. frankincense
5. the government 5. nativity
6. angels
A Savior is Born 7. stable
8. manger
1. Caesar Augustus 9. Jesus
2. Isaiah
3. Micah
4. There was no room at the inn.
5. An angel
6. A babe would be wrapped in “swaddling clothes”
and lying in a manger.
7. “Christ the Lord”
8. A star went before them and settled over the child’s
location.
9. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh
10. “God with us”