Excerpts From: The Messenger |
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A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Michael 5, Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.' " Michael turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!"
We have once again embarked in the Lenten journey, a journey of discovery of our self and our relationship with Jesus Christ. But where do we find Christ? For some, he is in the future, waiting. Others see him as a historical figure of the past with no relevance to our day. Still others picture him walking beside them, or deep in their innermost souls.
In Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , there is a mountain called the Sugar Loaf, which has a statue of Christ at the top. There, it is not difficult to point at the Christ. Christ is always visible, looking down at the people at the foot of the mountain. His arms make a cross, distinguishable from miles and miles away.
As those from near and far look up at his strong arms, Christ tells them " I am here ." As they look for help, Christ holds out his gracious hands to say, " I am right here for you, I will carry your worries on my shoulders, I will give you rest. "
As we focus on the Cross of Christ in our life, regardless if he up, down, in front, behind or within, it is imperative to listen to the small still voice that whispers our name and says, " I am right here with you ."
‘Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand' (Ps.73:23)
Your friend and pastor,
@ Pastor Samuel King-Kabu
Recently we read the following passage from Genesis, which I quote below in the King James version:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
The account given by cosmologists, in recent books such as "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking, could be paraphrased thus:
In the beginning there was a singularity whose properties are beyond the realm of science to describe. All the matter and energy of the universe was contained within a single, infinitesimal point. Our universe began when this point exploded and began a rapid expansion. There followed a period when the universe was homogenous: It had no form and was totally dark. Then there was a movement though the universe, which disturbed the homogenous element, causing matter to coalesce, leaving also empty space. Suddenly, light filled the previously the dark universe.
Uncanny, isn't it? I've always felt that there is no real conflict between science and religion. The perceived conflict, I believe, comes only from scientists and theologians whose vision is not broad enough.
Roger Kenner
Carl Poul Petersen (1895-1977)
He was known as 'Sølvpeter' and he came to Canada in 1929 after mastering his craft in his native Denmark under Georg Jensen. Sølvpeter introduced Danish silver to Canada and pursued a highly successfull career in Montreal . Some of the silver at St. Ansgar's church is designed by him. He also had a hand in rejuvenating the Stanley Cup and designed the logo still in use by the Danish-Canadian Society.
An exhibit of Sølvpeter's work is currently on display at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and will remain on view until April 13 in the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavillion of the Museum. The address is 1380 Sherbrooke Street West . The exhibit is organized by guest curator, Gloria Lesser in collaboration with Rosalind Pepall, Curator of Decorative Arts at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. It is supported by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Kirsti Svanø Styker, in Montreal , Canada , has died, nearly 90 years old. She was born in Decorah , Iowa , January 30, 1913 and died at Mount Sinai Hospital , Montreal , on December 29, 2002 .
Kirsti Styker was well-known among Norwegian seamen who visited Montreal between 1949 and until the church was disbanded in 1994. Together with her husband, seamen's pastor Arthur Styker, she represented a 'home away from home' at the church on Dorchester Boulevard, until he retired in 1967 and from then on Kirsti carried on as the unofficial deaconness for lonely or hospitalized fellow Norwegians in the megacity. At her own initiative, she visited people on behalf of her church and was called to do it by her God. She continued this untiring work after the closure of the church and until the cancer in her body drained her strength. In 1985 she was awarded the St. Olav medal for her work abroad on behalf of Norway .
As a child, Kirsti arrived in Norway at Svanø near Florø. Her father had taken over the running of the home farm at Svanø. Meanwhile Kirsti studied to become a nurse. She became parish nurse in Vadsø, where she met Arthur, and they married in 1940. During the war years they lived in Tromsø, and after the war they participated in the rebuilding of the church in Kaotokeino. After serving there the Seaman's Mission called them in 1949. They both went to work with great enthusiasm. Throughout her many years of volunteer work at the Seamen's Church, Kirsti was proud to be called as 'pastor's wife' and encouraged the following generations to do the same. While her husband looked after dozens of ships moored along the St. Lawrence river , she kept house and invited them for coffee and waffles, and othergood things in her popular and centrally located home. The four children had to content themselves with watching when their mother set the table for the thousands of sailors and a steady stream of faithful Norwegians who were permanent residents in the busy port city.
Kirsti Styker was exceedingly bold on behalf of the church, but extremely modest on her own behalf. Her husband developed a reputation as a quiet but exciting pastor, while Kirsti looked after the practical aspects and was in charge of most of the economic aspects of the church. The church in Montreal became a meeting place for seamen passing through on the way to or from the Great Lakes . After her husband retired, Kirsti continued both as his caregiver and with service to the church. Hours were spent crisscrossing the Canadian city with millions of residents and visited the elderly, the sick and needy countrymen. The employees of the church and their families had in her a caregiver who was well aware of the trials that came with establishing themselves in a foreign country. Almost every day, Kirsti visited the church to make herself available with good advice and practical help.
After the church was closed down, Kirsti had a very big hand in establishing regular Norwegian church services by the Pastors of seamen's mission in New York . Her distinctive personality and her great social contribution to a sizable group of friends and acquain-tances, will be deeply missed in Norwegian Montreal. We bless Kirsti Styker's memory with peace.
Harald Daasvand
(The original text in Norwegian is posted on our web site: www.st-ansgars-montreal.ca ).
Kjaere Kirsti (a poem read at Kirsti's funeral)
We little knew last Sunday,
That God was going to call your name,
In life we loved you dearly,
In death we do the same.
It breaks our hearts to lose you,
You did not go alone,
For part of us went with you,
The day God called you home.
You left us beautiful memories,
Your love is still our guide,
And though we cannot see you,
You are always by our side.
Our chain of friends is broken,
And nothing seems the same,
But as God calls us one by one,
The chain will link again.
Takk, Kirsti, for alt og sov godt.
Web Page prepared by:
Roger Kenner
& Jette Blair.
Content-New Topics Last Updated: 2003/11/24
St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal