Housling cloths

It’s Communion Sunday on Nov. 25th and once again, the church will be using the housling cloths. For anyone who does not know the tradition behind the use of these cloths, check out the Knox Facebook page where there is an explanation. It can be found at www.facebook.com/KnoxPresbyterianChurchBurlington

And just one other note this time around, but a most important item concerns honors which are being bestowed on Cindel White at the University of Western Ontario on Sunday.

Cindel honored
Cindel has two scholarships:  In first year she received the "Gerry Killan Entrance Regis Award" plus she received the continuing scholarship of this award for second year.  She is also now receiving "The Mr. Justice John Kennedy Award for Excellence, 2012-2013.  The award is given to a returning King's University College student with the highest average in five full courses or equivalent in his/her first year program.  She is also receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Achieving for the Top Award.

King's University College is an affiliate college of the University of Western Ontario in London.  She is specializing in Psychology.

Proud parents Sharon and Trevor White will be at Western to help celebrate the occasion which occurs in conjunction with the Feast of Christ the King.

As a congregation we congratulate Cindel on this impressive achievement, and wish her well in her future studies at Western.

Overnight guests

Knox Church will be having a large number of guests Saturday night - overnight guests - so that when the congregation arrives early Sunday morning they may be witness to a great deal of activity.

As a unique outreach program – and in order to accommodate cadets who will be participating in an overnight vigil at the cenotaph prior to Sunday’s Remembrance Day service - session has approved the use of the church facilities for Burlington’s Air Cadets, with Knox being so ideally situated to help in this particular cause.

Deb Settle has already posted information on the Knox Facebook page, but in order for everyone to have an even better understanding about what is happening, I thought that perhaps it would be best to use Deb’s own words about the vigil.

“For many years, starting on 6 p.m. on Nov. 10 until 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, the Air Cadets have held an overnight vigil at the cenotaph at the corner of Brant and Ontario streets. This involves five cadets standing guard at the monument for one hour shifts each.  In the past, officers and volunteers would drive the cadets back and forth from their Squadron in the Mountainside area throughout the night. The remainder of the cadets would be sleeping there.

“Last year the Navy cadets joined the Air Cadets and so were able to use the Iron Duke facilities. This year the three units (Air, Army and Navy) will be involved. The Navy cadets will stay at the Iron Duke and the Air and Army corps will be at Knox. The routine will be the same, but instead of having to drive the cadets they will be able to walk.

“The cadets will arrive at about 5 p.m. at the church with uniforms, sleeping bags, toiletries etc. They will be delegated to a room. A brief service will be held at the cenotaph at 6 p.m. Five cadets will remain on duty and the rest will return to fellowship hall for dinner. My group, the Squadron Sponsorship Committee (SSC), will have a meal prepared.

“During the evening, the off-duty cadets will play board games, watch movies etc. until bed or their turn to be at the cenotaph. The rotation will continue all night and into the morning.

The SSC will provide breakfast in the morning at 8:00 a.m. The cadets will be dressing and preparing to attend the parade that will start at Burlington Central High School at 10:30. and as such will be leaving the church around 9:30.

“There will be about 40 cadets participating in the vigil throughout the night. There will be at least four officers supervising and a few CVs (Civilian Volunteers) as well. The cadets will never be left unattended and will have strict rules to follow.”

While Knox has made its facilities available for the cadets on this special occasion, Deb must be congratulated not only for making this event happen, but for all her involvement with the Air Cadets in Burlington.

Time change

In our last blog, we talked about time with particular reference to the change in clocks going back to Standard Time. But there is another important time change this week as everyone is reminded that the church service will be at 9:30 a.m. for this coming week only, so that those in the congregation wanting to attend the cenotaph service will have sufficient time to walk over to the cenotaph at City Hall.

It’s a matter of time

Time is such an elusive quantity. It just seems that we never have enough of it, ever. We juggle our time, we try to multi task, and we try to stretch out every minute of the day.

As I write this blog I should be elsewhere, but if I’m elsewhere, this blog won’t get done. And this dilemma with time – unfortunately – is not getting any better – for most of us.

Well, perhaps for one day a year it does get better, and that day is tomorrow. And so, for everyone looking to gain even one extra hour of time, you are reminded that the clocks fall back one hour, and so indeed we each have 60 minutes of extra time to enjoy.

While I would really like to have this blog out on a more regular basis, it is time – yes, there’s that word again – that steps in the way. But the blog is part of our communication network with not only those who worship at Knox, but the outside community as well.

And, as I have noted in the past, Knox is a vibrant church, and despite the present pulpit vacancy, many have pulled together to provide strong leadership as the search committee works towards calling a new minister.

 Timely speaking…..

• Speaking of time, everyone is reminded that the church service next Sunday – Remembrance Day – will be at 9:30 a.m. to accommodate those in the congregation who want to attend the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph at 11 a.m.

• While time – in the form of a tight deadline – is tight, every effort is being made to get the next issue of Knox Talks out before the next Communion service, which is scheduled for Nov. 25. That means the deadline is Nov. 11, but there is so much going on during the Christmas season that it is important to have the newsletter into your hands in good time.

• It is now only two weeks until the Holly Wreath Bazaar with groups throughout the church busy making last-minute preparations as time closes in on this major event in the church year. Please consider how you can help in this event, and of course, please mark the date – Nov. 17 – on your calendar.

• And finally – for now – just another reminder about the Knox Church Facebook page. We need people to log onto this page and Like it, please, so that we can chart future items to download. Facebook can be a valuable communication tool, but without 30 Likes, we cannot determine how many people are looking at various items, or, in other words, we can’t gauge interest levels. You can just Google in: Facebook Knox Presbyterian Church Burlington and it will pop up, or the long form is www.facebook.com/knoxpresbyterianchurchburlington