‘POGG’ matters
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‘POGG’ matters

“Thank you, God, for . . . .” Thanksgiving services and prayers often add long lists. The pattern is familiar from my years as a worship leader. Food, family, faith and freedom are near the top, followed by church, community and Canada. Things like the healthcare system and good government rarely make it before time…

A Light to the Lonely
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A Light to the Lonely

On Thanksgiving Monday, Peter Elgersma and his family rolled up their sleeves to cook for Richmond Hill Community Christian Reformed Church’s second “to-go” thanksgiving dinner. I chatted with Elgersma, a CC board member, about the dinner. Peter and his family, five in total, volunteered to cook and individually package 150 meals for the church’s 28th…

Messy October
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Messy October

A young couple has bought the house next door and they’ve spent the end of the summer taking it apart. I feel as if there should be a banner flying somewhere over our street: everything must go! Curtain rods and carpets, sliding doors, mirrors and the bathtub, all the kitchen cabinets and the sink and…

Giving Thanks at a Bigger Table
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Giving Thanks at a Bigger Table

Happy Birthday, Christian Courier! Isn’t it lovely how this aligns with Thanksgiving? A very fitting coincidence. In these days of counting our blessings and holding on, it’s wonderful to have a real celebration like this to mark. We may be restricted when it comes to physically sitting down at extended family tables this Thanksgiving, but this…

The Thanksgiving flood of ‘54
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The Thanksgiving flood of ‘54

If you were in eastern Canada around Thanksgiving Day of 1954, you’ll remember Hurricane Hazel. Hurricane Hazel killed at least 400 people in Haiti and caused 95 fatalities in the U.S. It struck Canada as an extratropical storm, raising the death toll by 81, mostly in Toronto when it slammed into the city on October 15. It left 1,868 Ontario families homeless.

Just deserts
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Just deserts

A few Christian Courier issues ago, my proofreader’s eye caught, with the satisfaction only a proofreader can understand, what I was sure was a mistake. One of our writers used the term “just deserts” in their column. I promptly added my comment that “desserts” was spelled with two “s’s” because I had learned a little trick long ago to remember the difference – desserts are better than deserts and so the word gets an extra letter.

Away from it all

Away from it all

When a poll last year asked what people like least about Christmas and the holidays, fully one-third of Americans cited the commercialization of the season. Twenty-two percent said they dislike the heavy expenses associated with the holidays, and for 10 percent the holiday shopping and crowds were the part they dreaded.